JP2005178170A - System for diagnosing quality of printed image - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that the presence or absence of the need for maintenance of an image forming apparatus has to be monitored by diagnosing the quality of the printed image of the image forming apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: This system for diagnosing the quality of the printed image of a printer, which is connected with a host computer via a host interface, is equipped with: an image input means for inputting image data by scanning the image which is outputted by the printer; a means for collecting data processing information of the printer by checking the image data; and a notification means for notifying a server of a result depending on details of the information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  In providing a service for maintaining the print image quality of an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copier, the present invention determines the print image quality of the image forming apparatus according to a user instruction or periodically, and based on the determination result. The present invention relates to a maintenance system that notifies the maintenance center.

Conventionally, there has been a system in which a center server remotely monitors the status of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, and immediately dispatches a service person when an error occurs in the image forming apparatus. In such a system, if a jam occurs in the image forming apparatus, the consumable part of the image forming apparatus is lost, or the printing mechanism of the image forming apparatus stops moving, the controller of the image forming apparatus sends error information to the center server. Was sent. Then, the center server analyzes the error information and recognizes the error state of the image forming apparatus. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses the above prior art.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-310969

  However, when the print image quality of the image forming apparatus deteriorates, it is difficult for the image forming apparatus itself to detect it as an error. Also, some users of the image forming apparatus do not recognize the designation method at the host that becomes the data based on the output print data. Or in an environment with multiple printers, there is a situation where it is not possible to recognize from which machine the image was printed.

  Therefore, even if the service person himself / herself holds the printed matter output from the image forming apparatus and visually determines the print image quality, the problem that occurs because the user's specification at the host is not appropriate is also subject to maintenance. There was a thing. In addition, in order to provide a print quality maintenance service to image forming apparatuses placed in a plurality of places, a service person is placed in order to determine which printer has a defective image. You need to go to each place. Even so, if there is a problem in the designation on the host (data cause), this does not solve the image quality degradation, and the setting and environment on the user's host must be checked.

  Therefore, it takes a lot of time for the service person to support the print image quality maintenance and the trouble of the output result of each image forming apparatus. Moreover, in order to make up for it, it is necessary to prepare many service personnel, which may lead to high costs due to personnel costs.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a system capable of diagnosing the print image quality of an image forming apparatus and monitoring whether it is necessary to perform maintenance of the image forming apparatus even from a remote location.

In order to solve the above problems, a system according to the present invention is a system for diagnosing the print image quality of a printer connected to a host computer via a host interface,
An image input unit that scans an image output from the printer and inputs image data, a unit that examines the image data and collects data processing information of the printer, and notifies the server of the result according to the content of the information It has the notification means to do.

  The original data (PDL) output by the printer includes application information on the host, OS version, printer driver information, and the like according to the designation of the printer driver on the host computer.

  In the printer, when the data from the host is analyzed and developed by the PDL interpreter, in addition to the information specified in the data from the host computer, information specific to the printer hardware such as machine number information is output by the digital watermark technique. It has the means to incorporate in.

  Based on the host information embedded in the output image, it is determined whether or not there is a problem in the data designation method in the user's host.

  A printing apparatus in which a problem has occurred is identified based on information unique to the printer hardware embedded in the output image.

(Function)
In such a configuration,
When the print image quality of the image forming apparatus deteriorates, it is difficult for the image forming apparatus itself to detect it as an error. Also, some users of the image forming apparatus do not recognize the designation method at the host that becomes the data based on the output print data. Or, in an environment with multiple printers, there is a situation where it is not possible to recognize which machine was printed from. Took time. In addition, in order to compensate for this, it is necessary to prepare many service personnel, and the above-mentioned conventional drawback that there is a possibility of incurring high costs due to labor costs can be eliminated.

  According to the present invention, the user can easily determine an image as needed based on the output print result, and the image quality deterioration due to software factors such as a data specification error at the host is not a problem of the image forming apparatus hardware. It is possible to provide an image quality maintenance service that can appropriately deal with problems.

(Example)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image quality maintenance system for maintaining the print image quality of a printer according to the present invention. The maintenance server 101 determines and manages what the print image quality of the printer is based on data from the client device 102 and the determination scanner 104.

  The client device 102 manages the printer 103 in an integrated manner by managing the number of sheets printed by the printer 103 with a counter and transmitting the status of the printer 103 to the maintenance server 101.

  The client device may be a copier (copier) in which the printer 103 is in the same housing, a laser beam printer, an ink jet printer, a FAX apparatus, a host computer that can connect the printer 103 detachably, It may be a personal computer.

