JP2009049595A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing a working time from being uselessly used by preventing preview display taking time from being erroneously executed by an erroneous operation of an operator. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus 100 includes an image file selecting part 20 for selecting an image file stored in a storing part 15, a preview displaying part 20 for displaying content of the image file selected by the image file selecting part 20 as a preview, and a preview display key 20 for operating the preview displaying part 20. The image forming apparatus 100 also includes a notifying part 20 for displaying a warning before operating the preview displaying part 20 when the capacity of the image file selected by the image file selecting part 20 is larger than a prescribed capacity when the preview display key 20 is operated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention includes an image file selection unit that selects and operates an image file stored in a storage unit, a preview display unit that displays a preview of the content of the image file selected by the image file selection unit, and the preview display unit. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a preview display key to be operated.

  An image forming apparatus equipped with a storage unit such as a large-capacity hard disk not only reads an image with a scanner or outputs image data input from a personal computer, but also stores the image data as an image file. Can be stored in the department. The operator can select and call an image file stored in the storage unit and execute printing of the image file.

  Such an image forming apparatus is configured to be able to display a preview of an image file so that an operator can easily select a desired image file from the storage unit. The operator can confirm the necessary image by preview-displaying the content of the selected image file on the display unit constituted by a liquid crystal display or the like.

  By the way, the display unit is configured to display a preview based on the image data developed in the video RAM. Therefore, when the load necessary to expand image data of the image file to the video RAM becomes large, such as when there are a large number of image files to be previewed or when the capacity of the image file is large, a long time is required for the preview display. The operability and productivity of the image forming apparatus are reduced.

  Therefore, as a technique that can prevent unnecessary preview display, Patent Document 1 discloses a host computer as a technique that eliminates unnecessary image preview display and prevents a decrease in operability and productivity of the image forming apparatus. In addition to means for printing the received print information on a recording medium, the print information is directly read from the removable external storage medium without using a host computer through the external storage medium interface. In a printing apparatus having means for analyzing and printing directly read print information, means for analyzing the directly read print information and displaying a print image preview, and means for transmitting user operations Modify the above bookmark information by means of setting bookmark information and user print action Means for reading the bookmark information existing in the external storage medium into an internal storage area, and means for displaying the preview based on the bookmark information stored in the internal storage area. There has been proposed a printing apparatus having a display control means for performing display.

In the printing apparatus proposed in Patent Document 1, since the operator can perform preview display of an image file selected from bookmark information, preview display of an image file that is not selected can be prevented, and the preview display can be performed. It is possible to prevent waste of necessary time.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-1280

  However, in the printing apparatus proposed in Patent Document 1, if the image file is set in the bookmark information, the operator can freely select the image file, and the content of the selected image file is displayed as a preview. Therefore, when the operator makes a wrong selection, work time is wasted.

  In order to preview the contents of the image file, it is necessary to perform predetermined image processing on the image data of the image file. However, when the capacity of the image file is large, the image processing requires a long time.

  Accordingly, when the size of an image file selected by the operator as an image file to be preview-displayed is large, the operator will notice a selection error after a long time and waste a long working time. Further, even if the operator notices an image file selection mistake during the image processing for preview display, it is necessary to wait until the image processing is completed, so that a long working time is wasted.

  In addition, when it is known in advance that a long time can be waited for the preview display, an operator who is trying to check the contents of the image file just in case should display a preview display that wastes a long working time. A desired process such as printing of the image file can be performed without performing the process.

  In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can prevent time-consuming preview display from being erroneously executed due to an operator's erroneous operation and prevent waste of work time. It is in.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the first characteristic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is that the image file stored in the storage unit is selected and operated as described in claim 1 of the document of the claims. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image file selection unit; a preview display unit that displays a preview of the content of the image file selected by the image file selection unit; and a preview display key that operates the preview display unit, When a preview display key is operated, a notification unit is provided for displaying a warning before operating the preview display unit when the volume of the image file selected by the image file selection unit is larger than a predetermined volume. It is in.

