JP2008242935A - Image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor for reducing a time and man-hours for acquiring an output result when skip-printing only one page with many blank sections. <P>SOLUTION: This image processor is provided with a rate calculation part 106 for calculating an occupancy ratio of the valid image section of each page from page data as image data of a designated sheet size; a print decision part 107 for outputting a preview display request when the occupancy ratio of the valid image section is smaller than a page threshold; a selection picture storage part 115 for storing a dialog picture having a selection means for selecting whether to print the image of a page preview-displayed on a monitor 111, whether to stop printing, or whether to stop the printing of all pages; a selection request output part 112 for outputting a request following a selection content by a user from an input device 108; and an output control part 113 for outputting the print data to a printer 114. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus in which a host device that converts input image data that has been input or generated into printable print data and outputs the print data and a print device that prints out the print data are connected or integrated. .

  In an image processing apparatus in which a conventional host device and a printing device are connected or integrated with each other, generally, the print data is printed as it is without discrimination between the effective image portion and the blank portion of the print data. . For this reason, a page containing many blank pages or blank pages may be printed. To deal with this problem, if a blank area of each page of the print data is detected and the blank area exceeds the specified value set by the user, whether to continue error notification and printing to the user If the dialog screen is displayed and printing is not continued, printing is temporarily stopped, and the user re-edits the original image information by the application and outputs it as print data again. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-47683 A

  However, in the printing system described above, the error message that there is a page with a blank area exceeding the specified value and only a dialog screen asking whether to continue printing are displayed. When only one page with many blank pages is skip-printed, the original image information must be edited again by the application and output again as print data. More time and man-hours are required to obtain the output result. It was necessary.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an image processing apparatus that can save time and man-hours for obtaining an output result when only one page with many blank pages is skip-printed. The purpose is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, an image processing apparatus of the present invention is an image processing apparatus that converts image data into printable image data based on input image information.
A division unit that divides the converted image data into predetermined regions, a ratio calculation unit that calculates a ratio of an effective image area in an area of the image data divided by the division unit, and a calculation by the ratio calculation unit A determination unit that determines whether or not the ratio is less than a predetermined value, and when the determination unit determines that the ratio is lower than the predetermined value, the divided image data is displayed as a preview, and the input selection information And an output control unit that switches whether the divided image data is output as it is or processed and output.

  The image processing apparatus of the present invention displays a preview on the monitor and displays the image of the displayed page individually if the occupation ratio of the effective image portion to the blank portion of the page data is less than a preset page threshold value. Displays a dialog screen that has a means for selecting whether to execute printing or cancel printing. The user can not only print or cancel printing of all images, but also print and cancel printing for each image on each page. Since it can be selected, even when only one page with many blank pages is skip-printed, the time and man-hour for obtaining the output result can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The image processing apparatus 101 shown in FIG. 1 confirms whether printing is possible based on the contents of the image when the image information created or edited by the application program 102 is converted into print data that can be printed by the printing apparatus 114 and output. To do. In FIG. 1, the block of the printing apparatus 114 is described inside the image processing apparatus 101 and the host apparatus and the printing apparatus are integrated. For example, the host apparatus and the printing apparatus are separately provided. As an alternative, the image processing apparatus 101 may be configured by bidirectional communication connection.

  In the image processing apparatus 101, the application program 102 is made up of software such as a text editor, spreadsheet, browser, etc., and the user creates or edits print contents, and receives a print execution request from the user. Then, the application program 102 outputs the edited image information to the image conversion unit 103 as print data described in a page description language that can be printed by the printing apparatus 114.

  The image conversion unit 103 copies the print data in the page description language (hereinafter also referred to as PDL) received from the application program 102, sends one to the print data image buffer 117 without conversion, and stores the remaining data. One of them is converted into image data in the bitmap (BMP) format (hereinafter also referred to as bitmap image data) representing the image by dots based on the dot pattern information to be analyzed and drawn on the paper. Send it out.

  The page dividing unit 104 divides the bitmap image data converted by the image conversion unit 103 into page data for each page having a paper size area designated by the print data from the application program 102. The bitmap image data for each page (hereinafter referred to as page data) is output to the bitmap image buffer 105 for storage.

  The bitmap image buffer 105 stores (saves) the page data stored by the page dividing unit 104 until a discard request is received from the output control unit 113, and the page or display unit calculated from the ratio calculation unit 106 When there is a request to output page data for a page to be displayed from 110, the page data of the page is output to the request source. Further, the bitmap image buffer 105 discards the page data of the read page in response to a request for discarding the page from the output control unit 113 after the output processing of the page data is completed.

  The ratio calculation unit 106 subdivides the page data received from the bitmap image buffer 105 into checkerboard blocks, obtains the number of dot patterns in each subdivided block, and determines the effective value for each page based on the block threshold value. The image portion and the blank portion are determined, and the occupation ratio of the effective image portion in the page is calculated and sent to the print determination unit 107. An example of this calculation method will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The print determination unit 107 receives the occupation ratio of the effective image portion calculated by the ratio calculation unit 106, compares it with the page threshold value of the occupation ratio of the effective image portion stored in the setting value storage unit 109, and determines the page. It is determined whether or not the threshold value is exceeded (below the page threshold value). If the occupation ratio of the effective image portion exceeds the page threshold value, the output control of the page print output request for that page is performed. Output to the unit 113. When the occupation ratio of the effective image portion does not exceed the page threshold (less than the page threshold), a preview display request is output to the display unit 110.

  The input device 108 is an input device that allows a user to input in advance a page threshold value stored in the set value storage unit 109 and used for determination by the print determination unit 107, for example. In addition, the input device 108 displays a preview by a user who has seen a preview display section and a dialog screen on which a page with a large number of blank pages and an occupation ratio of the effective image portion less than the page threshold is displayed on the monitor 111. This is an input device for inputting a selection content to execute printing of the image of the selected page, to cancel printing of the page, or to cancel printing of all pages of the print data.

