JP2006239932A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively use a storage area by solving a problem that a box storage area is wasted when a user forgets storing a job in a box, in box printing. <P>SOLUTION: In the case where a print job received from the user and an unprinted job in the box are stored in the same file when the print job is received from the user storing the unprinted job in the box, notification of that state is given to the user by a job pop-up display etc., so that the job in the box can be deleted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having an image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine provided with storage means for storing input data input from an external apparatus.

  In general, in a digital copying machine, a copy function and other functions such as a printer function are combined. The digital copying machine includes image data read from a scanner and PDL received from a host computer via a network. Some image data obtained by expanding the data are temporarily stored in a storage device such as a hard disk, and arbitrary image data is repeatedly read from the storage device and printed out.

  In the digital copying machine, a box print function for printing out data such as confidential documents that the user does not want to see is realized. This box print function is a function for storing image data for individuals in an area provided in advance in a storage device such as a hard disk, and reading out the image data from this area using a password or the like and printing it out.

  For example, when a user creates data to be a confidential document and prints it out, the box print function temporarily stores the created data in a predetermined area of the storage device, and then the user uses the digital copying machine. Enter the password via the operation panel. By inputting this password, data is read out from a predetermined area of the storage device and printed out. In this way, if the box print function is used, data that is not desired to be viewed by others can be output without being viewed by others.

  Here, since the storage area of the storage device provided corresponding to the box print function is finite, it is necessary to avoid overflow of the storage area. For example, a function for erasing data stored in this area by an arbitrary timing by the user, or a function for automatically deleting data when it is not output for a certain period is implemented.

As another conventional example, Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 can be cited.
JP 2002-059593 A JP 2002-218258 A

  However, if the user forgets that a print job has been box-printed, and the box print of the same print job is performed again, the box print deletion function at the user's discretion is effective. In addition, the function of automatically deleting data when no data is output for a certain period of time is not effective when the data deletion period is set to a long period, and the same print job is stored. There is a problem that the storage area of the apparatus is unnecessarily occupied.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to effectively use a storage area in printing using a box print function.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention, storage means for storing input data input from an external apparatus, and input data stored in the storage means are read out. In an image forming apparatus comprising an image printing unit for printing, a comparison unit that compares existing input data stored in the storage unit with new input data, and a comparison result of the comparison unit And a data processing means for performing processing.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the image forming apparatus according to claim 2 of the present invention, the storage area of the storage means is managed by being divided into a plurality of areas.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the image forming apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention, the comparison unit determines a difference between the existing input data and the new input data based on predetermined key information. It has a difference determination step.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the image forming apparatus according to claim 4, the predetermined key information includes the input data owner, the original file name of the input data, the input data size, and the input data. It is the update date of the original file of data.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the image processing apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention, the data processing means erases the already input data when the difference does not exist. .

  As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to delete a print job that occupies the storage area of the storage device wastefully in both box printing and PDL printing. Effective use of the storage area can be realized.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be exemplarily described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the constituent elements described in this embodiment are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image input / output system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, an image input / output system having a copy function, a scanner function, a printer function, a facsimile function, and a box function will be described as an example of the image processing apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image input / output system 100 includes a reader unit 200, a printer unit 300, a control device 110, and an operation unit 150. The reader unit 200 includes a document feeding unit 250 for feeding a document and a scanner unit 210 for reading an image on the document fed from the document feeding unit 250. The obtained image data is input to the control device 110.

  The printer unit 300 includes a paper feed unit 310, a marking unit 320, and a paper discharge unit 330. The paper feed unit 310 is equipped with a plurality of cassettes that accommodate recording papers of different sizes, and feeds the recording paper from each cassette. The marking unit 320 is a unit having an image forming process by electrophotography. In the marking unit 320, on the recording paper fed from the paper feeding unit 310 based on the image data input from the PC (host computer) 411, 412 connected to the LAN 400 or the scanner unit 210 via the control device 110. Perform image formation. The paper discharge unit 330 sorts and staples the recording paper on which the image is formed by the marking unit 320 and discharges the paper.