  According to the above-described configuration, even if an image file that has a large capacity and takes a long time to display a preview is erroneously selected as an image file to be displayed by the operator, a warning is displayed by the notification unit before the preview display is executed. Therefore, an erroneous preview display can be prevented.

  In the second feature configuration, as described in claim 2, in addition to the first feature configuration described above, the notification unit issues a warning when the total capacity of the image file is larger than a predetermined capacity. It is in.

  According to the above-described configuration, since it is not necessary to analyze the content configuration of the image file, it is possible to reduce the load required to determine whether or not to perform warning display by the notification unit.

  In the third feature configuration, as described in claim 3, in addition to the first feature configuration described above, the notification unit has an average capacity per piece of content included in the image file of a predetermined capacity. It is in the point of warning notification when larger.

  When an image file is composed of a plurality of contents, the operator can often determine whether the image file is a desired image file by confirming the preview display of several contents.

  Therefore, the preview display unit rarely displays all the contents of the image file as a preview. In such a case, it is preferable to determine the load on the preview display unit based on the average capacity per image file content.

  According to the above configuration, when the substantial load when previewing the content included in the image file is large, a warning notification by the notification unit can be performed.

  In the fourth feature configuration, as described in claim 4, in addition to the first feature configuration described above, the notification unit has a capacity of a first content included in the image file larger than a predetermined capacity. It is in the point of warning notification when it is large.

  Many image forming apparatuses are configured such that when previewing the content of an image file, the first content is previewed first, and the second and subsequent content is displayed based on the operation of the operator. .

  According to the above-described configuration, a warning notification can be given by the notification unit when the initial load when previewing the content included in the image file is large.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that can prevent a time-consuming preview display from being erroneously executed due to an operator's erroneous operation and prevent waste of working time. I can do it now.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a color multifunction peripheral as an example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the color multifunction peripheral 100 adopting the electrophotographic method includes an image reading unit 110 that photoelectrically converts a document image from a document or the like placed on a document feeding table 111 and reads it as digital image data, An image output unit 120 that forms a toner image, transfers the toner image onto a sheet conveyed from the sheet storage unit 400, fixes the sheet on the sheet, and outputs the image; a network interface unit 130 that communicates with a personal computer or the like via a LAN; A facsimile communication unit 140 that communicates with a facsimile or the like via a line, functional blocks such as an operation unit 200 that is a man-machine interface of the color multifunction peripheral 100, and a system control unit 30 that performs overall control of these functional blocks are provided. Configured.

  The image reading unit 110 includes an automatic document feeder that sequentially feeds documents placed on the document feeder 111, a light source that illuminates the document, and reflection from the document that enters through a plurality of mirrors and lenses. An image sensor such as a CCD that photoelectrically converts light and reads an original image as digital image data is provided, and an image reading operation is controlled by the image reading control unit 11.

  The image output unit 120 includes a photoconductor, a charging device that uniformly charges the surface of the photoconductor, and an exposure device that scans a laser beam to expose the surface of the photoconductor to form an electrostatic latent image. A photosensitive unit provided with a developing device that visualizes an electrostatic latent image as a toner image is provided for each of the M, C, Y, and K toner colors, and the toner images formed by the photosensitive units are superimposed on each other. The toner image is transferred to a sheet conveyed from the sheet container 400, and the toner image is melted and fixed on the sheet for output. The image forming operation of the image output unit 120 is controlled by the image output control unit 12.

  The network interface unit 130 is configured by the network control unit 13 including a microcomputer or the like disposed on a substrate, and is an image file made up of digital image data directly with a personal computer or the like via a LAN or attached to a mail. Send and receive.

  The fax communication unit 140 includes the communication control unit 14 including a microcomputer or the like disposed on the board, and transmits and receives image files by facsimile communication via a public line.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the operation unit 200 displays operation modes such as the currently set number of prints and print density of the color multifunction peripheral 100, and further includes operation keys that are software keys for changing and setting the operation mode. A liquid crystal display unit 21 for displaying the arranged operation screen and the like, a touch panel 22 which is installed so as to overlap with the liquid crystal display unit 21 and detects pressing of a software key, a printing lamp which is turned on during the copy mode operation, and a fax transmission mode operation The operation control unit 20 is configured to include a status display LED 23 that notifies the operation mode of the color multifunction peripheral 100 by turning off and lighting, and an operation key including a hardware key 24, such as a transmission lamp that is sometimes lit.