  The setting value storage unit 109 stores (saves) in advance a page threshold value of the occupation ratio of the effective image portion for each page that is input from the input device 108 and used for determination by the print determination unit 107 as a setting value. Since the set value storage unit 109 is composed of a non-volatile memory, it is not necessary to input it every time. After the page threshold value (set value) is input for the first time, it may be input again only when it is changed.

  When receiving a preview display request for a predetermined page from the print determination unit 107, the display unit 110 reads the page data of the page from the bitmap image buffer 105, and outputs the page data of the page to the monitor 111. Display a preview. At that time, a dialog screen for selecting whether to execute printing of the displayed page, to cancel printing of the page, or to cancel printing of all pages of the print data is saved as a selection screen. The dialog screen is displayed on the monitor 111 together with the page data less than the page threshold value read from the unit 115 and read from the bitmap image buffer 105. In the present embodiment, the page data preview display section of the page displays the dialog screen of the selected content at a predetermined position on the page data on which the dialog screen is previewed so as not to hide the dialog screen. Insert and display together. When the page data display layer previewed and the dialog screen display layer are displayed separately, the dialog screen of the selected content is displayed on the top layer. An example of this display method will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The monitor 111 is a display device that can display an arbitrary image of, for example, a liquid crystal or a cathode ray tube, and is a visual interface for image information to the user. In the present embodiment, there are many blank paper portions and an effective image portion. A preview display section and a dialog screen for a page whose occupation ratio is less than the page threshold are displayed.

  The user who sees the preview display screen and the dialog screen displayed on the monitor 111 executes printing of the page, stops printing of the page, or prints all pages of the print data. From the input device 108 is input to the selection request output unit 112.

  The selection request output unit 112 selects (clicks) the execution button 303 according to the user's selection content (reception content) indicating which button in the dialog screen displayed on the monitor 111 has been selected (clicked) ( When a page print output request (when printing the image of the page) is output to the output control unit 113 or when a page print stop (skip) button 304 is selected (clicked) (printing of the page) A page print output stop request (when canceling and skipping) is output to the output control unit 113, or when the all page print stop (cancel) button 305 is selected (clicked) (for all pages of the print data) All-page print output stop request (when canceling and canceling printing) is output to the output control unit 113. When the all-page printing cancel (cancel) button 305 is selected (clicked), the selection request output unit 112 also converts the remaining print data into bitmap data for the image conversion unit 103. Request to stop.

  The output control unit 113 outputs a page print output request for the page when the occupation ratio of the effective image portion exceeds the page threshold in the print determination unit 107 or the page print output of the page from the selection request output unit 112 When the request is received, in accordance with the page print output request, the page data of the page is read from the print data image buffer 117, and the page data is output as print data to the printing apparatus 114. The output control unit 113 receives the page print output stop request or the all page print output stop request from the selection request output unit 112, and the page data is read from the print data image buffer 117 to the printing apparatus 114. After the output processing is completed, a request is output so that the page data of the page read to the bitmap image buffer 105 and the print data image buffer 117 is discarded.

  The printing device 114 receives the page data output from the output control unit 113, forms an image, and prints it on a sheet. As the printing apparatus 114, for example, an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic printer that develops an electrostatic latent image on an image carrier, transfers the toner image onto a sheet, and fixes the toner image on the sheet. Or an inkjet image forming apparatus.

  The selection screen storage unit 115 stores a dialog screen having a selection unit for selecting whether to execute printing of the page image previewed on the monitor 111 for displaying an image or to cancel printing.

  The print data image buffer 117 receives and stores the print data (PDL) received from the application program 102 from the image conversion unit 103 without being converted, and in response to a page data read request from the output control unit 113. The page data is output to the output control unit 113. The print data image buffer 117 discards the read page data of the page in response to a request for discarding the page from the output control unit 113 after the output processing of the page data is completed.

FIG. 2 shows that the ratio calculation unit 106 and the print determination unit 107 determine the effective image part and the blank part for each page from the page data received from the bitmap image buffer 105, and the occupation ratio of the effective image part in the page. It is an image figure which shows an example of the calculation method which calculates.
The page data 201 is image data for each page obtained by dividing the image data in the bitmap format into page data of the paper size specified by the application program 102, and is stored in the bitmap image buffer 105.

  The ratio calculation unit 106 subdivides the page data 201 into a grid-like block 202 as shown in FIG. Then, the number of dot patterns in each subdivided block 202 is obtained, and the effective image portion and the blank portion for each page are determined by comparing the number of dot patterns with the block threshold value. The occupation ratio of the effective image portion is calculated and sent to the print determination unit 107.

  The print determination unit 107 compares the number of dot patterns with the “page threshold of the occupation ratio of the effective image portion for each page” in the setting value storage unit 109, and the number of dots in each subdivided block 202. It is determined whether or not each corresponds to the occupation ratio of the effective image portion exceeding the page threshold value or less than the occupation ratio of the effective image portion less than the page threshold value. Then, the print determination unit 107 calculates the occupation ratio of the effective image portion by dividing the number of blocks 203 determined as the effective image portion by the total number of blocks of the page data 201, and the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is the page threshold. If it exceeds the value, a page print output request for the page is output to the output control unit 113, and if the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is less than the page threshold, a preview display request is sent to the display unit 110. Output.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a dialog screen that is displayed together with the preview display unit displayed on the monitor 111 and that selects execution and cancellation of printing.
The preview display unit 301 displays a page that has been determined by the print determination unit 107 that the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is small.

  The dialog screen unit 302 is a dialog screen that asks the user to determine whether or not the preview displayed page can be printed. The following buttons are displayed together with a message “Do you want to print this page?”. Yes. The print execution button 303 is a button that is selected (clicked) when the user prints a preview-displayed page. A page printing stop (skip) button 304 is a button that is selected (clicked) when the user stops printing (skip printing) only the page displayed as a preview. The all-page printing cancel (cancel) button 305 is a button that is selected (clicked) when printing of all pages after the displayed page is canceled (all-page printing is canceled).

