JP2007253342A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a time period for waiting an output and to minimize damage of a document due to conveying while the document output from an image forming apparatus after printing is prevented from being seen or obtained by a person except a user. <P>SOLUTION: When a document is printed by an image forming section 30 in response to a request from an external device, keeping information for correlating a printed material to a user is generated to be stored by an information management section 20. A printed material formed by printing the document on a paper sheet by means of the image forming section 30 is stored in a document storage section 50. In response to a request from a user who is authenticated by an authentication processing section 60, a control section 80 controls to retrieve a targeting printed material stored in the document storage section 50 by shifting the printed materials one by one while rotating a retrieval roller and a paper discharge roller built in the document storage section 50, thereby discharging the targeting printed material from the document storage section 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus having a print storage function.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been provided a printing system that can prevent a person other than the user from seeing or taking a printed matter without waiting for the user to finish printing near the printing apparatus. In this printing system, an output ID is assigned at the time of printing, and the printed matter is stored in a storage unit. If the user inputs and matches the output ID, the printed matter is transported to the exit, and the exit opens and can be received by the user (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-234234 A

  By the way, in the printing system described in Patent Document 1, the printed matter must be moved to the lowest part in order to discharge the printed matter in the printed matter storage means, and the non-applicable printed matter is transported to the uppermost portion page by page. As a result, depending on the printed matter, the printed matter may be transported many times and the printed matter itself may be damaged. In addition, since the pages are conveyed page by page in the search stage, it may take time until the target product is output.

  In view of the above-described conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to reduce an output waiting time in preventing a document output from an image forming apparatus by printing or the like from being viewed or acquired by a person other than the user. The purpose is to reduce the damage to the document due to the conveyance. In addition, the storage function is prevented from being stopped when the storage capacity of the document becomes full, so that the storage function can always be used.

  Other objects of the present invention and specific advantages obtained by the present invention will become more apparent from the description of embodiments described below.

  That is, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a communication unit for communicating with an external device, an image forming unit that prints a document on paper in response to a request from the external device, and when printing the document. An information management unit that generates and stores storage information that associates a printed material with a user, a document storage unit that stores a printed material on which a document is printed on paper by the image forming unit, and a printed material stored in the document storage unit. The document storage unit includes a paper discharge unit for discharging paper, an authentication processing unit for authenticating a user who receives the printed matter stored in the document storage unit, and a control unit for controlling the operation of each unit. A search roller that shifts the printed matter one sheet at a time and a discharge roller that discharges the searched target printed matter. The control unit rotates a search roller and a paper discharge roller built in the document storage unit in response to a request from the user authenticated by the authentication processing unit, and prints one printed matter stored in the document storage unit. It is characterized in that the target printed matter is searched by shifting each step and the target printed matter is controlled to be discharged from the document storage unit.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the control unit further manages a storage period of the printed matter stored in the document storage unit based on storage information stored in the information management unit, and performs predetermined storage. Control is performed for forcibly discharging the printed matter after the period from the document storage unit.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, when the print job being executed is cancelled, the control unit performs control to forcibly discharge a printed matter that has already been printed in the print job.

  Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the control unit performs control to print a predetermined pattern on the printed material to be forcibly discharged as an unnecessary document.

  According to the present invention, in response to a request from a user who has been authenticated by the authentication processing unit, the search roller and the discharge roller incorporated in the document storage unit are rotated, and one printed matter stored in the document storage unit is printed. The target printed matter is searched for by shifting it, and the target printed matter is controlled to be discharged from the document storage unit, so there is no need to wait for the end of printing in front of the image forming apparatus, and no other person can access the document. In this way, the waiting time can be reduced and the security can be improved at the same time. Can be shortened.

