JP2002297325A - Image forming and reading device with information display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming and reading device with an information display device capable of displaying information effectively until the finish of image forming without missing the display of the newest information. SOLUTION: The information display device for displaying additional information such as an advertisement image on the display panel of the image forming and reading device during forming or printing images is provided to decide a downloading condition or an information display condition corresponding to time required for image forming so that displaying of the additional information may be finished within image forming and printing operation, to change/ adjust the data quantity, the display contents, the display information quantity, etc., of the additional information.

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 with an information display device and / or an image reading device,
Change the processing conditions of additional information such as an advertisement image according to the computer on the user side or the print data processing status, display the additional information during execution of the image forming / reading job or during printing, and execute the image forming / reading job. The present invention relates to an image forming / reading apparatus with an information display device that performs download and / or time adjustment of information display so that display of additional information is completed within a print operation time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, during execution of an image forming / reading job of an image forming / reading apparatus such as a copying machine, contact information and advertising image content information distributed from an advertiser's server or the like are downloaded to the copying machine. An image display device for displaying an image on a display panel or the like is known, and a network printer that combines an advertisement image transmitted via a network with an image from a host and prints the image is also often used.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-192760 has an advertising mode in which a downloaded advertising image is combined with a scanned image of a document or the like. In the advertising mode, a print charge discount is performed. , Time, a random number, and a counter.

However, in these conventional configurations, in the operation of downloading the advertisement image content and displaying it on the display panel or the like of the copying machine, the advertisement images previously stored in the database are sequentially displayed, and the advertisement image data in the database is sequentially displayed. Was configured to be updated periodically.

[0005] Therefore, since only the advertisement images stored in the database are sequentially displayed, image formation and
If the reading job execution time is short, the latest information may not be displayed. In particular, when a continuous image is displayed, there is a disadvantage that the copy is terminated halfway. Also, when downloading image information sequentially, if the copy end time is short despite the large amount of download information, the communication time for downloading is too long, and the copy ends before displaying the image information. There was a problem that would be.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. The present invention does not overlook the display of the latest information. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming / reading apparatus with an information display device capable of displaying information effectively until the end of copying without terminating the copying or displaying the image information before displaying the image information. .

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, additional information such as an advertisement image is displayed on a display panel of an image forming / reading apparatus during execution of an image forming / reading job or during printing. Information display device to perform the time adjustment so that the display of the additional information is completed within the image forming / reading job execution / printing operation time, and the data amount and display of the additional information according to the image forming / reading job execution time. The gist is to change and adjust the content, the amount of display information, and the like.

An image forming / reading apparatus with an information display device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an information display section for displaying additional information during an image forming / reading job execution operation, and performs image forming / reading job execution in advance. A job execution condition setting unit for setting conditions, an information download unit for downloading additional information, and a job execution time calculation unit for calculating an image forming / reading job execution time from the preset job execution conditions. The information display unit includes an additional information to be downloaded according to the image forming / reading job execution time calculated by the job execution time calculating unit, so that the display is completed within the image forming / reading job execution time. Is displayed.

In the above configuration, the download of the additional information is performed based on a download condition determined according to the image forming / reading job execution time calculated by the job execution time calculation means. Further, by providing an editing condition setting unit for setting the editing condition of the additional information to be downloaded according to the image forming / reading job execution time, the set editing condition may be instructed to the source of the additional information.

The additional information is displayed based on information display conditions determined according to the image forming / reading job execution time calculated by the job execution time calculation means.

[0011] The download condition of the additional information may be determined by designating the image resolution of the additional information according to the calculated image forming / reading job execution time so as to obtain the optimum download time.

The information display condition is determined by selectively reducing the number of image frames displayed by the downloaded additional information so that the information display is completed to the end by the completion of the image forming / reading job execution operation. Is also good.

The information display condition may be that additional information is selected and displayed so that all information display is completed by the time the image forming / reading job execution operation is completed.