  The operation unit 200 has, as hardware keys 24, numeric keys 24a used for inputting the number of prints, print density, and the like, a start key 24b that causes the color multifunction peripheral 100 to start printing, fax transmission, and mail transmission, and a copy. A copy key 24c for operating the color MFP 100 in a mode, a transmission key 24d for operating the color MFP 100 in a fax transmission mode or a mail transmission mode, and a color MFP in a document box mode for storing digital image data in a document box A document box key 25 or the like for operating is provided.

  The document box includes a storage unit 15 including a large-capacity hard disk and stores digital image data read by the image reading unit 110 as an image file. One or a plurality of areas (hereinafter referred to as “user boxes”) are set in the storage unit 15, and a capacity capable of storing an owner and an image file is set for each user box.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the system control unit 30 includes an image reading control unit 11, an image output control unit 12, a network control unit 13, a communication control unit 14, an operation control unit 20, and a storage unit 15 via a communication bus. It is connected.

  Each control unit includes a microcomputer having a built-in memory such as a ROM and a RAM, and peripheral circuits. The system control unit 30 outputs a control signal via a communication bus and controls the other control units in an integrated manner. The control unit causes each control target to execute a predetermined operation based on the control signal.

  The operation control unit 20 includes a microcomputer 20a, a VRAM 20b that develops screen data to be displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 21 as peripheral circuits, an input interface circuit 20c of the touch panel 22, a drive circuit 20d of the status display LED 23, and operation keys. 24 input interface circuits 20e and the like.

  When the hardware key 24 that is an operation key is pressed, the operation control unit 20 detects the pressed hardware key 24 via the input interface circuit 20e, and the operation key is a software key that is an operation key arranged on the operation screen or the like. Is pressed, the software key pressed through the touch panel 22 and the interface circuit 20c is detected, and information on the detected operation key is output to the system control unit 30.

  Further, the operation control unit 20 turns off the status display LED 20e via the drive circuit 20d based on a control signal from the system control unit 30, reads out the image data stored in the ROM, and develops it in the VRAM 20b. An operation screen on which software keys are arranged is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 21.

  When the document box key 25 is pressed by the operator, the system control unit 30 outputs a control signal to each control unit in order to operate the color multifunction peripheral 100 in the document box mode.

  The operation control unit 20 to which the control signal is input displays a document box mode operation screen (hereinafter referred to as “document box screen”) on the liquid crystal display unit 21. As shown in FIG. 5, the document box screen includes a plurality of screens that can be switched by a “user box” tab, a “job box” tab, an “external memory” tab, and a “fax box” tab.

  When the “user box” tab of the document box screen is pressed and selected by the operator, a screen for managing user boxes in the storage unit 15 (hereinafter referred to as “user box screen”) is displayed by the operation control unit 20. Is done.

  Hereinafter, saving of an image file in a user box set in the storage unit 15 as a document box will be described.

  When the operator sets a document on the image reading unit 110 and presses the document box key 25, a user box screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 21, as shown in FIG. On the user box screen, the serial number assigned to the user box set in the storage unit 15, the name of the user box, the owner of the user box, the usage rate of the user box (actually with respect to the capacity capable of storing the image file) Are displayed in a list.

  When the operator presses and selects a line including the name of the user box for storing the image file and then presses the “save document” key, the image reading unit 110 reads the document as shown in FIG. A software key corresponding to the operation mode such as the type of original and the reading density is arranged, and a screen on which each operation mode can be set (hereinafter referred to as “reading setting screen”) is displayed.

  When the operator sets the operation mode on the reading setting screen as necessary and then presses the start key 24b, the image reading unit 110 reads the original image, and the read digital image data is stored. The image file is saved in the user box selected by the operator.