  Further, according to the present invention, in response to a request from the user authenticated by the authentication processing unit, the printed material stored in the document storage unit is controlled to be discharged by the paper discharge unit and is stored in the information management unit. Based on the stored information, the storage period of the printed matter stored in the document storage unit is managed, and control is performed to forcibly discharge the printed matter after the predetermined storage period from the document storage unit. Can be prevented from being browsed and acquired by the person, and the document storage function can be prevented from being stopped due to the storage capacity becoming full, so that the document storage function can be used effectively.

  In addition, according to the present invention, when a print job being executed is canceled, control for forcibly discharging a printed matter that has already been printed in the print job is performed, thereby preventing unnecessary documents from being stored. The document storage function can always function effectively.

  Further, according to the present invention, by controlling the image forming unit to print a predetermined pattern on a printed matter that is forcibly discharged, the contents printed on the discarded paper cannot be identified, and document security Can be secured.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the following examples, and can be arbitrarily changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus 120 in a printing system 100 in which a client 110 to which a user instructs printing and an image forming apparatus 120 are connected via a network line such as a LAN.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 120 generates a document ID in response to a request from the communication unit 10 and the client 110 for communicating with the client 110, and the user information of the user, the document ID, An information management unit 20 that associates the number of prints and the printing date and saves them as storage information, an image forming unit 30 that prints a document on paper, a paper feeding unit 40 that feeds paper to the image forming unit 30, and the image formation The document storage unit 50 for storing the paper on which the document is printed by the unit 30, that is, the printed material, the authentication processing unit 60 for authenticating the user who receives the stored printed material, and the printed material stored in the document storage unit 50 are discharged. A paper discharge unit 70, a control unit 80 for controlling the operation of each unit, and setting information and the like for input to the control unit 80 The operation unit 90 and the like are included.

In the printing system 100, the printing process is performed according to the following procedure.
[Procedure 1] When a user operates the client 110 to request printing with the storage function turned ON, the client 110 adds information indicating that the storage function is ON and user information to the job using the printer driver, and the image forming apparatus 120. Send to.
[Procedure 2] When the image forming apparatus 120 receives a job from the client 110 via the communication unit 10, the information management unit 20 generates a document ID and associates the user information of the user, the document ID, the number of prints, and the print date and time. Then, it is stored in the apparatus as storage information.
[Procedure 3] The image forming apparatus 120 prints a document on the paper fed from the paper feeding unit 40 by the image forming unit 30, and stores the printed paper, that is, the printed matter, in the document storage unit 50.
[Procedure 4] When receiving a document, the user operates the operation unit 90 to input user information (such as a user ID and password) to the control unit 80 of the image forming apparatus 120.
[Procedure 5] The image forming apparatus 120 collates the user information by the authentication processing unit 60, and discharges the printed matter stored in the document storage unit 50 by the paper discharge unit 70 if they match.

  As described above, the document output from the image forming apparatus 120 by printing or the like is stored in the apparatus without being output to the outside, so that the waiting time can be reduced. Further, the stored printed matter can be discharged and received by the user when he / she picks up and performs authentication. Thereby, browsing and taking out by a third party can be prevented.

  For the user authentication by the authentication processing unit 60 in the image forming apparatus 120, an existing authentication technology such as an IC card, a password, biometrics, or the like can be used. If there are a plurality of documents associated with the user as a result of authentication, the printed matter to be output is selected. You can take out everything or just the ones you choose. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, the information management unit 20 stores the user information of the user in association with the document ID assigned to each document printed by the image forming unit 30 at the time of printing, the number of prints, and the print date and time. To do. This information is used for searching and checking the retention period.

  Here, in the image forming apparatus 120, the paper 1 is fed from the paper feed tray 41 constituting the paper feed unit 40 during the printing process, as schematically shown in the sectional view of the main part in FIG. A document is printed by the pair of registration rollers 31, the photosensitive drum 32 and the transfer unit 33, and the pair of fixing rollers 34 that are sent out by the paper roller 42 and constitute the image forming unit 30, and pass through the conveyance path 11 and the conveyance path 12. The printed material is stored and stored in the document storage unit 50.

