JP2009225155A - Image forming apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus and program, for performing shift paper ejection by every set of pages even without setting splitting attributes. <P>SOLUTION: When a user specifies the number of pages of data for printing for performing the shift paper ejection, a page specification part 28 instructs the number of pages for performing the shift paper ejection to a shift instruction part 30, the shift instruction part 30 monitors the number of pages on which printing is executed, and determines whether the monitored number of pages matches to the specified number of pages. When the numbers of pages match to each other, the shift instruction part 30 outputs shift paper ejection instruction information to a shift paper ejection part 32 to shift an ejection position of printed paper. This operation is performed until printing of all the pages of data for printing ends. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to distinguish printed matter discharged from a printing apparatus such as a printer for each print job, shift discharge is performed in which printed paper is shifted for each print job and discharged. Patent Document 1 below discloses an information processing apparatus that performs shift discharge for each set of pages in accordance with a division attribute for dividing a document file into a plurality of sets of pages. In the technique of this patent document 1, when a document file has a division attribute, shift discharge is performed for each set of pages, and a document file that does not have a division attribute is shifted and discharged for each document file as before. Will do.

JP-A-2005-71140

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming program that can perform shift paper discharge for each set of pages without setting a division attribute.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention provides a page designating unit for designating a page of printing data, and shift discharge instruction information based on the page designated by the page designating unit. And a shift discharge unit that discharges the printed sheet to a different position for each page specified by the shift discharge instruction information.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1, when an insertion page is inserted into a printed sheet, shift discharge is executed by the number of pages not including the insertion page. To do.

  The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1, when an insertion page is inserted into a printed sheet, shift discharge is executed by the number of pages including the insertion page. To do.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, when the printing data is printed on both sides or a plurality of pages are printed on a single sheet, the designated printing is performed. The sheet discharge position is changed after the sheet including the data page is discharged.

  The invention of the image forming apparatus according to claim 5 is a copy number designating unit for designating the number of copies of printing data, a shift command unit for outputting shift discharge instruction information for each number of copies designated by the number of copy designating unit, Shift paper discharge means for discharging printed sheets to different positions for each number of copies designated by the shift paper discharge instruction information.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the invention according to any one of the first to fifth aspects further binds the set of sheets for each set of sheets discharged from the shift discharge unit to different positions. It comprises a stapler means.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming program for causing a computer to output shift discharge instruction information based on a page designating unit for designating a page of print data, the page designated by the page designating unit, The means is made to function as shift instruction means for discharging printed sheets to different positions for each page instructed by the shift discharge instruction information.

  An image forming program according to an eighth aspect of the invention outputs a shift discharge instruction information based on the number of copies designated by the number of copies designating means for designating the number of copies of printing data, and the number of copies designated by the number of copies designation means. The paper means is caused to function as shift instruction means for discharging printed paper to different positions for each number of copies specified by the shift discharge instruction information.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the position where the discharge position is shifted can be specified by the number of pages as compared with the case where the present configuration is not provided.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, compared to the case where the present configuration is not provided, shift discharge can be performed without being affected by the insertion page.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to perform shift discharge in consideration of the insertion page as compared with the case where this configuration is not provided.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when double-sided printing or printing of a plurality of pages on one sheet is performed as compared with the case where the present configuration is not provided, the sheet including the page is shifted when the odd-numbered pages are shifted and discharged. The discharge position can be shifted when the is discharged.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the position where the discharge position is shifted can be designated by the number of copies of the document as compared with the case where this configuration is not provided.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, binding can be performed for each set of sheets that have been shifted and discharged, compared to the case where the present configuration is not provided.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming program capable of designating the position where the discharge position is shifted by the number of pages as compared with the case where this configuration is not provided.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming program capable of designating the position where the discharge position is shifted by the number of copies of the document as compared with the case where the present configuration is not provided.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as an embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. 1, the image forming apparatus includes a control unit 10, a memory 12, an input / display device 14, a document input device 16, a communication device 18, a printing device 20, a paper discharge device 22, a stapler unit 24, and a storage device 26. It is configured.