The information display condition may be such that a combination of additional information is selected and displayed so that all information display is completed by the time the image forming / reading job execution operation is completed.

With the above arrangement, the time is adjusted so that the display of the additional information is completed within the image forming / reading job execution operation time, and the data amount, display contents, Since the amount of displayed information is changed and adjusted, do not miss the display of the latest information,
Even when a continuous image is displayed, the execution of the image forming / reading job does not end in the middle or the image forming / reading job execution does not end before displaying the image information. The additional information can be displayed effectively until the end of printing.

An image forming / reading device with an information display device according to a second aspect of the present invention includes an information display unit for displaying additional information during an image forming / reading job execution operation, and performs image forming / reading job execution in advance. A job execution condition setting unit for setting conditions, an information download unit for downloading additional information, and a job execution time calculation unit for calculating an image forming / reading job execution time from the preset job execution conditions. The display timing of the downloaded additional information is switched in accordance with the print sequence of the execution of the image forming / reading job based on the image forming / reading job execution time calculated by the job execution time calculating unit. And

In the above configuration, the print sequence includes development, transfer, fixing, and paper discharging steps, and the display of the downloaded additional information is performed in parallel with the development, transfer, and fixation print sequence steps.

At the timing of paper ejection in the print sequence, switching of the display screen and downloading of the next additional information may be performed simultaneously and in parallel.

With the above arrangement, the time is adjusted so that the display of the additional information is completed within the printing operation time, and the data amount, the display content, and the like of the additional information are adjusted according to the print sequence.
Since the amount of display information has been changed and adjusted, the display of the latest information is not overlooked, and even when displaying continuous images, the execution of the image forming / reading job is terminated or the image information is displayed on the way. There is an effect that the additional information can be effectively displayed until the image forming / reading job execution / printing is completed without terminating the image forming / reading job execution before performing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, image forming and
The additional information control program for causing the reading device to execute the image forming / reading job includes a step of calculating the image forming / reading job execution time, and a step of editing the additional information according to the calculated image forming / reading job execution time. There is provided an additional information control program having a step of setting conditions, a step of transmitting the set editing conditions to a source of the additional information, and a step of displaying the additional information during execution of an image forming / reading job.

The control program adjusts the time so that the display of the additional information is completed within the image forming / reading job execution operation time, and the data amount and display content of the additional information according to the image forming / reading job execution time. , The amount of display information can be changed and adjusted.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the present invention, a general image forming operation such as copy image printing, image printing, and reception image printing is defined as an image forming job, and a general transmission image reading operation and original image reading operation are defined as an image reading job. The job execution condition is defined as the image forming condition, the image transmission condition, and the image reading condition. In the embodiment of the present invention described below, a copy image printing of a copying machine is mainly described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and is applied to an image forming apparatus or an image reading apparatus in general, for example, The present invention is also applied to reading a fax transmission document, printing a reception document, and printing a reception data of a printer. In the case of image transmission and image reading, the job execution conditions are the number of documents and the size of the document, and the job execution time is set according to these job conditions.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an image forming / reading apparatus with an information display device according to the present invention, taking a copying machine as an example. In FIG. 1, a copying machine includes a scanner 101 for reading a document image,
An input IF unit 102 to which image data such as a document is input;
An image processing unit 103 for performing various image processing;
5, an operation unit 106 for the user of the copying machine to set various image forming conditions, a microcomputer, etc., and a central processing unit (CPU) for performing various calculations for image processing. A CPU unit 107, a display unit 108 for displaying images and necessary information, and a network IF unit 109 for inputting external information such as advertising images from an external server or a host via a network line such as the Internet. .

The user of the copying machine operates the operation unit 106 to select a document mode for image formation, selection of color / monochrome, etc., setting of document size, paper size, magnification,
Make settings such as numbers. The CPU unit 107 includes an operation unit 106
Various calculations are performed on the basis of the various setting conditions of the copying machine set in step (1), and the various image forming conditions input from the operation unit 106 are set for the corresponding block.