  When any button in the dialog screen unit 302 is selected (clicked) by the user, the input device 108 outputs to the selection request output unit 112 which button has been selected (clicked). The selection request output unit 112 performs processing corresponding to the button depending on the received content indicating which button has been selected (clicked). When the print execution button 303 is selected (clicked), a page print output request for a page determined to have a small occupation ratio of the effective image portion is output to the output control unit 113. On the other hand, when either the page printing stop (skip) button 304 or the all page printing stop (cancel) button 305 is selected (clicked), the selection request output unit 112 determines that the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is small. A page print output stop request (data discard request) for the determined page is output to the output control unit 113, and in the case of an all page print stop request, the conversion of the subsequent print data to bitmap image data is stopped. The request is output to the image conversion unit 103.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a schematic processing content of the image processing apparatus of FIG.
The user of the image processing apparatus sets the printing conditions of the image processing apparatus in advance using the input device 108 at the preparation stage before executing printing such as when the apparatus is installed. The page threshold value of the occupation ratio of the effective image portion for each page used is input by the input device 108 as a print condition setting value, and stored in the setting value storage unit 109 in advance (S101). This printing condition is applied when the subsequent printing is executed.

  When the application program 102 executes printing of the created or edited image information, the application program 102 converts the print data into a page description language that can be printed by the printing apparatus 114, and sends a print processing request to the image conversion unit 103. Print data to be printed is output (S102).

  When receiving a print processing request from the application program 102, the image conversion unit 103 copies the print data in the page description language received at the same time, sends one to the print data image buffer 117 without conversion, and stores the remaining data. The other is analyzed, for example, to convert print data configured in a page description language into bitmap data that represents an image with a dot pattern drawn on a sheet. The process of converting the print data into the bitmap data by the image conversion unit 103 is performed by selecting all the print data conversion requests received from the application program 102 or the request to cancel printing all pages input from the input device 108. The process is continued until it is received via the output unit 112. The converted bitmap data is sequentially output to the page dividing unit 104 (S103).

  When the page division unit 104 receives the bitmap data from the image conversion unit 103, the page division unit 104 divides the bitmap data into print paper sizes requested by the application program 102, and the bitmap data divided for each page (hereinafter, referred to as the bitmap data). (Also described as page data). The page dividing unit 104 sends the page data to the bitmap image buffer 105 in order and stores it (S104).

  The ratio calculation unit 106 reads out the page data stored in the bitmap image buffer 105, and divides the page data into the grid-like blocks 202 of the grid as described with reference to FIG. The ratio calculation unit 106 further calculates and calculates the number of dot patterns in each of the subdivided blocks 202. By comparing the number of dot patterns with the block threshold value, a block in which a dot pattern equal to or greater than the block threshold value is confirmed is set as an effective image portion 203 for each page, and the rest is determined as a blank portion for each page. The occupation ratio of the effective image portion in the page data is calculated by dividing the number of blocks used as the effective image portion 203 by the number of all blocks. The calculated occupation ratio of the effective image portion is output to the print determination unit 107 (S105).

  When the print determination unit 107 receives the occupation ratio of the effective image portion in the page data calculated by the ratio calculation unit 106, the print determination unit 107 compares the effective image portion with the page threshold value stored in the setting value storage unit 109. It is determined whether or not the occupation ratio exceeds the page threshold value (S106).

  When the print determination unit 107 determines that the occupation ratio of the effective image portion exceeds (exceeds) the page threshold (S106: Yes), the print determination unit 107 outputs a print output request for the page. Output to the control unit 113. Upon receiving the print output request, the output control unit 113 outputs the corresponding page of the print data stored in the print data image buffer 117 to the printing device 114 to execute printing (S107).

  The output control unit 113 outputs a discard request for the page of the print data that has been output to the printing apparatus 114 to the print data image buffer 117, and the bitmap image buffer 105 corresponding to the page of the print data. A request for discarding the page data is output to the bitmap image buffer 105 (S112). As a result, the print data for the page for which the discard request is received in the print data image buffer 117 and the page data for the page in the bitmap image buffer 105 are discarded.

  On the other hand, if the print determination unit 107 determines in step S106 that the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is less than (less than) the page threshold (S106: No), the print determination unit 107 displays a preview on the display unit 110. Output a request for display. Upon receiving the preview display request, the display unit 110 reads the page data of the page stored in the bitmap image buffer 105 and displays the preview display unit 301 as shown in FIG. 3 on the monitor 111 (S108). ).

  At the same time, the display unit 110 displays the dialog screen unit 302 shown in FIG. 3 as a preview display unit for the user so that the user can select whether or not to print the page previewed on the monitor 111. It is displayed on the monitor 111 so that it can be seen in front (upside) of 301 (S109).

  The user confirms the content to be printed on the page by using the preview display unit 301 displayed on the monitor 111, determines whether printing is necessary from the confirmed content, and the determination result (determination in S110 and S111). Is input from the input device 108 and output to the selection request output unit 112.

  An outline of the determination by the user will be described. For example, in the screen configuration of a Web page, hyperlinks such as “return (previous page)”, “top”, “next (next page)” are arranged at the top or bottom of the page configuration, Although various banner advertisements are often displayed, it is highly possible that these are unnecessary information when printing the print data on paper, and many of those web pages are printed by the page configuration. Therefore, when printing, a page with only those unnecessary hyperlinks and banner advertisements may be printed out. The user confirms whether or not the preview display unit 301 displayed on the monitor 111 is such a page with only a hyperlink or a banner advertisement. If so, printing is unnecessary, otherwise printing is performed. Is deemed necessary.