  The control unit 10 is configured to include a central processing unit (for example, a CPU can be used) and a program for controlling the processing operation of the CPU, and the CPU executes the program to realize each function described later.

  The memory 12 is composed of a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), and the like, and stores the program and also functions as a work area for the CPU.

  The input / display device 14 includes a touch panel and the like, and displays an input screen and is used by a user to input an operation instruction and the like. Various setting values of the image forming apparatus are also displayed. Note that the input and display methods are not particularly limited, but the input may be performed using keys, the display may be performed using a liquid crystal display, and the input and display may be performed using separate devices.

  The document input device 16 is composed of, for example, an image reading device such as a scanner, and acquires data for printing by reading a document or the like. Here, the print data includes an electronic document (document data), image data, and the like. Note that the print data may be acquired via the communication device 18 described later.

  The communication device 18 is realized by an appropriate communication interface such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port or a network port, and exchanges data with a client computer (PC) or a host computer.

  The printing apparatus 20 includes a printer engine and the like, and prints the printing data. The printed paper is discharged to the paper discharge device 22.

  The paper discharge device 22 is a device that receives paper on which printing data is printed from the printing device 20 and performs shift paper discharge. Here, the shift paper discharge means that paper is discharged to a paper discharge tray or the like for holding printed paper by shifting the paper discharge position. In the present embodiment, shift discharge is performed by shifting the discharge position for each page designated by the user.

  The stapler unit 24 is a device that binds the set of sheets for each set of sheets discharged to different positions by the sheet discharge device 22.

  The storage device 26 is configured by a hard disk device (HDD) or the like, and stores printing data acquired by the document input device 16 or the like.

  FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus includes a page designation unit 28, a shift instruction unit 30, and a shift paper discharge unit 32.

  The page designating unit 28 is realized by the control unit 10 and the input / display device 14, and is a sheet that shifts the discharge position in the shift paper discharge unit 32 based on the number of pages or the number of copies input from the input / display device 14 by the user. Specifies the number of sets (number of printed paper pages) or the number of copies. Here, the set of sheets includes the case of one sheet. In this embodiment, as the shift discharge method, only one page or the number of pages to be shifted is designated, the shift discharge is repeatedly performed for each page or the number of pages, and the number of pages or the number of copies to be shifted. There is a method in which all are designated, and shift discharge is performed with the designated number of pages or number of copies. When all the pages or the number of copies to be shifted are designated, the number of pages or the number of copies corresponding to the number of times of the shift ejection is designated. In addition, it is possible to set a condition as to whether or not to include the number of inserted pages inserted into a printed sheet in the number of sheets. Note that the number of pages that the user inputs from the input / display device 14 may be the number of pages of printing data or the number of pages of printed paper.

  The shift instruction unit 30 is realized by the control unit 10 and outputs shift discharge instruction information based on the number of pages or the number of printed sheets designated by the page designation unit 28. The shift paper discharge instruction information is information for instructing the number of pages or the number of copies of the paper to be shifted by the shift paper discharge unit 32.

  The shift paper discharge unit 32 is realized by the printing device 20 and the paper discharge device 22, and discharges printed paper to different positions for each page number or number of papers instructed by the shift paper discharge instruction information. At this time, each set of sheets discharged to different positions may be bound by the stapler unit 24 and then discharged.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B show an example in which shift discharge is performed in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3A shows an example in which the shift paper discharge is repeatedly performed for each number of pages designated by the user. In this case, only one page is specified. FIG. 3B shows an example in which the sheet is shifted and discharged with the number of pages specified by the user. In this case, the number of pages is designated as many times as the number of times of shift discharge.

  In FIG. 3A, the number of pages of printing data is 30 pages, and the shift discharge is designated to be repeated every 10 pages. The page designating unit 28 instructs the shift instruction unit 30 to repeat the shift discharge every 10 pages, and the shift instruction unit 30 outputs the shift discharge instruction information so as to repeat the shift discharge every 10 pages. To the unit 32. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3A, the 10th and 20th pages are shifted and discharged, and the printed 30 page sheets are 1 to 10 pages, 11 to 20 pages, and 21 to 30 pages. It is divided into three sets.