First, when an image formation start button of the operation unit 106 is pressed, the scanner 101 starts and reads an image of a document. The read document image data is input to the input IF
The image is input to the image processing unit 103 via the unit 102. The image processing unit 103 performs image processing according to the contents of setting conditions such as a document mode set in advance by the operation unit 106.

The image data subjected to the predetermined image processing is
The image is output to the printer unit 105 via the output IF unit 104, and the image is printed on an output (print) sheet. At this time,
From various image forming conditions set and input on the operation unit 106,
The CPU unit 107 determines the time required for image formation (or the end time).
Is calculated, and the amount of information that can be displayed during the time until the end of image formation is obtained. Therefore, additional information such as an advertisement image is downloaded via the network unit 109. The additional information downloaded and input is displayed on a display unit 108 including a display panel or the like. In addition, in the description of each embodiment described below, the advertisement information is described as an example of the additional information downloaded and input via the Internet or the like. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
It may be various kinds of contact information from a network administrator or the like or other additional information.

[0027]

Embodiment 1 A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the first embodiment for setting conditions according to the image forming operation time.
In order to shorten and adjust the communication time for downloading the advertisement information, the gist of the present invention is to change the resolution of the advertisement information image according to the image formation required time calculated by the CPU 107. That is, when forming a small number of images, the advertisement image is displayed with a reduced resolution to reduce the download time, and when the image formation time is short, only the characters are downloaded and displayed.

Hereinafter, the operation will be described in detail. First,
The user places a document on the platen of the copier and operates the operation unit 106.
Are operated to set various image forming modes and the like (step 201). When the image forming button is pressed (ON) after the setting is completed (step 202), a preset image forming mode or the like, that is, a document mode for image formation, selection of color / monochrome, and the like, setting of a document size and a paper size are set. The CPU 107 calculates the image formation end time based on the magnification, the magnification, the number, and the like (step 203). At this time, the image forming mode setting contents (ie, color / monochrome, original size, paper size, scaling ratio, number of copies, etc.)
The required image formation time under each setting condition is integrated to calculate the finally required image formation required (end) time. The download condition of the advertisement information to be displayed is determined based on the calculated image formation required (end) time, and the advertisement information is downloaded (step 204).

Here, download conditions will be described. For example, when the display information is image data, downloading fine image data as it is increases the data amount and requires a lot of time to download. On the other hand, in a case where the calculation result of the image formation end time obtained in the above-described step 203 is a very short time, for example, in the case of forming an image of one A4 size, if an advertisement image having a large data amount is downloaded, Alone, image formation is completed, and the advertisement information cannot be displayed during the image forming operation, which is the original purpose.

Then, the calculated image formation requirement (end)
By variably adjusting the resolution of image data according to time and downloading, for example, when image formation is completed in a short time, processing such as downloading with a coarse image (small data) is performed. Under the worst conditions, the image download is abandoned, and only the text information is downloaded, so that the data amount is further reduced and the download can be performed in a short time. Of course, when the image forming time is long, a high-precision image is downloaded and processing is performed to display a more detailed image.

As a method of changing the image resolution of the advertisement information at the stage before downloading, for example, a server of a download source holds image data of a plurality of types of resolutions, and a resolution designated by a CPU 107 of a download destination. And transmitting the selected advertisement image data at the download source server. Alternatively, the download source image processing circuit (not shown) can perform a plurality of types of resolution conversion, and the download source server selects and transmits the advertisement image data converted to the resolution designated by the download destination CPU 107. There is a way.

As described above, by changing the resolution of the image data and downloading it in accordance with the calculated image formation required (end) time, the display of advertisement information (step 205) and the image Forming operation (Step 2)
06) can be performed in parallel, and the advertisement display ends at the same time when a predetermined number of images have been formed.