  Hereinafter, printing of an image file stored in a user box set in the storage unit 15 as a document box will be described.

  When the operator presses the document box key 25, a user box screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 21, as shown in FIG.

  When the operator presses and selects a line containing the name of the user box in which the image file to be printed is stored and then presses the “Open” key, the selected user box is displayed as shown in FIG. A screen for selecting a saved image file (hereinafter referred to as “image file selection screen”) is displayed.

  On the image file selection screen, a check box is set for the operator to select a desired image file, the name of the image file saved in the user box, the save date and time of the image file, and the total capacity of the image file. Is listed.

  When the operator depresses the check box and selects an image file to be printed and then depresses the “print” key, as shown in FIG. 8, as shown in FIG. A screen (hereinafter referred to as “print setting screen”) on which an operation mode such as duplex printing can be set is displayed.

  That is, the image file selection unit of the present invention is realized by one function of the operation control unit 20, and the image file stored in the storage unit 15 is selected and operated by the image file selection unit.

  When the operator sets the operation mode on the print setting screen as necessary and then presses the start key 24b, the image output unit 140 executes printing based on the digital image data of the selected image file. Is done.

  Hereinafter, fax transmission or mail transmission of an image file stored in a user box set in the storage unit 15 as a document box will be described.

  When the operator presses the document box key 25, a user box screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 21, as shown in FIG.

  When the operator presses and selects the line containing the name of the user box in which the image file to be transmitted is stored and then presses the “Open” key, an image file selection screen is displayed as shown in FIG. Is done.

  When a line containing the name of an image file to be transmitted is pressed and selected by the operator and then the “Send” key is pressed, the destination of the selected image file can be specified as shown in FIG. A screen (hereinafter referred to as “transmission designation screen”) is displayed.

  When the operator designates the destination on the transmission designation screen and then presses the start key 24b, the selected image file is faxed or mailed to the destination designated by the communication control unit 14 or the network control unit 13. The

  As described above, when the image file stored in the storage unit 15 is printed, faxed, or mailed by the color multifunction peripheral 100, the operator refers to the name of the image file from the list displayed on the image file selection screen. Thus, a desired image file is selected.

  The color multifunction peripheral 100 is configured to be able to display a preview of the contents of the image file stored in the storage unit 15, and the number of image files stored in the storage unit 15 increases or after the image file is saved. Even if the name of the desired image file is forgotten due to the passage of time, the operator can definitely select the desired image file.

  Hereinafter, a preview display of an image file stored in a user box set in the storage unit 15 as a document box will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 10A, the image file selection screen displayed when printing or transmitting the image file stored in the user box displays the contents of the image file stored in the user box on the liquid crystal display unit 21. Has a “Preview” key for displaying a preview.

  When the operator presses and selects the name line of the image file to be previewed and presses the “Preview” key, the digital image data of the image file read from the storage unit 15 is read by the operation control unit 20. The image file is expanded on the VRAM 20 b and the content of the image file is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 21.

  In other words, the preview display unit and the preview display key of the present invention are realized by one function of the operation control unit 20, the content of the image file selected on the image file selection screen is previewed by the preview display unit, and the preview is displayed by the preview display key. The display is activated.

  By the way, the operation control unit 20 reads the selected image file from the storage unit 15, rasterizes it as necessary, and further performs a thinning process to adjust the size to a size that can be displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 21. And the preview is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 21. Therefore, when the capacity of the file is large, the load related to the preview display increases, and it takes time until the content of the image file is displayed as a preview.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10B, when the “preview” key is pressed, the operation control unit 20 previews when the capacity of the image file selected on the image file selection screen is larger than a predetermined capacity. Before starting the display operation, a screen (hereinafter referred to as “warning screen”) for confirming to the operator that the preview display of the selected image file takes time is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 21. Composed.

  Specifically, the operation control unit 20 issues a warning when the average capacity per piece of content included in the selected image file is larger than a predetermined capacity. When the “OK” key arranged on the warning screen is pressed by the operator, the operation control unit 20 starts a preview display operation. When the “cancel” key arranged on the warning screen is pressed by the operator, the preview display operation is canceled by the operation control unit 20 and the image file selection screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 21 instead of the warning screen. .