It is determined whether or not the user has selected the print execution button 303 from the buttons arranged on the dialog screen unit 302 by the input device 108 (S110). When the print execution button 303 is selected because the preview display unit 301 has confirmed that the page needs to be printed (S110: Yes), the selection request output unit 112 outputs the print output request to the output control unit 113. Output to.
Subsequent determination contents in step S107 and processing contents in step S112 are the same as those described above, and thus redundant description is omitted.

  On the other hand, when the user does not select the print execution button 303 from the buttons arranged on the dialog screen unit 302 by the input device 108 (S110: No), the page printing stop button 304 is next displayed by the input device 108. It is determined whether or not it has been selected (S111). When the page display stop button 304 is selected because the preview display unit 301 confirms that the page does not require printing (S111: Yes), the selection request output unit 112 sends the page to the output control unit 113. Outputs a request to cancel page printing. Subsequent processing contents of S112 are the same as those described above, and therefore redundant description is omitted.

  It is determined whether the printed page is the last page of the print data including the page (S113). If the printed page is the last page of the print data including the page (S113: Yes), the process ends. If the printed page is not the last page (S113: No), it remains in the bitmap image buffer 105. For the page data that has not been printed after the current page, the process returns to the calculation process of the occupation ratio of the effective image portion in step S105, and the process is repeated again from the next page following the page.

  Furthermore, when the print execution button 303 is not selected from the buttons arranged on the dialog screen unit 302 by the input device 108 by the user (S110: No), the page print stop button 304 is not further selected (S111: No) corresponds to the case where the all-page printing stop button 305 is selected by the input device 108. In that case, the selection request output unit 112 outputs an all-page print cancel request to the output control unit 113 and the image conversion unit 103, and the image conversion unit 103 receives the page data notified of the all-page print stop request. The subsequent conversion processing to the bitmap image data is canceled for the print data including the.

  If the bitmap image data is being received by the bitmap image buffer 105 when the all page printing stop request is received, the image conversion unit 103 causes the bitmap image buffer 105 to discard the data being received. The output control unit 113 outputs, to the bitmap image buffer 105, a request for discarding all page data generated from the print data before conversion of page data of the page for which the all page print cancel request has been output. 105 discards the page data for which the discard request has been received. Further, the output control unit 113 outputs to the print data image buffer 117 a request for discarding all page data generated from the print data before conversion of the page data of the page for which the all-page print cancel request is output, and print data The image buffer 117 discards the print data that has received the discard request and ends the processing (S114).

  In the conventional print system, if there are pages with blank pages exceeding the specified value, only an error notification and a dialog screen asking whether or not to continue printing are displayed. If only one page with many blank pages in the middle is skipped, the original print data must be re-edited by the application and output again as image information. There is a problem that time and man-hours are required. In the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment, a preview display is performed, and an image of the displayed page is individually printed or printed. Displays a dialog screen with selection means for selecting content, and the user is not only printing or canceling printing of all images, but also printing and printing for each image on each page. Since to be able to select, it is possible to solve problems of conventional printing systems.

  In other words, according to the first embodiment, when there is a page with a small proportion of the effective image portion and a large amount of blank portion in the print data created or edited by the application, the preview display portion and the print of the corresponding page are printed. A dialog screen asking whether or not it is possible is displayed, and an output result is obtained by not printing only one page with a small proportion of the effective image portion (a lot of blank pages) according to the user's judgment (performing skip printing) Can save time and man-hours.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment described above, the configuration is such that pages with a large number of blank pages and a small occupation ratio of the effective image portion are discarded. However, characters and lines included in one page with many blank pages are skip-printed. If you see the pages before and after the skip print of the print result at a later date, you cannot remember that the skip print was intentionally made, and there is no skip-printed character or line. Problems can occur. That is, when printing, even if it is determined that the page can be deleted because there is no important matter in the page where the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is less than the page threshold value, if the pages before and after that are used later, There may be a problem because it is not possible to determine that it has been deleted because there was no important matter. In the second embodiment described below, for example, the next page is intentionally skip-printed in the lower margin (or the bottom line / bottom margin) immediately before the page deleted by skip printing. By describing the display indicating that the problem has occurred, problems that may occur in the first embodiment can be avoided.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
In the block diagram of FIG. 5, the same components as those in the block diagram of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 5, a page print cancel message storage unit 116 for storing display contents indicating that the next page is intentionally skip printed is provided at the bottom line of the page immediately before the page deleted by skip printing. 103 is connected. The other blocks are the same as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 shows execution and cancellation of printing of the right page, together with a preview display section of the page (right side) whose effective image portion displayed on the monitor 111 is less than the page threshold (right side) and the immediately preceding page (left side). It is a figure which shows an example of the dialog screen to be made.
The first (left) preview display unit 401 displays a page immediately before the page determined by the print determination unit 107 that the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is small, and the second (right) preview display unit 402 Then, the page itself determined by the print determining unit 107 to determine that the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is small is displayed.

  The dialog screen unit 403 is a dialog screen display that asks the user to determine whether or not the preview-displayed page can be printed. The following buttons are displayed together with a message “Do you want to print the right page?”. Has been. The print execution button 404 is a button that is selected (clicked) when the user prints the right-side page that is preview-displayed together with the left-side page. A page printing stop (skip) button 405 is a button that is selected (clicked) when the user stops printing only the right page on which the preview is displayed and prints only the left page (skip printing). is there. The all-page printing cancel (cancel) button 406 is a button that is selected (clicked) when printing of all pages after the displayed page is stopped (all-page printing is canceled).