The download conditions other than the resolution adjustment include, for example, switching between color and monochrome, switching between images and text, switching the number of frames of an advertisement image,
There is switching of image size and the like. When switching between color and monochrome, the download time is long for color and the download time is short for monochrome. In switching between images and text, images have a long download time and texts have a short download time. In the switching of the number of frames, the download time is long for the total number of frames, and the download time is short for the selected number of frames. In switching the image size, the download time is long for all images, and the download time is short for some images.

[0034]

Embodiment 2 A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The difference from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is that in the second embodiment, the image data is thinned out so that the display of a series of advertisement information is completed within the image forming time.

Hereinafter, the operation will be described in detail. Setting of various image forming modes and the like shown in FIG. 3 (step 301);
Pressing (ON) of the image formation button (step 302) and calculation of the image formation end time (step 303)
Steps 201, 202, and 203 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
It operates in the same sequence as. Next, step 304
Then, the thinning rate of the downloaded advertisement information is determined based on the calculated image formation required (end) time, and the image data is thinned so that the display of a series of advertisement information is completed within the image formation time. .

For example, in the case of displaying moving image information, if the time for displaying all the downloaded image data is longer than the time until the end of image formation, the image display ends in the middle and the original information is displayed. Since transmission cannot be performed, image data thinning processing is required to prevent this. Therefore, a series of information flows can be transmitted from the beginning to the end by thinning out the images in the middle of the moving image data by the number of frames obtained from the thinning rate according to the image formation required (end) time.

For example, when it is necessary to reduce the display of all moving picture information from 10 frames for 20 seconds to 12 seconds, the second, fourth,
The 6th and 7th frames are thinned out, and the remaining 1st, 3rd,
It is conceivable to display a moving image in the fifth, eighth, ninth and tenth frames.

As described above, when the image forming operation is completed in a short time, the number of frames to be thinned out is increased to display a small number of data moving images, and when the image forming time is long, the number of frames to be thinned out is reduced. Processing is performed to display a high-precision image. As described above, the number of thinned frames in the moving image data is adjusted and displayed according to the calculated image formation end time, thereby displaying the advertisement information in the next processing step (step 305) and the image forming operation. (Step 306) can be performed in parallel, and the process ends when a predetermined number of images have been formed.

[0039]

Third Embodiment A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The difference from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is that, in the third embodiment, the advertisement information to be displayed is selected according to the image forming time, the long-time advertisement is formed when the long-time image is formed, and The point is to select an advertisement for a short time.

Hereinafter, the operation will be described in detail. Setting of various image forming modes and the like shown in FIG. 4 (step 401);
Pressing (ON) of the image forming button (step 402) and calculation of the image forming end time (step 403)
Steps 201, 202, and 203 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
It operates in the same sequence as. Next, step 404
Then, an advertisement information group in which the display of the advertisement information ends within the required image formation time calculated by the CPU 107 is selected and displayed from the plurality of downloaded advertisement information groups.

For example, information can be displayed to the end during image formation from a plurality of display information groups or moving image information, and the longest time information is selected and displayed. The above-mentioned advertisement information group may be selected before downloading, and may be displayed after downloading the selected advertisement information group.

As described above, the advertisement information to be displayed is selected according to the image forming time, and when the image formation is completed in a short time, the short-time advertisement information is selected. By selecting and displaying the information, the display of the advertisement information in the next processing step (step 405) and the image forming operation (step 406) can be performed in parallel,
The information display ends when a predetermined number of images have been formed.

[0043]

Fourth Embodiment A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The difference from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is that, in the fourth embodiment, the gist is to select a combination of a plurality of pieces of advertisement information to be displayed according to the image forming time, and other operations are shown in FIG. This is the same as the third embodiment. That is, setting of various image forming modes and the like shown in FIG. 5 (step 501), pressing of an image forming button (ON) (step 5)
02) and the calculation of the image formation end time (step 503) are performed in steps 201 and 20 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
The operation is performed in the same sequence as in step S2203. Next, in step 504, a combination of the advertisement information groups that completes the display of the advertisement information within the image forming time is selected from the plurality of downloaded advertisement information groups, and the number of displayed advertisements is changed and adjusted. Things.