  The control device 110 is electrically connected to the reader unit 200 and the printer unit 300, and is connected to a LAN 400 that accommodates the PCs 411 and 412 and a public line (not shown). The control device 110 implements a copy function by reading image data of a document with the reader unit 200 and controlling the image data to be output to the printer unit 300 to form an image on recording paper. Further, the scanner function is realized by converting the image data read by the reader unit 200 into code data and transmitting the code data to the PCs 411 and 412 via the LAN 400. Further, the printer function is realized by converting the code data received from each of the PCs 411 and 412 via the LAN 400 into image data and controlling the image data to be output to the printer unit 300. Further, the image data of the original is read by the reader unit 200, the image data is output to a FAX board (not shown), and the image data sent to the public line is received via the FAX board and output to the printer unit 300. Thus, the facsimile function is realized.

  Further, a hard disk drive (HD drive) 160 is connected to the control device 110, and a storage area of the hard disk drive 160 is divided into a plurality of areas as will be described later, and image data is stored in each area. The control device 110 implements a box function using the hard disk of the hard disk drive 160. Details of the box function will be described later.

  The operation unit 150 includes various keys for inputting instructions to the control device 110 and a liquid crystal display panel for displaying an interface screen with the user, and generates corresponding signals according to operations on the various keys. Output to the control device 110.

  Next, a detailed configuration of the control device 110 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device 110 in the image input / output system of FIG. The control device 110 has a main controller 111 that controls the entire device. The main controller 111 is provided with a CPU 112, a bus controller 113, various I / F controller circuits (not shown), and the like. Further, the ROM 114 is connected to the main controller 111 via the I / F 115, and the DRAM 116 is connected via the I / F 117. The CPU 112 performs various processes according to a program read from the ROM 114 via the I / F 115. For example, a PDL (page description language) received from each of the PCs 411 and 412 is interpreted, and a development process for developing the raster image data is performed. The work area of the CPU 112 is provided by the DRAM 116. The DRAM 116 also stores image data. Further, the control processing shown in the flowchart described later in the image processing apparatus is realized by reading a control program stored in the ROM 114 or the HD 162 into the DRAM 116 and processing the CPU 112 based on the control program.

  In addition, a codec 118 is connected to the main controller 111 via an I / F 120. The codec 118 compresses raster image data stored in the DRAM 116 by a method such as MH / MR / MMR / JBIG, and Conversely, the compressed and accumulated code data is expanded into raster image data. A work area associated with the processing of the codec 118 is provided by the SRAM 119. Data transfer between the codec 118 and the DRAM 116 is performed by the DMA system, and the control is performed by the bus controller 113.

  Further, a network controller 121 is connected to the main controller 111 via an I / F 123, and the network controller 121 has a network function such as Ethernet (registered trademark). The network controller 121 is provided with a connector 122, which is connected to the LAN 400 described above.

  Furthermore, an expansion connector 124 and an I / O control unit 126 for connecting an expansion board are connected to the main controller 111 via a general-purpose high-speed bus 125. Here, the general-purpose high-speed bus 125 is a PCI bus, for example. In the present embodiment, a FAX board (not shown) is connected to the expansion connector 124 in order to realize a facsimile function, and this FAX board is connected to a public line.

  The I / O control unit 126 includes a 2-channel asynchronous serial communication controller 127 for transmitting / receiving control commands to / from the CPUs of the reader unit 200 and the printer unit 300, and the scanner I / F 140 via the I / O bus 128. And a printer I / F 145.

  A panel I / F 132 is connected to the I / O control unit 126, and the panel I / F 132 is an interface with the operation unit 150. An LCD controller 131 is connected to the panel I / F 132, and the LCD controller 131 drives a liquid crystal display panel provided in the operation unit 150. The panel I / F 132 includes an I / F 130 for capturing a key signal input in response to an operation of a hard key and a soft key of the operation unit 150.

  Further, a real-time clock module 133 and an E-IDE connector 161 for updating and storing the date and time managed in the apparatus are connected to the I / O control unit 126, and the real-time clock module 133 is backed up by a backup battery 134. Has been. The E-IDE connector 161 is a connector for connecting an external storage device. By connecting an external storage device such as a hard disk or an MO drive to the connector 161, image data is written to or read from the external storage device. be able to. In the present embodiment, a hard disk drive (HD drive) 160 is connected, and this HD drive 160 drives a hard disk (HD) 162.