  The printer 103 performs printing on recording paper based on the image data. The printer 103 has a device number for identifying itself, and can transfer data indicating the device number in response to a request from the outside.

  The host computer 108 converts the display image of the application software on the host into PDL via the printer driver and instructs the printer connected to the client device via the network to output.

  The determination scanner 104 scans the printed matter output from the printer 103 to generate image data, and checks the print image quality of the printer based on the image data. Further, the generated image data is transferred to the maintenance server 101 as necessary.

  A LAN (Local Area Network) 106 is a network that connects the client device 102 and the determination scanner 104, and usually corresponds to a network in an office or a predetermined site. A WAN (Wide Area Network) 107 is a wide-area network to which a plurality of LANs are connected, and the plurality of networks are further interconnected by a public network, a dedicated line, or the like. As a result, remote computers can exchange data.

  Note that the maintenance server 101 may be connected to the LAN 106. However, by connecting to a plurality of LANs via the WAN 107, for example, an image quality maintenance service can be provided to a plurality of printers respectively installed in a plurality of offices or companies.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of an image forming apparatus including the client device 102 and the printer 103. Here, an example in which the client device 102 is incorporated in a copying machine will be described. A scanner 201 that is an image input device illuminates an image on paper as a document, and scans a CCD line sensor (not shown) to generate raster image data.

  When the user sets the original paper on the tray 203 of the original feeder 204 and instructs the start of reading in the operation unit 202, the controller CPU of the image forming apparatus gives an instruction to the scanner 201, and the feeder 203 sets the original paper 1 Each sheet is fed, and the scanner 201 performs an original image reading operation.

  The printer 103, which is an image output device, is a part that prints raster image data on paper. The method includes an electrophotographic method using a photosensitive drum or a photosensitive belt, an ink jet method in which ink is ejected from a micro nozzle array and an image is directly printed on a sheet, and any method may be used. The printing operation is activated by an instruction from the controller CPU.

  The printer 103 has a plurality of paper feed stages so that different paper sizes or different paper orientations can be selected, and there are paper cassettes 206, 207, 208 corresponding thereto. The paper discharge tray 205 receives paper that has been printed.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the image forming apparatus. The client device 102 is connected to the scanner 201 that is an image input device and the printer 103 that is an image output device. On the other hand, the client device 102 is connected to a LAN or a public line (WAN) to input and output image information and device information. It is.

  The CPU 301 is a controller that controls the entire system. A RAM 302 is a system work memory used for the CPU 301 to operate. The RAM 302 is also an image memory for temporarily storing image data. A ROM 303 is a boot ROM, and stores a system boot program. An HDD 304 is a hard disk drive and stores system software and image data.

  The operation unit I / F 306 controls an interface with the operation unit (UI) 202 and outputs image data to be displayed on the operation unit 202 to the operation unit 202. Further, it plays a role of transmitting information input by the user via the operation unit 202 to the CPU 301.

  A network 308 manages connection with the LAN 106 and inputs / outputs information to / from the LAN 106. A modem (MODEM) 309 manages connection to the public line and inputs / outputs information to / from the public line. The above devices are arranged on the system bus 307.

  An image bus interface (Image Bus I / F) 305 is a bus bridge that connects a system bus 307 and an image bus 310 that transfers image data at high speed and converts a data structure. The following devices are arranged on the image bus 310. A raster image processor (RIP) 311 expands the PDL code transmitted from the network into a bitmap image. The device I / F unit 312 connects the scanner 201 and the printer 103, which are image input / output devices, and the control unit 102, and performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data.

  A scanner image processing unit 313 corrects, processes, and edits input image data. A printer image processing unit 314 performs printer correction, resolution conversion, and the like on print output image data. An image rotation unit 315 rotates image data. The image compression unit 316 performs JPEG compression new tone processing for multi-valued image data, and performs compression / decompression processing such as JBIG, MMR, and MH for binary image data.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image quality maintenance system. Reference numerals 401 to 406 denote functional configurations of the maintenance server 101. Reference numerals 407 to 411 denote functional configurations of the client device. Reference numerals 412 to 413 denote functional configurations of the determination scanner 104.

  The maintenance history management unit 401 manages the history of maintenance performed. In the history, for each printer device number, the date and time when the print image quality was determined, the image quality determined, the image data read by the determination scanner 104 when the print image quality was determined, and the determination result The date and time of maintenance and what kind of maintenance was performed is recorded.