  At the time of paper discharge, the paper is discharged from the document storage unit 50 to the paper discharge tray 71 via the conveyance path 13 and the conveyance path 14 (face-down discharge), or via the conveyance path 13 and the conveyance path 15. Then, the paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 72 (face-up discharge).

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, the document storage unit 50 provided in the image forming apparatus 120 includes a detection roller 51 for shifting the stored printed matter one page at a time, and a paper discharge for sending the target printed matter. A roller 52, a front position restricting plate 53 that restricts the front end of the stored printed matter in the transport direction, a rear position restricting plate 54 that restricts the rear end of the stored printed matter in the transport direction, a paper slip prevention portion 55, and the like. Yes.

  The detection roller 51 and the paper discharge roller 52 are arranged above the front end side in the conveyance direction of the stored printed matter, and are moved in the vertical direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction. Further, the front position regulating plate 53 is moved in the vertical direction perpendicular to the transport direction at the front end position in the transport direction of the stored printed matter. Further, the rear position regulating plate 54 is moved in the front-rear and lower direction along the transport direction at the rear end position in the transport direction of the stored printed matter.

  The control unit 80 in the image forming apparatus 120 manages the printed matter stored in the document storage unit 50 based on the storage information stored in the information management unit 20, and the authentication processing unit 60 uses the user information. When the document is discharged by the paper discharge unit 70, the printed matter stored in the document storage unit 50 is discharged based on the storage information stored in the information management unit 20. The authenticated user's printed matter is searched, and the target printed matter is sent out from the document storage unit 50 and discharged.

  In order to search for a target printed matter from the printed matter stored in the document storage unit 50, the control unit 80 stores the target printed matter in the document storage unit 50 based on the storage information stored in the information management unit 20. As shown in FIG. 6, the search roller 51 is lowered and brought into contact with the upper surface of the printed material stored in the document storage unit 50, and in this state, The printed material is moved backward by rotating the search roller 51 in the paper discharge direction, and the printed material is shifted one by one until the search roller 51 comes into contact with the target printed material 1A.

  When the control unit 80 comes into contact with the target printed matter 1A, the control unit 80 stops the rotation of the search roller 51, and the upper end surface of the front position regulating plate 53 is at the height position of the lower surface of the target printed matter 1A. As shown in FIG. 7, the front position restricting plate 53 is lowered, and the paper discharge roller 52 is lowered and brought into contact with the upper surface of the target printed matter stored in the document storage unit 50 as shown in FIG. By rotating the search roller 51 in the paper direction, the target printed matter is moved forward and discharged.

  Further, when the control unit 80 finishes discharging the target printed matter from the document storage unit 50, as shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 80 controls the front position to the upper position where the entire stored printed matter can be regulated at the front end position in the transport direction. After returning the plate 53, the printed matter moved backward in the above-described search operation by moving the stored printed matter to the rear position regulating plate 54 in the front lower direction along the conveying direction at the rear end position in the conveying direction. Return to the original position.

  In the image forming apparatus 120, a document output by printing or the like is stored in the document storage unit 50 for a preset period, and a printed matter after the storage period is forcibly discharged. Yes. The date and time of the storage information and the current time are used for setting the period.

  That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9, the control unit 80 checks the date and time of the storage information stored in the information management unit 20 (step S1), and determines whether or not the storage period is over ( In step S2), if there is a printed matter that has exceeded the storage period, the unnecessary document is discharged, and the printed matter that has exceeded the storage period is discharged as an unnecessary document from the document storage unit 50 (step S3). ).

  Further, in this image forming apparatus 120, when printing is canceled halfway, a document that has already been printed for the job is forcibly discharged.

  That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10, when the printing is canceled (step S11), the control unit 80 determines whether one or more sheets are printed in the print job (step S12), and the determination result Is YES, that is, if there is a printed document, the unnecessary document is discharged, and the printed matter is discharged as an unnecessary document (step S13).