For example, from among a plurality of downloaded display information groups or moving image information, a combination of information groups capable of displaying information to the end during image formation is selected and the information display time is set within the image forming operation time. It is intended to fit in. The combination of the advertisement information groups may be selected before downloading, and may be displayed after downloading the selected combination of advertisement information groups.

As described above, by selecting and displaying the combination of the advertisement information groups to be displayed according to the image forming time, the display of the advertisement information in the next processing step (Step 5)
05) and the image forming operation (step 506) can be performed in parallel, and the advertisement display ends when a predetermined number of images have been formed.

[0046]

Fifth Embodiment A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the fifth embodiment, when displaying the advertisement information during the image forming operation, the display timing is changed according to the print sequence to display the advertisement information.

In this embodiment, assuming that moving image information is handled as an advertisement image, its operation will be described in detail below. FIG.
First, after setting various image forming modes and the like, the image forming button is pressed down (ON) (step 601), and the scanning operation of the image forming document is started (step 602). At the same time, the initial image of the advertisement is displayed. You. The document image data read by the scanner 101 is
The image data is input to the image processing unit 103 via the input IF unit 102, image processing is performed in accordance with the contents of a preset setting condition such as a document mode, and the first advertisement moving image information is downloaded.

On the other hand, the image data of the image forming document subjected to image processing is output to the printer 105 via the output IF unit 104, and is printed out (printed) on output (print) paper.
Is done. Specifically, this print (printing) processing step includes, as shown in FIG. 6, a development (step 603), a transfer (step 604), a fixing (step 605), and a paper discharge (step 606) steps.

At this time, the downloaded advertisement moving image information is displayed on the display unit 1 in parallel with the print sequence of development (step 603), transfer (step 604), and fixation (step 605) in the print (print) processing step.
08 is displayed. Then, the paper is discharged (steps 606 and 6).
The display screen is switched from a moving image to a still image only at the timing of 11, 612), and the download of the next advertisement information is performed concurrently with the discharge. This is to reduce the processing load on the CPU by downloading the next information at the timing of paper discharge. The function of setting the synchronization timing according to the print sequence is realized by the CPU 107 calculating based on setting conditions such as a document mode preset from the operation unit 106.

Image formation printing of the second and subsequent sheets (step 60)
7 to 610), the above-described simultaneous processing of the print sequence and the display of the advertisement moving image and the simultaneous processing of switching the moving image / still image and downloading in the paper discharging process are repeatedly performed. However, in FIG. 6, for simplicity of description, the scanning operation of the original is not illustrated for the second and subsequent sheets.

The scanning operation is started (step 602).
Although the initial image of the advertisement is displayed at the same time, the display of the advertisement moving image may be started simultaneously with the start of the scanning operation without displaying the initial image. Although not shown,
In addition to the discharge timing, switching between a moving image and a still image can be performed at a timing when the control load inherent in the printer becomes large, such as during a stabilizing operation, so that the load on the CPU can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, the CPU 1 in the copying machine is used.
Although the example of the operation by the program executed at 07 is shown, the program may be executed at the server side. In this case, the job execution conditions are received and input from the copier side by the relay server that relays the copy machine and the download source of the advertisement information, and the download source sets the editing of the additional information based on the input job execution conditions. Then, the editing conditions of the additional information may be designated as the download source.