  The scanner I / F 140 is connected to the main controller 111 via the scanner bus 141, and a connector 142 for connecting to the reader unit 200 is provided. The scanner I / F 140 and the connector 142 are connected to each other via a synchronous step synchronization serial I / F 143 and a video I / F 144. The scanner I / F 140 has a processing function for performing optimal binarization processing, scaling processing, and the like on the image received from the reader unit 200, and a control signal based on the video control signal received from the reader unit 200. And the control signal is output to the main controller 111 via the scanner bus 141. Here, data transfer from the scanner bus 141 to the DRAM 116 is controlled by the bus controller 113.

  Similarly, the printer I / F 145 is connected to the main controller 111 via the printer bus 146, and a connector 147 for connecting to the printer unit 300 is provided. The printer I / F 145 and the connector 147 are connected to each other via a synchronous step synchronization serial I / F 148 and a video I / F 149. The printer I / F 145 has a function of performing smoothing processing on the image data output from the main controller 111 and outputting it to the printer unit 300, and generates a control signal based on the video control signal received from the printer unit 300. The control signal is output to the main controller 111 via the printer bus 146. Transfer of raster image data developed on the DRAM 116 to the printer unit 300 is controlled by the bus controller 113 and transferred to the printer unit 300 via the printer bus 146 and the video I / F 149.

  Next, a logical usage method of the hard disk 162 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a state where the storage area of the hard disk 162 is logically divided into a plurality of areas.

  The storage area of the hard disk 162 is logically divided into a temporary area 301 and a box area 302 as shown in FIG. The temporary area 301 is an area for temporarily storing the PDL development data and the image data from the scanner unit 210 in order to change the output order of the image data and enable output in a single scan when outputting a plurality of copies. It is. The box area 302 is an area used for the box function, and is divided into a predetermined number of areas. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the box area 302 is divided into areas 303 to 307. Each area 303 to 307 is assigned to each user or department, and each box 303, 307 is assigned a corresponding box number, box name, and password. The user can access an area corresponding to the box number by designating the box number, and by inputting a password, the image data in the corresponding area can be read out, printed out, and transmitted.

  As described above, the user designates an area in the box area 302 of the hard disk 162, stores the image data in the designated area, reads out the image data at an arbitrary timing by user operation, prints out, and transmits by facsimile. A function that can perform such operations is called a box function.

  Next, box registration of the box function will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a box registration procedure in the image input / output system of FIG. Here, a case where the PDL data transmitted from the PC 411 is stored in a designated area in the box area of the hard disk 162 will be described.

  In the box registration, as shown in FIG. 4, first, in step S401, the user performs print settings on the PC 411. In this print setting, the number of copies, paper size, enlargement / reduction ratio, single-sided / double-sided, page output order, sort output, presence / absence of stapling, etc. are set. In step S402, a box number (BOX number) is input on the PC 411 to specify an area in the box area 302 of the hard disk 162. For example, when the box number “1” is input by the user, an area 303 in the box area 302 is designated as an area corresponding to the box number “1”. In step S403, the PDL data is transferred to the control device 110 of the image input / output system 100 via the LAN 400. Specifically, when a print instruction is given on the PC 411, the printer driver installed on the PC 411 converts code data to be printed into PDL (page description language) data in accordance with the print instruction. To do. This PDL data is transferred to the control device 110 together with the print setting parameters set in step S401.

  In step S404, the PDL data transferred by the control device 110 is developed (rasterized) into image data. In the subsequent step S405, the developed image data is converted into a designated temporary area in the box area 301 of the hard disk 162. Temporarily store in the area.

  In step S406, it is determined whether or not the same data as the temporarily stored image data exists in each box area in the hard disk 162. The presence / absence of the same data is already stored in the box area using the box registration user identifier, image data size, the original file name of the image data, and the update date of the original file of the image data as keys. This is done by trying to match the existing image data. If there is image data that matches all or any of the keys, the fact is notified to the user in step S407. As a notification method, a modal pop-up display on the display screen of the PC 411 where the user has registered for BOX is used. On the other hand, if the same data does not exist, the process ends by storing the image data in the box area designated in S402 in S410.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the pop-up display when the same data exists in the box area 302 of the hard disk 162. On the BOX data deletion confirmation screen 501, the file name 502, the image data size 503, and the BOX registration date / time 504 of the image data detected in S406 are displayed. If the user presses the OK button 505, the BOX data is deleted in step S409, and the image data is stored in the box area designated in S402 in S410, thereby ending this processing. On the other hand, when the user presses the CANCEL button 506 on the data deletion confirmation screen 501, the process ends by storing the image data in the box area designated in S402 in S410.