  The device configuration management unit 402 manages information indicating the configuration of the device to be maintained. For example, for each device, information indicating a device number, the presence / absence of an option, a network address (IP address), an owner, an installation location, and the like is managed using a database.

  The service schedule management unit 403 creates a schedule for dispatching a service person according to the contract content indicated by the data stored in the contract data storage unit, and issues an instruction to the service person according to the schedule. For example, a service person is arranged so that a service person can be dispatched immediately to a printer that has a contract for providing high-quality maintenance.

  The accounting information management unit 405 calculates and stores a maintenance fee for the printer based on the counter value of the printer.

  The contract data storage unit 406 stores data indicating contract contents indicating what kind of image quality maintenance is provided. The contract details indicate how long the print image quality is to be dispatched to perform maintenance, a grace period (days) from the determination of the print image quality to the dispatch of the service personnel, and the like.

  The user ID storage unit 407 stores an ID for identifying the owner of the printer 103. Using this ID, the provider for providing the image quality maintenance service is specified. The public key / private key storage unit 408 stores a public key, a secret key, and the like necessary for encrypting transfer data when transferring data to the server 101.

  A diagnosis start key 409 is a button for the user to instruct the print image quality to be determined. When the diagnosis start key 409 is pressed or periodically, the client device 102 executes a test print.

  The equipment specifying information storage unit 410 stores information for identifying the printer 103, for example, the equipment number of the printer 103.

  The image quality reference storage unit 411 stores information indicating whether the print image quality is determined to be OK (no problem) or NG (problem) or not. For example, information indicating the resolution and the allowable range of color misregistration when determining OK (or NG) is stored.

  The image input unit 413 scans a printed matter output by the test print and inputs image data. Also, the determination unit 412 determines the quality of the input image data against the scale indicated by the information stored in the image quality reference storage unit. The determination result is notified to the server 101 as necessary.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing for determining the print image quality. Note that steps S501, S502, and S503 are executed by the host computer. Steps S504, S505, and S506 are executed by the client device. Steps S507 to S512 are executed by the determination scanner. This process is performed by executing a program code corresponding to each step by the CPU of the apparatus.

  First, in step S501, it is determined whether the host computer has started printing in accordance with an operator instruction. The following flow is executed by the printer driver on the host computer.

  If printing is to be started, information on the host (information such as printer driver version, OS version, application name, host mounted memory, etc.) is first collected in step 502. In the subsequent step 503, the image data displayed by the application is changed to PDL data, and the information in step 503 is added thereto and transmitted to the client device.

  Next, in step S504, the client device 102 receives the print data. In step S505, the received print data includes printer device hardware data (printing paper material, PDL interpreter type, control program version, printer equipment number, installed memory, data processing resolution, image data generation time, etc.). In addition, image data is generated.

  This image data adding method (digital watermarking method) can be realized, for example, by overwriting information designated by the host with yellow, such as a color that is difficult to be seen by the human eye, as shown in FIG. For this purpose, if the printer 103 is a color printer, it is sufficient to use yellow, but if the printer 103 is a monochrome printer, a mechanism that can mount a color component corresponding to yellow on the printer engine is required. Or, in the case of a monochrome printer, it cannot be applied to all data, but if there is a specific random image pattern such as a sandy beach in the background, it can be realized by changing the frequency there and writing it as a noise-like image.

  If the user is not satisfied with the output image data (paper output result) in this way, he / she goes to the determination scanner 104 with the output paper 500 and sets the paper 500. In step S507, the determination scanner 104 scans the original (paper 500) and inputs image data.

  In step S508, the print image quality of the printer 103 is determined based on the input image data. The print image quality determination process will be described later. If there is no problem in the determination result, the determination result is stored in the determination result storage unit in step S510. The determination result storage unit is constructed by a nonvolatile memory such as an HDD. When the determination result storage unit is in the client device 102, the determination scanner 104 transmits the determination result and its storage request to the client device 102.

  If there is no problem, it is not necessary to immediately notify the maintenance server 101 of the determination result. Therefore, a plurality of determination results are collectively transferred to the maintenance server 101, for example, once a day or once every several days. By doing so, communication with the maintenance server 101 can be reduced as much as possible.

  In step S511, in order to notify the determination result to the user, print data indicating the determination result is generated, transferred to the printer 103, and the determination result is printed. By doing so, the determination result can be notified to the user. The printed content includes the determination result, print information embedded in the paper 500, determination date and time, and the like. Note that the determination result may be displayed on the display unit 105 instead of printing the determination result.

  Here, the judgment results are in three stages.

A is “no problem”
B is “There is a problem (attention required) or a workaround or advice on the host computer”,
C is “problem (maintenance required)”.