  Further, the unnecessary document discharge process in the image forming apparatus 120 is performed according to the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  That is, when an instruction is given to discharge an unnecessary document stored in the document storage unit 50 (step S21), the control unit 80 determines whether to overwrite the pattern (step S22).

  If the determination result in step S22 is YES, that is, if pattern printing is set, the pattern is overprinted on the printing surface of the printed matter to be discharged to make the printed matter indistinguishable (step S23). ), The printed matter is discharged as an unnecessary document (step S24).

  If the determination result in step S22 is NO, that is, if pattern printing is not set, the printed matter is discharged as an unnecessary document as it is (step S24).

  In this image forming apparatus 120, in order to cope with the case where the document storage unit 50 becomes full when the next print job is executed, the control unit 80 requires that the new print job be executed before the new print job is executed. The remaining number of storable sheets is notified to the client 110 via the communication unit 10.

  As a result, the client 110 displays a warning dialog when the newly requested number of prints is larger than the acquired remaining storable number. In this case, if the storage function is turned off, it is possible to continue printing.

  Further, when the user's document is stored in the document storage unit 50, it is possible to instruct the output or destruction of the document stored by the remote operation from the client 110. In that case, it is necessary to perform a new authentication process on the client 110 side.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a printing system including an image forming apparatus and a client to which the present invention is applied. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the storage information preserve | saved at the information management part in the said image forming apparatus. It is a typical principal part sectional view showing the internal structure of the above-mentioned image forming device. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part showing a search roller and a paper discharge roller built in a document storage unit provided in the image forming apparatus. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows typically the search state of the target printed matter by the said search roller. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part schematically illustrating a discharge state of a target printed matter by the discharge roller. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows typically the operation state which returns the printed matter moved back by the said search operation | movement to the original position. A procedure for managing the storage period of the printed matter stored in the document storage unit by the control unit in the image forming apparatus and forcibly discharging the printed matter after the predetermined storage period as an unnecessary document is performed. It is a flowchart to show. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a cancel process of a printing operation in the image forming apparatus. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of unnecessary document discharge processing in the image forming apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper 1A Target printed matter 10 Communication 11-16 Conveyance path 20 Information management part 30 Image formation part 31 Registration roller 32 Photosensitive drum 33 Transfer unit 34 Fixing roller 40 Paper feed part,
41 paper feed tray 42 paper feed roller 50 document storage unit 60 authentication processing unit 70 paper discharge unit 71 paper discharge tray 72 paper discharge tray 80 control unit 90 operation unit 120 image forming apparatus 110 client

Claims (4)

A communication unit for communicating with an external device;
In response to a request from an external device, an image forming unit that prints a document on paper,
An information management unit that generates and stores storage information that associates a printed material with a user when printing the document;
A document storage unit for storing printed matter on which a document is printed on paper by the image forming unit;
A paper discharge unit for discharging the printed matter stored in the document storage unit;
An authentication processing unit for authenticating a user who receives the printed matter stored in the document storage unit;
A control unit that controls the operation of each of these units,
The document storage unit includes a search roller for shifting the stored printed matter one by one by a predetermined amount, and a discharge roller for discharging the searched target printed matter,
The control unit rotates a search roller and a paper discharge roller built in the document storage unit in response to a request from a user authenticated by the authentication processing unit, and prints stored in the document storage unit 1 An image forming apparatus characterized by performing a control of searching for a target printed matter by shifting the sheets one by one and discharging the target printed matter from the document storage unit.   The control unit further manages the storage period of the printed material stored in the document storage unit based on the storage information stored in the information management unit, and forcibly deletes the printed material after a predetermined storage period. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein control is performed to discharge the document from the document storage unit.   3. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the print job being executed is canceled, the control unit forcibly discharges a printed matter that has already been printed in the print job. Image forming apparatus.   4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the image forming unit to print a predetermined pattern on a printed matter forcibly discharged. 5. .

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