  In FIG. 3B, the number of pages of print data is 20 pages, and the number of pages to be shifted and discharged is designated as 10 pages and 15 pages. The page designating unit 28 instructs the shift instruction unit 30 to perform the shift discharge on the 10th page and the 15th page, and the shift instruction unit 30 shifts the shift discharge instruction information so as to perform the shift discharge on the 10th page and the 15th page. Output to the paper discharge unit 32. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), 10 pages and 15 pages are shifted and discharged twice, and printed 20 page sheets are 1 to 10 pages, 11 to 15 pages, and 16 to 20 pages. It is divided into three sets.

  In the embodiment of FIGS. 3A and 3B described above, an example in which the paper discharge position is controlled by the number of pages of print data has been described. However, in the present embodiment, the number of copies of a printed document is determined. The present invention can also be applied to shift paper discharge for controlling the paper discharge position. In this case, in the above description, the number of pages of the print data may be read as the number of copies of the document.

  FIGS. 4A and 4B show another example in the case where shift discharge is performed in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the example of FIGS. 4A and 4B, the case where the printing data is printed on both sides is shown.

  In FIG. 4A, the number of pages of print data is 30 pages, and the shift discharge is designated as repetition of print data every 10 pages. In this case, the page designating unit 28 instructs the shift instruction unit 30 to repeat the shift discharge for every five printed sheets, and the shift instruction unit 30 repeats the shift discharge for every five printed sheets. In this manner, the shift paper discharge instruction information is output to the shift paper discharge unit 32. In this case, the page designating unit 28 instructs the shift instructing unit 30 to repeat the print data every 10 pages, and the shift instructing unit 30 shifts so as to repeat the shift discharge for every five printed sheets. It may be configured to output the paper discharge instruction information. Furthermore, the user may instruct the page designation unit 28 to perform shift discharge with the number of printed sheets. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4A, the fifth sheet of printed paper (10 pages of printing data) and the 10th sheet (20 pages of printing data) are discharged and printed. 15 sheets are the 1st to 5th sheets (1 to 10 pages of printing data), the 6th to 10th sheets (11 to 20 pages of printing data), and the 11th to 15th sheets (21 of printing data). ˜30 pages).

  In FIG. 4B, the number of pages of print data is 20, and the number of pages to be shifted and discharged is designated as 10 pages and 15 pages of print data. The page designating unit 28 instructs the shift instruction unit 30 to shift and discharge the print data on pages 10 and 15, and the shift instruction unit 30 performs the shift discharge on pages 10 and 15 of the print data. The shift discharge instruction information is output to the shift discharge section 32. In this case, when the number of pages to be shifted and discharged is an odd number (the front page for duplex printing), the discharge position is shifted after discharging the sheet including the designated page. The page designation unit 28 and the shift instruction unit 30 may specify the number of printed sheets to be shifted. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4B, twice on the fifth sheet of printed paper (10 pages of printing data) and the eighth sheet of printed paper (16 pages of printing data). 10 sheets of paper that have been shifted and printed out are the first to fifth sheets (1 to 10 pages of printing data), the sixth to eighth sheets (11 to 16 pages of printing data), and 9 to 10 sheets. It is divided into three sets of eyes (17 to 20 pages of print data). In this case, the discharge position is shifted after discharging the sheet containing 15 pages of printing data, that is, the eighth sheet for printing 15 pages on the front side and 16 pages on the back side.

  Although FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an example of double-sided printing, the present embodiment can be similarly applied to printing a plurality of pages on one sheet. In addition, even when duplex printing and printing a plurality of pages on one sheet of paper, it is possible to perform shift paper discharge that controls the paper discharge position according to the number of printed documents.