  When any button in the dialog screen unit 403 is selected (clicked) by the user, the input device 108 outputs to the selection request output unit 112 which button has been selected (clicked). The selection request output unit 112 performs processing corresponding to the button depending on the received content indicating which button has been selected (clicked). When the print execution button 404 is selected (clicked), a page print output request up to a page determined to have a small occupation ratio of the effective image portion is output to the output control unit 113. When the page printing stop (skip) button 405 is selected (clicked), the selection request output unit 112 requests the page printing output to be canceled (data discard request) for a page determined to have a small occupation ratio of the valid image portion. Is output to the output control unit 113, and the message “next page” read from the page print cancellation message storage unit 116 is displayed in the lower margin (or the bottom line / lower column) of the page image data immediately before the page. The request to insert “is canceled” is output to the image conversion unit 103. When the all-page print cancel (cancel) button 406 is selected (clicked), a page print output stop request (data discard request) for a page determined to have a small occupation ratio of the effective image portion is sent to the output control unit 113. At the same time, a request to stop conversion of the subsequent print data into bitmap image data is output to the image conversion unit 103.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a printing result of a page immediately before a page for which printing is skipped when the page printing stop (skip) button 405 in FIG. 6 is selected (clicked).
A print result 501 is a print result of a page immediately before a page that has been canceled due to skip printing. The message 502 is an example of a message displayed in the lower margin (or the bottom line / outer margin) of the image data of the page immediately before the page canceled by skip printing. This message indicates that printing of the next page has been canceled.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a schematic processing content of the image processing apparatus of FIG.
The processing contents from step S201 to S206 in FIG. 8 are the same as the processing contents in steps S101 to S106 in the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  When the print determination unit 107 determines that the occupation ratio of the effective image portion exceeds (exceeds) the page threshold (S206: Yes), the print determination unit 107, for example, stores the bitmap image buffer 105 in the bitmap image buffer 105. By checking whether or not the page data of the immediately preceding page is stored, it is determined whether or not the page is the page data of the first page (S207).

  Since the page data of the immediately preceding page is stored in the bitmap image buffer 105, if the page is not the page data of the first page (S207: No), the output control unit 113 prints the immediately preceding page. Output request is output. Upon receiving the print output request, the output control unit 113 outputs the page data of the previous page of the page stored in the print data image buffer 117 to the printing device 114, and executes printing (S208).

  The output control unit 113 outputs a discard request for the page of the print data that has been output to the printing apparatus 114 to the print data image buffer 117, and the bitmap image buffer 105 corresponding to the page of the print data. A request to discard the page data is output to the bitmap image buffer 105 (S214). As a result, the print data for the page for which the discard request is received in the print data image buffer 117 and the page data for the page in the bitmap image buffer 105 are discarded.

  It is determined whether or not the printed page is the last page of the print data including the page for which the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is determined to exceed the page threshold (S216). When the printed page is the last page of the print data including the page (S216: Yes), the output control unit 113 prints the last page (S217) and finishes outputting to the printing device 114. A request for discarding the last page of print data is output to the print data image buffer 117, and a request for discarding page data in the bitmap image buffer 105 corresponding to the last page of the print data is output to the bitmap image buffer 105. Output (S218), the process is terminated.

  If it is not the last page (S216: No), the process returns to the calculation process of the occupancy ratio of the effective image portion in step S105 for the page data not yet printed after the page remaining in the bitmap image buffer 105. The process is repeated again from the next page following the page.

  Since the page data of the previous page is not stored in the bitmap image buffer 105, if the page is the page data of the first page (S207: Yes), it is determined whether or not it is the last page in step S216. Proceed to

  On the other hand, when the print determination unit 107 determines in step S206 that the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is less than (less than) the page threshold (S206: No), the print determination unit 107 displays a preview on the display unit 110. Output a request for display. Upon receiving the preview display request, the display unit 110 reads the page data of the page stored in the bitmap image buffer 105, and displays the first (left) preview display unit 401 as shown in FIG. And 402 are displayed (S209).

  At the same time, the display unit 110 displays the dialog screen unit 403 as shown in FIG. 6 as the first (to the user) so that the user can select whether or not to print the page previewed on the monitor 111. (Left side) Display on the monitor 111 so that it can be seen in front (upper side) of the preview display parts 401 and 402 (S210).

  The user confirms the contents to be printed on the page and the previous page by using 401 and 402 displayed on the monitor 111, determines whether printing of the page is necessary or not from the confirmed contents, and the determination result ( (Determination in S211 and S212) is input from the input device 108 and output to the selection request output unit 112.

  It is determined whether or not the user has selected the print execution button 404 from the buttons arranged on the dialog screen unit 403 by the input device 108 (S211). If the print execution button 404 is selected and the second (right side) preview display unit 402 is confirmed to be a page that needs printing (S211: Yes), the selection request output unit 112 outputs a print output request. Output to the control unit 113. The subsequent determination contents in step S207, the processing contents in S208, the processing contents in S214, the determination contents in S216, the processing contents in S217, and the processing contents in S218 are the same as those described above, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

  On the other hand, when the user does not select the print execution button 404 from the buttons arranged on the dialog screen unit 403 by the input device 108 (S211: No), the page printing stop button 304 is next displayed by the input device 108. It is determined whether or not it has been selected (S212). If the second (right) preview display unit 402 confirms that the page does not require printing because the page printing stop button 405 has been selected (S212: Yes), the selection request output unit 112 performs output control. A page print cancel request for the page is output to the unit 113.

  When the output control unit 113 receives a page print cancel request, the lower margin (or bottom line / lower column) of the image data of the page immediately before the print canceled page stored in the print data image buffer 117 is received. 7), a message “printing on the next page has been canceled” is inserted as shown in FIG. 7 (S213), and the page immediately before the message is inserted is printed as in step S208 (S208). . The subsequent processing contents of S214 and S214, the determination contents of S216, the processing contents of S217, and the processing contents of S218 are the same as described above, and thus redundant description is omitted.

  Further, when the user does not select the print execution button 404 from the buttons arranged on the dialog screen unit 403 by the input device 108 (S211: No), the page print stop button 405 is not selected (S212: No) corresponds to the case where the all-page printing stop button 406 is selected by the input device 108. In that case, the selection request output unit 112 outputs an all-page print cancel request to the output control unit 113 and the image conversion unit 103, and the image conversion unit 103 receives the page data notified of the all-page print stop request. The subsequent conversion processing to the bitmap image data is canceled for the print data including the.