  That is, the notification unit of the present invention is realized by one function of the operation control unit 20, and when the “Preview” key is operated, the total capacity of the image file selected on the image file selection screen is larger than the predetermined capacity. The notification unit is activated and a warning is displayed before the preview display unit is activated.

  Hereinafter, the preview display operation of the image file by the operation control unit 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When an image file stored in the storage unit 15 is to be printed or transmitted, when the operator presses the document box key 25, the operation control unit 20 displays a user box screen on the liquid crystal display unit 21. (S1).

  When a user box in which an image file to be printed or transmitted is selected by the operator, the operation control unit 20 displays an image file selection screen on the liquid crystal display unit 21, and the image files stored in the user box are listed as a list. Displayed (S2, S3).

  When the operator selects and selects a desired image file from the list and presses the “Preview” key, the operation control unit 20 calculates and presets an average capacity per content included in the image file. It compares with the predetermined capacity which is done (S4, S5, S6).

  If the average capacity is equal to or less than the predetermined capacity, the operation control unit 20 displays a preview of the content of the image file (S6, S9). If the average capacity is larger than the predetermined capacity, the operation control unit 20 displays a warning screen on the liquid crystal display unit 21. When the operator presses the OK key, the image file content is previewed, and the operator presses the cancel key. Then, an image file selection screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 21 instead of the warning screen (S6, S7, S8, S9).

  Another embodiment will be described below.

  In the above-described embodiment, the notification unit has been described as an alarm notification when the average capacity per piece of content included in the image file selected on the image file selection screen is larger than a predetermined capacity. A warning may be issued when the total capacity is larger than a predetermined capacity.

  In the above-described embodiment, the notification unit has been described as an alarm notification when the average capacity per piece of content included in the image file selected on the image file selection screen is larger than a predetermined capacity. A warning notification may be given when the capacity of the first content included is larger than a predetermined capacity.

  In the above-described embodiment, the image forming apparatus of the present invention has been described using the color multifunction peripheral 100. However, the image forming apparatus can be applied to any image forming apparatus configured to be able to display a preview of an image file. Needless to say.

  In the above embodiment, the image file selection screen displays a list of image files stored in the user box. However, as shown in FIG. 11, thumbnails of image files may be displayed side by side. . In this case, the operator does not need to perform a preview display for the image file that can be confirmed by the thumbnail, and can eliminate unnecessary time related to the preview display caused by an operation error more efficiently.

  Each of the above-described embodiments is merely an example of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited by the description. The specific configuration of each part is appropriately selected within the scope of the effects of the present invention. It goes without saying that changes can be designed.

Flowchart for explaining preview display operation by operation control unit Illustration of color multifunction device Illustration of the operation unit Explanatory drawing of the operation control unit User box screen illustration Illustration of the scan setting screen Illustration of the image file selection screen Illustration of print setting screen Illustration of the transmission designation screen (A) is an explanatory diagram of an image file selection screen, (b) is an explanatory diagram of a warning screen Explanatory drawing of the image file selection screen in another embodiment

Explanation of symbols

15: Storage unit 20: Image file selection unit, preview display unit, preview display key, notification unit (operation control unit)
21: Liquid crystal display unit 22: Touch panel 25: Document box key 30: System control unit 100: Color multifunction peripheral

Claims (4)

An image file selection unit that selects and operates an image file stored in the storage unit, a preview display unit that displays a preview of the content of the image file selected by the image file selection unit, and a preview display that operates the preview display unit An image forming apparatus having a key,
When the preview display key is operated, when the capacity of the image file selected by the image file selection section is larger than a predetermined capacity, a notification section is provided for displaying a warning before operating the preview display section. Image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit issues a warning when the total capacity of the image file is larger than a predetermined capacity.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit issues a warning when an average capacity per piece of content included in the image file is larger than a predetermined capacity.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit issues a warning notification when a capacity of a first content included in the image file is larger than a predetermined capacity.

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