  On the other hand, if there is a problem with the determination result (NO in step S509), the determination result is transmitted to the maintenance server 101 in step S512. At this time, the determination scanner 104 transmits print information, a determination method, and the like embedded in the paper 500 to the maintenance server 101.

  Here, when the determination result is B or C, the determination result is transmitted to the maintenance server 101. However, according to the print condition or contract contents, for example, the determination result is only when the determination result is C. May be transmitted. In this case, it is assumed that the information indicating the contract content is stored in the image quality standard storage unit as the image quality standard.

  This does not prevent you from making a copy or print request at all, just because there is a problem with the print image quality, but at a lower price for a copy or print request while there is a problem with the print image quality. Billing can be performed, and user satisfaction can be obtained.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the process for determining the print image quality executed in step S508. This process is executed by the determination unit 412 of the determination scanner 104. First, in step S701, the read image data is stored in the page memory. In step S702, printing environment information such as host information and printer hardware information embedded in the read image data with a digital watermark is acquired.

  In step S703, the image data stored in the page memory and the environment information are read out, and various image diagnosis / determination is performed. In this determination method, for example, some typical patterns may be incorporated into the determination method and displayed.

(Example 1)
If the resolution of the print result is high, but the data resolution specification at the host is low, decision B “There is a problem (caution) or there is a workaround at the host computer (with advice)” is “Host computer data ( Review the resolution specification in the printer driver and application software specification method).

(Example 2)
If the data complexity is high, but the memory of the host / printer is small and the printing process takes a long time, it is judged as “There is a problem (caution)” or there is a workaround at the host computer (with advice). “Recommend to increase the memory of the host computer or printer” is displayed.

(Example 3)
If it is determined from the equipment number that it was output from a machine that is not subject to maintenance, it is displayed as “Output from a printer that does not support image quality assurance maintenance”.

  In this way, unless there is a real need for maintenance, the service is not notified and the dispatch can be suppressed, contributing to reduction of maintenance costs. There is.

(Other examples)
In the above embodiment, the client device and the determination scanner are provided separately, but they may be integrated. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of the system in that case. At this time, the scanner 201 becomes the determination scanner 104 and the operation unit 202 becomes the display unit 105.

  The client device, the printer, and the scanner may be separate from each other. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of the system in that case. Further, the determination scanner may be connected to the maintenance server. At this time, the service person presses the diagnosis start key, takes back the printed matter output by the test print, and sets it in the determination scanner. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of the system in that case.

  Further, the program code and related data according to the present invention can be stored in a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) or CD-ROM and supplied to the computer therefrom. In addition, an object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium recording a program code of software (control program) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a computer as shown in FIG. Is achieved by reading out and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. As a method of supplying a program and data to a computer, a method of storing the program and data in a floppy (registered trademark) disk FD 1100 and supplying it to a computer main body 1102 (via a floppy (registered trademark) disk drive 1101) as shown in FIG. Is. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card, a ROM, etc. are used in addition to a floppy disk and a hard disk. Can do. Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included. Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

It is a figure which shows the structure of an image quality maintenance system. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of an image forming apparatus. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows the function structure of an image quality maintenance system. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing for determining print image quality. It is a figure which shows the example which embeds printing information in image data with the technique of a digital watermark. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing for determining print image quality. It is a figure which shows the structure of an image quality maintenance system. It is a figure which shows the structure of an image quality maintenance system. It is a figure which shows the structure of an image quality maintenance system. It is a figure which shows the supply method of a program code.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Maintenance server 102 Client apparatus 103 Printer 104 Scanner for determination 105 Display part 106 LAN
107 WAN
108 Host computer

Claims (5)

A system for diagnosing the print quality of a printer connected to a host computer via a host interface,
An image input means for scanning the image output by the printer and inputting image data;
Means for examining image data and collecting printer data processing information;
A system comprising notification means for notifying a server of a result according to the content of the information.   The system according to claim 1, wherein the original data (PDL) output by the printer includes application information on the host, OS version, printer driver information, and the like according to designation of a printer driver on the host computer.   The printer outputs information specific to the printer hardware including the machine number information in addition to the information specified in the data from the host computer when the data from the host is analyzed and developed by the PDL interpreter using the digital watermark method. The system of claim 1, further comprising means for incorporation into the image.   The system according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not there is a problem with a data designation method in a user host based on host information embedded in the output image.   The system according to claim 1, wherein a printing apparatus in which a problem occurs is specified based on information specific to printer hardware embedded in the output image.

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