  If the bitmap image data is being received by the bitmap image buffer 105 when the all page printing stop request is received, the image conversion unit 103 causes the bitmap image buffer 105 to discard the data being received. The output control unit 113 outputs, to the bitmap image buffer 105, a request for discarding all page data generated from the print data before conversion of page data of the page for which the all page print cancel request has been output. 105 discards the page data for which the discard request has been received. Further, the output control unit 113 outputs to the print data image buffer 117 a request for discarding all page data generated from the print data before conversion of the page data of the page for which the all-page print cancel request is output, and print data The image buffer 117 discards the print data that has received the discard request and ends the processing (S215).

  Accordingly, when the output control unit 113 according to the present embodiment receives a page print output request from the print determination unit 107 or a page print output request from the selection request output unit 112, the print determination unit 107 determines the effective image portion. It is determined whether or not the page data of the page for which the occupation ratio is less than the page threshold is the first page. If the page data is not the first page, the page data of the page immediately before the page is printed. Output to the device 114. Further, the output control unit 113 according to the present embodiment determines whether or not the page data of the page for which the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is determined to be less than the page threshold is the first page. Is determined, it is determined whether the page data of the page is the last page. If the page data is the last page, the page data of the page is output to the printing apparatus 114. The print determination unit 107 determines whether the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is less than the page threshold value for the next page data of the page without performing output to the printing apparatus 114. Further, the output control unit 113 according to the present embodiment outputs a discard request to the bitmap image buffer 105 and / or the print data image buffer 117 after reading the page data.

  Also, the bitmap image buffer 105 of the present embodiment stores a plurality of page data, and when the display unit 110 receives a preview display request, the print determination unit 107 determines that the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is the page threshold. The page determined to be less than the value and the previous page are displayed side by side at the same time.

  The image processing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment also includes a page print cancellation message storage unit that stores a message notifying that printing of page data in which the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is less than the page threshold is stopped. 116, the image conversion unit 103 inserts a message in the lower margin of the page immediately before the print cancellation page and outputs the message to the print data image buffer 117.

  As described above, in addition to the effect of the first embodiment, the image processing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment includes a page having a small effective image portion occupation ratio in print data created by an application. In addition to the page, the preview display portion of the immediately preceding page is displayed, so it is possible to more reliably determine whether information necessary for printing exists in the page.

  Further, in the image processing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment, a display indicating that printing of the next page has been canceled is inserted into the lower margin of the page immediately before the page for which page printing has been canceled, so that it becomes a later date. Thus, even when the printed material is used, it is possible to recognize that the skip printing has been performed, and it is possible to avoid the problems and confusion that are caused by the absence of the skip printed characters and lines.

  In the present embodiment, a display indicating that printing of the next page has been canceled is inserted in the lower margin of the display screen of the previous page with respect to the page for which printing of the page has been canceled. It may be as follows. For example, a new blank space created by reducing the vertical dimension of the page data by deleting or reducing the blank portion detected from the bitmap data for the previous page by the image conversion unit 103 with respect to the page for which the page printing has been stopped. The bit map data of the page for which the page printing is stopped may be moved and stored in the portion and handled as one page data.

(Third embodiment)
In the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above, the print data of one piece of image information includes one page with many blank pages and a page whose effective image portion occupancy ratio is less than the page threshold. However, there are cases where the print data of the actual image information includes a plurality of pages in which the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is less than the page threshold. In that case, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, when the number of pages whose effective image portion occupation ratio is less than the page threshold is large, every time such a page appears, A dialog screen asking whether or not to continue printing is displayed each time, and it is necessary to repeat the selection process of whether to continue printing, to perform skip printing, or to cancel printing, and the work is complicated. In addition, when printing is stopped after the dialog screen is displayed and the editing process and the print output process are executed by a complicated application, the work becomes more complicated, and the man-hours required for repeating these processes further increase. . In the third embodiment to be described below, when the print data of the image information includes a plurality of pages whose occupation ratio of the effective image portion is less than the page threshold, the printing is continued or skip printing is performed. A case will be described in which the processing time and man-hours for selecting whether to cancel or to cancel printing are reduced.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image processing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
In the block diagram of FIG. 9, the same components as those in the block diagram of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  The selection screen storage unit 115 in FIG. 9 displays a preview on the monitor 111 in a thumbnail format display in which a plurality of pages having an effective image portion occupation ratio less than the page threshold as shown in FIG. Then, a dialog screen having a selection means for selecting whether to execute printing or cancel printing is stored for each page image displayed in preview. The print determination unit 107 is connected to the bitmap image buffer 105 in order to cause the bitmap image buffer 105 to output the next page when a page determined to have a small occupation ratio of the effective image portion is detected. ing. The other blocks are the same as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG. The input device 108 also inputs a check input to a check box 603 for each page, which will be described later, and a selection request indicating which of the print execution button 604 and all-page printing stop (cancel) button 605 has been selected (clicked). Output to the output unit 112. The selection request output unit 112 outputs a request corresponding to the input content to the output control unit 113 and the image conversion unit 103.

FIG. 10 shows a preview display on the monitor 111 in a thumbnail format display in which thumbnails of a plurality of effective image portions less than the page threshold are displayed in a reduced size list, and execution and cancellation of each page are displayed. It is a figure which shows an example of the dialog screen which selects.
The dialog screen unit 601 arranges the preview screen for all pages determined by the print determination unit 107 as having a small effective image portion occupancy ratio so that the preview screen can be displayed in a thumbnail format and displayed in thumbnail format. This is a dialog screen that asks the user to determine whether or not each preview-displayed page can be printed. Each preview display unit 602 in the following thumbnail format, a check box 603 for checking whether or not each thumbnail can be printed, and a print execution button Buttons 604 and an all-page printing stop (cancel) button 605 are provided.