[0053]

As described above, according to the present invention, the time adjustment is performed so that the display of the additional information is completed within the execution time of the image forming / reading job or the printing operation time.
The data amount, display content, display information amount, etc. of the additional information are changed and adjusted according to the required reading job execution time or the print sequence, so that the display of the latest information is not missed and the continuous image is displayed. Also, the image forming / reading job execution does not end in the middle, or the image forming / reading job execution does not end before displaying the image information. Has the effect that additional information can be displayed effectively.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a copying machine with an information display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an embodiment for setting conditions according to an image forming execution time.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an embodiment for setting conditions according to an image forming time.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an embodiment for setting conditions according to an image forming time.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of an embodiment for setting conditions according to an image forming time;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of an embodiment for displaying information according to a print sequence.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 101 scanner 102 input IF section 103 image processing section 104 output IF section 105 printer 106 operation section 107 CPU section 108 display section 109 network IF section

Continuation of the front page F term (reference) 5B021 AA01 BB01 CC05 EE01 PP04 QQ04

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An image forming / reading apparatus with an information display device having an information display unit for displaying additional information during an image forming / reading job execution operation, wherein image forming / reading job execution conditions are set in advance. A job execution condition setting unit, an information download unit for downloading additional information, a job execution time calculation unit for calculating an image forming / reading job execution time from the preset job execution condition,
And displaying the additional information to be downloaded according to the image forming / reading job execution time calculated by the job execution time calculating means so that the display is completed within the image forming / reading job execution time. An image forming / reading device with an information display device, which is displayed on a section. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the download of the additional information is performed based on a download condition determined according to an image forming / reading job execution time calculated by the job execution time calculating unit.・ Reading device. 3. An editing condition setting means for setting an editing condition of additional information to be downloaded according to the image forming / reading job execution time, and instructing the set editing condition to a source of the additional information. Item 3. The image forming / reading device according to Item 2. 4. The display of the additional information is performed by the image forming /
The image forming / reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming / reading apparatus is performed based on an information display condition determined according to the image forming / reading job execution time calculated by the reading job execution time calculating unit. 5. The download condition of the additional information is set according to the calculated image forming / reading job execution time.
3. The image forming / reading apparatus with an information display device according to claim 2, wherein the image forming / reading apparatus is determined by designating an image resolution of the additional information so as to obtain an optimal download time. 6. The information display condition is determined by selectively reducing the number of image frames displayed by the downloaded additional information so that the information display is completed to the end by the completion of the image forming / reading job execution operation. An image forming / reading device with an information display device according to claim 4. 7. The information display apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the information display condition is to select and display additional information so that all information display is completed by the end of the image forming / reading job execution operation. Image forming and reading device. 8. The information according to claim 4, wherein the information display condition is to select and display a combination of additional information so that all information display is completed by the end of the image forming / reading job execution operation. Image forming / reading device with display device. 9. An image forming / reading apparatus with an information display device having an information display unit for displaying additional information during an image forming / reading job execution operation, wherein image forming / reading job execution conditions are set in advance. Image forming / reading job execution condition setting means; information downloading means for downloading additional information; image forming / reading for calculating image forming / reading job execution time from the preset image forming / reading job execution conditions A job execution time calculation unit, and based on the image formation / reading job execution time calculated by the image formation / reading job execution time calculation unit, sets the display timing of the downloaded additional information to the image formation / reading An image forming / reading device with an information display device, which is switched in accordance with a print sequence of job execution. 10. The printing sequence includes a developing, transferring, fixing and discharging process, and the display of the downloaded additional information is performed in parallel with the developing, transferring and fixing print sequence process. 10. The image forming / reading device with an information display device according to 9. 11. The image forming / reading apparatus with an information display device according to claim 10, wherein switching of a display screen and download of the next additional information are performed simultaneously and in parallel at the timing of discharging the print sequence. 12. An additional information control program for causing an image forming / reading apparatus to execute an image forming / reading job, comprising: calculating an image forming / reading job execution time; and calculating the calculated image forming / reading job. Setting an editing condition of the additional information according to the execution time; transmitting the set editing condition to a transmission source of the additional information; displaying the additional information during execution of the image forming / reading job; Additional information control program having