  As described above, by using the process shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to avoid the situation where the same job is repeatedly stored in each box area in the hard disk 162 when the BOX function is used. The storage area can be effectively used.

  Next, the procedure during the PDL print operation will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of PDL printing in the image forming system according to this embodiment. Here, a case will be described in which PDL data transmitted from the PC 411 is directly output without using the BOX function.

  In FIG. 6, first, in step S601, the user performs print settings on the PC 411. In this print setting, the number of copies, paper size, enlargement / reduction ratio, single-sided / double-sided, page output order, sort output, presence / absence of stapling, etc. are set. In step S602, the PDL data is transferred to the control device 110 of the image input / output system 100 via the LAN 400. Specifically, when a print instruction is given on the PC 411, the printer driver installed on the PC 411 converts code data to be printed into PDL (page description language) data in accordance with the print instruction. To do. This PDL data is transferred to the control device 110 together with the print setting parameters set in step S601.

  In step S603, the PDL data transferred by the control device 110 is expanded (rasterized) into image data. In the subsequent step S604, the expanded image data is converted into a designated temporary area in the box area 301 of the hard disk 162. Temporarily store in the area.

  Thereafter, in step S605, it is determined whether or not the same data as the temporarily stored image data exists in each box area in the hard disk 162. The determination of the presence of the same data is already stored in the box area using the box registration user identifier, the image data size, the original file name of the image data, and the update date of the original file of the image data as keys. This is done by trying to match the existing image data. If there is image data that matches all or any of the keys, the fact is notified to the user in step S606. As a notification method, a modal pop-up display on the display screen of the PC 411 where the user has registered for BOX is used. On the other hand, if the same data does not exist, the temporarily stored image data is printed out in S609 in the designated temporary area in the box area 301 of the hard disk 162 in S604, and this process ends.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the pop-up display when the same data exists in the box area 302 of the hard disk 162. On the BOX data deletion confirmation screen 501, the file name 502, the image data size 503, and the BOX registration date / time 504 of the image data detected in S605 are displayed. If the user presses the OK button 505, the BOX data is deleted in step S608, and the temporarily stored image data is printed in step S609 in the designated temporary area in the box area 301 of the hard disk 162 in step S604. . On the other hand, when the user presses the CANCEL button 506 on the data deletion confirmation screen 501, the temporarily stored image data is printed out in S609 in the designated temporary area in the box area 301 of the hard disk 162 in S604.

  As described above, by using the process shown in FIG. 6, it is possible to delete useless jobs stored in each box area in the hard disk 162 and to make effective the storage area of the hard disk 162 when performing PDL printing. It can be used.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image input / output system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control apparatus 110 in the image input / output system of FIG. It is a figure which shows typically the state which divided | segmented the storage area of the hard disk 162 of the image input / output system of FIG. 1 into the several area | region logically. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the box registration in the image input / output system of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the pop-up display in the box registration procedure in the image input / output system of FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of PDL printing in the image input / output system of FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

100 Image Input / Output System 110 Controller 111 Main Controller 112 CPU
114 ROM
116 DRAM
150 Operation Unit 160 Hard Disk Drive 162 Hard Disk 300 Print Unit 400 LAN
411, 412 PC
402 Box area

Claims (5)

  In an image forming apparatus comprising storage means for storing input data input from an external device and image printing means for reading out and printing input data stored in the storage means, the image forming apparatus is stored in the storage means An image forming apparatus, comprising: a comparison unit that compares existing input data with new input data; and a data processing unit that processes the already input data based on a comparison result of the comparison unit.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage area of the storage unit is managed by being divided into a plurality of areas.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the comparison unit includes a difference determination step of determining a difference between the existing input data and the new input data based on predetermined key information.   4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined key information is an owner of the input data, an original file name of the input data, an input data size, and an update date of the original file of the input data. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data processing unit deletes the already input data when the difference does not exist. 6.

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