  The preview display unit 602 is a list screen in which each page of the print data that has been determined by the print determination unit 107 to have a small proportion of the effective image portion is reduced and displayed in thumbnail format. Each page determined to have a small occupation ratio of the effective image portion is displayed in one dialog screen portion 601. When the number of pages determined to have a small occupation ratio of the effective image portion increases and it becomes difficult to interpret the thumbnail display displayed in a reduced size, each page displayed in a reduced size is displayed in a plurality of dialog screen portions 601. It may be divided and displayed.

  A check box 603 is provided at any position on the top, bottom, left, and right close to each preview display unit 602, and is a check unit into which a result of determination (confirmation) on whether printing is possible by the user is input. Only the pages checked by the user by the check box 603 are printed when the print execution button 604 is selected (clicked) later. Pages that are not checked in the check box 603 are not printed even if the print execution button 604 is selected (clicked) later.

  A print execution button 604 is a button selected (clicked) when printing a page checked by the user in the check box 603. The all-page printing stop (cancel) button 605 is a button selected (clicked) when printing of all pages of the print data is stopped (all-page printing is stopped).

  The user confirms each preview display unit 602 in the dialog screen unit 601, and a check mark is given to the check box 603 of the page determined that the printing of the page is unnecessary by the input device 108. . Thereafter, when the print execution button 604 is selected (clicked) by the user, a page to which a check mark is added and other pages are printed at once.

  When the all page print cancel (cancel) button 605 is selected (clicked), the selection request output unit 112 requests all page print output stop requests (including pages determined to have a small occupation ratio of the effective image portion) ( (Data discard request) is output to the output control unit 113.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a schematic processing content of the image processing apparatus of FIG.
Since the processing contents of steps S301 to S306 in FIG. 11 are the same as the processing contents of steps S101 to S106 in the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  If the print determination unit 107 determines in step S206 that the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is less than (less than) the page threshold value (S306: No), the print determination unit 107 stores it in the bitmap image buffer 105. Information indicating that the page needs to be confirmed by the user is added to the stored page data and stored (S307). On the other hand, when the print determination unit 107 determines that the occupation ratio of the effective image portion exceeds (exceeds) the page threshold (S306: Yes), the print determination unit 107 stores the bitmap image buffer 105 in the bitmap image buffer 105. Information indicating that the page is to be printed is added to the stored page data and stored (S308).

  The print determination unit 107 determines whether determination has been completed for all pages of the same print data output from the application program 102 and stored in the bitmap image buffer 105 (S309). If the determination has not been completed for all pages (S309: No), the process returns to step S305, the ratio of effective images is calculated for the next page data, and the ratio exceeds or falls below the threshold value in step S305. The process of adding and saving information indicating whether the page is to be printed according to the determination result or the page to be confirmed by the user is repeated until all the print data is processed. The page data is stored in the bitmap image buffer 105.

  When all the page data of the same print data is stored in the bitmap image buffer 105 with information indicating whether it is a page to be printed as described above or a page that needs confirmation by the user (S309: Yes) ), The print determination unit 107 determines that the user's confirmation is required because the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is determined to be less than the page threshold in the stored page data (blank page). It is determined whether or not there is (data) (S310).

  In the stored page data, there is no page (blank data) that is determined to require user confirmation because the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is determined to be less than the page threshold, and all page data is stored. If it is a page to be printed (S310: No), a print output request for all pages is output to the output control unit 113. The output control unit 113 outputs the print data of all pages stored in the print data image buffer 117 to the printing device 114, and executes printing (S315).

  The output control unit 113 outputs, to the print data image buffer 117, a request for discarding the print data of the pages that have been output to the printing apparatus 114, among the print data stored in the print data image buffer 117, and also bitmap image. A discard request is also output for page data corresponding to the page in the buffer 105 that has been output. The print data image buffer 117 discards the print data of the requested page, and the bitmap image buffer 105 discards the requested page data (S316).

  When the stored page data includes a page (blank data) that is determined to require user confirmation because the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is determined to be less than the page threshold (S310: Yes). The print determination unit 107 outputs a preview display request to the display unit 110. The display unit 110 reads out the dialog screen unit 601 shown in FIG. 10 from the selection screen storage unit 115 and also reads out the page data of all the pages that need to be confirmed stored in the bitmap image buffer 105, and monitors 111. Then, the dialog screen unit 601 in the thumbnail format in which the preview display unit 602 reduced in size is arranged at a predetermined position in the dialog screen unit 601 is displayed (S311).

  Further, the display unit 110 causes the monitor 111 to display a check box 603 for checking whether or not printing can be performed as shown in FIG. 10 for each preview display unit 602 reduced at the same time (S312).

  The selection request output unit 112 determines whether or not printing is necessary for all the preview display units 602 of each reduced page in the dialog screen unit 601 displayed on the monitor 111, and uses the input device 108. When the input of the determination result to the check box 603 for each page is completed, the print execution button 604 is selected (clicked) using the input device 108 or the all-page printing stop (cancel) button 605 is selected (clicked). Is determined and notified to the selection request output unit 112 (S313).

  When the user selects print execution 604 (S313: Yes), the selection request output unit 112 outputs a page print cancel request to the output control unit 113 for pages that are not checked in the check box 603. The output control unit 113 outputs a print data discard request for the page to the print data image buffer 117 for the page that has received the page print cancel request, and also requests the bitmap image buffer 105 to discard the page data for the page. The print data image buffer 117 and the bitmap image buffer 105 discard the requested page data (S314).

  The selection request output unit 112 outputs a print output request to the output control unit 113 for all remaining page data. Receiving the print output request, the output control unit 113 sequentially outputs the print data stored in the print data image buffer 117 to the printing apparatus 114 to execute printing (S315).

  The output control unit 113 outputs a request for discarding the page data that has been printed to the print data image buffer 117 and the bitmap image buffer 105, and the print data image buffer 117 and the bitmap image buffer 105 receive the requested page data. Discard and end the process (S316).

  Therefore, in the image processing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment, the print determination unit 107 outputs a bitmap image buffer before outputting a preview display request for page data in which the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is less than the page threshold. The fact that the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is determined to be less than the page threshold value is output to the page data in 105 as “blank data” that requires user confirmation, and is sent to the selection screen storage unit 115. The stored dialog screen 601 includes an area for displaying a plurality of page screens in a reduced size, and a selection means (check box 603, print execution button 604) for selecting whether to execute printing for each displayed page or cancel printing. All-page printing stop button 605), and display unit 110 selects a dialog screen when receiving a preview display request. Reads from the storage unit 115, reads the entire page data blank data from the bitmap image buffer 105, and inserted into the dialog screen 601 all to shrink display the page screen, the preview displayed on the monitor 111.

  In the image processing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment, the dialog screen 601 stored in the selection screen storage unit 115 prints the image of the page for each piece of blank data displayed in a reduced size. The selection request output unit 112 includes a selection unit (a check box 603, a print execution button 604, and an all page print cancel button 605) for selecting whether to cancel printing or to stop printing all pages of an image. Depending on the selected content, a page print output request, a page print output stop request, or an all page print output stop request is output to the output control unit 113 for each blank page data.

  As described above, in this embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, a page with a small occupation ratio of the effective image portion in the print data is set as a blank data page, and the thumbnail screen is reduced in the dialog screen portion. Since the preview of the list can be displayed, the user can select whether or not to print each page of the blank data at a time. Therefore, even when the number of pages in which the occupation ratio of the effective image portion is less than the page threshold is large, the user can collectively determine whether or not each page needs to be printed.

  In the present embodiment, for each page in which the occupation ratio of the effective image portion in the print data is small, the determination process for whether to execute printing or not for each page is a batch process. For example, by changing the contents of the dialog screen part, unnecessary pages in the print data can be selected and discarded at once, and the editing process and the print output process by the application can be processed at once. .

In the first to third embodiments, the case where the image processing apparatus of the present embodiment is applied to a printing apparatus (printer) has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can also be applied to an MFP which is a device in which those functions and a printer function are combined.
In the first to third embodiments, the monitor 111 and the input device 108 are separately described as devices for displaying and inputting information notified to the user. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an operation panel in which the display panel and the touch sensor are integrated may be used.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Calculation in which the ratio calculation unit 106 and the print determination unit 107 determine the effective image portion and the blank portion for each page from the page data received from the bitmap image buffer 105 and calculate the occupation ratio of the effective image portion in the page. It is an image figure which shows an example of a method. It is a figure which shows an example of the dialog screen which is displayed with the preview display part displayed on the monitor 111, and selects execution and cancellation of printing. 2 is a flowchart showing a schematic processing content of the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the outline of the image processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment concerning this invention. A dialog screen for selecting whether to execute or cancel printing of the right page, together with a preview display section of the page (right side) where the occupation ratio of the effective image portion displayed on the monitor 111 is less than the page threshold (right side) and the immediately preceding page (left side). It is a figure which shows an example. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a printing result of a page immediately before a page for which printing is skipped when a page printing stop (skip) button 405 in FIG. 6 is selected (clicked). 6 is a flowchart showing a schematic processing content of the image processing apparatus of FIG. 5. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the outline of the image processing apparatus of 3rd Embodiment concerning this invention. A dialog in which thumbnails of thumbnails displayed in a list are displayed in a thumbnail format with a reduction ratio of a plurality of effective image portions less than the page threshold, and are displayed for selection to execute or cancel printing of each page. It is a figure which shows an example of a screen. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a schematic processing content of the image processing apparatus of FIG. 9. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

101 image processing apparatus,
102 application programs,
103 image converter,
104 page division,
105 bitmap image buffer,
106 ratio calculation unit,
107 print determination unit,
108 input devices,
109 Set value storage unit,
110 display unit,
111 monitor,
112 selection request output unit,
113 output control unit,
114 printing device,
115 selection screen storage unit,
116 page print cancel message storage,
117 print data image buffer,
201 page data,
201 A grid-like block,
203 blocks determined to be effective image portions,
301, 602 preview display section,
302, 403, 601 Dialog screen part,
303, 404, 604 Print execution button,
304, 405 Page printing stop (skip) button,
305, 406, 605 Cancel all page printing (Cancel) button,
401 First (left side) preview display section,
402 second (right side) preview display section;
501 Print result,
502 messages,
603 Check box.

Claims (4)

In an image processing apparatus that converts printable image data based on input image information,
A dividing unit that divides the converted image data into predetermined regions;
A ratio calculating unit that calculates a proportion of the effective image area in the area of the image data divided by the dividing unit;
A determination unit for determining whether the ratio calculated by the ratio calculation unit is less than a predetermined value;
When the determination unit determines that the value is below a predetermined value, the divided image data is displayed as a preview, and the divided image data is output as it is based on the input selection information, or is processed and output. An image processing apparatus comprising: an output control unit that performs or switches. The output control unit determines whether the page data of the page for which the occupancy ratio of the effective image area is determined to be less than a page threshold value by the determination unit is the first page, and then determines the page. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein whether or not the page data is a final page is determined. The output control unit, when the page data of the page determined by the determination unit that the occupation ratio of the effective image area is less than the page threshold is the last page, determines the page data of the page. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image processing apparatus outputs the image. When the page data of the page for which the occupation ratio of the effective image area is determined to be less than the page threshold by the determination unit is not the last page, the output control unit determines the page data of the next page. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the determination unit determines whether the occupation ratio of the effective image area is less than a page threshold value.

Images