  FIG. 5 shows still another example in the case where shift discharge is performed in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 5, the insertion page is inserted in the printed paper. In FIG. 5, the number of pages of print data is 30, and an insertion page is inserted after the seventh page, the tenth page, and the 21st page. Further, the shift paper discharge is designated to be repeated every 10 pages. In the present embodiment, based on the instruction input from the input / display device 14 by the user, the shift discharge is executed by the number of pages including the insertion page. In this embodiment, when an insertion page is inserted as a part of a printed document, for example, only a part of the original page is printed by a different image forming apparatus (such as a printing machine capable of printing special paper or color), and the rest This method is preferably applied to the case where a printed material is created by inserting a printed insertion page at a designated place with the page insertion function while printing the page.

  The page designating unit 28 instructs the shift instruction unit 30 to repeat the shift discharge every 10 pages including the insertion page, and the shift instruction unit 30 outputs every 10 pages including the insertion page. The shift paper discharge instruction information is output to the shift paper discharge unit 32 so as to repeat the shift paper discharge. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the 9th and 18th pages of the print data are shifted and discharged, and the printed 30 page paper and 3 inserted pages are printed on 1 to 9 page printed paper. And one inserted page, 10 to 18 pages of printed paper and one inserted page, 19 to 27 pages of printed paper and one inserted page, and 28 to 30 pages of printed paper. It is divided.

  FIG. 6 shows still another example in the case where shift discharge is performed in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. Also in FIG. 6, the insertion page is inserted in the printed paper. In FIG. 6, the number of pages of print data is 30, and an insertion page is inserted after the 7th, 11th, and 23rd pages. Further, the shift paper discharge is designated to be repeated every 10 pages. In the present embodiment, the shift discharge is executed based on the number of pages that do not include the insertion page, based on an instruction input from the input / display device 14 by the user. This embodiment is preferably applied when an insertion page is inserted as a page break.

  The page designating unit 28 instructs the shift instruction unit 30 to repeat the shift discharge every 10 pages with the number of pages not including the insertion page (the number of pages with only print data), and the shift instruction unit 30 includes the insertion page. The shift discharge instruction information is output to the shift discharge unit 32 so that the shift discharge is repeated every 10 pages with no pages. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the 10th and 20th pages of the print data are shifted and discharged, and the printed 30-page paper and the 3 inserted pages are 1 to 10-page printed paper. And one inserted page, 11 to 20 printed sheets and one inserted page, and 21 to 30 printed sheets and one inserted page.

  In the embodiments of FIGS. 5 and 6 described above, the example in which the paper discharge position is controlled by the number of pages of print data or the number of printed papers has been described. The present invention can also be applied to shift paper discharge in which the paper discharge position is controlled by the number of copies. In this case, what is necessary is just to replace the number of pages of the print data with the number of copies of the document in the description relating to each of the above drawings.

  FIG. 7 shows a flow of an operation example of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 7 shows a flow when shift discharge is instructed. When shift discharge is not instructed, the operation of this flow is not performed, and the sheets printed by the printing apparatus 20 are sequentially discharged by the discharge apparatus 22. Discharged from.

  In FIG. 7, when the user instructs shift discharge from the input / display device 14, the page designating unit 28 is based on the number of pages of printing data and the number of pages that change (shift) the discharge position of printed paper. Sets the execution number N of shift sheet discharge (S1). For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, the value of N is N = 2 when 30 sheets of print data are shifted and discharged by 10 pages. Note that the user may input and instruct the value of N from the input / display device 14.

  Next, the shift instruction unit 30 receives a shift discharge instruction including information such as the number of pages to be subjected to shift discharge from the page designating unit 28 and whether or not to repeat the shift discharge every fixed page. 1 is set (S2), and the number Q of pages for executing the Mth shift sheet discharge is set (S3).

  The shift instruction unit 30 sets 1 to the number of print pages P (S4), and determines whether or not P = Q when the printing apparatus 20 prints the Pth page (S5) (S5). S6).

  If P = Q is not satisfied in S6, the shift instruction unit 30 sets P = P + 1 (S7), and determines whether or not printing of all pages of the print data has been completed (S8). If the printing is not completed in S8, the process returns to S5, and the printing apparatus 20 is caused to print the P page set in S7.

  If P = Q in S 6, the shift instruction unit 30 outputs the shift paper discharge instruction information to the shift paper discharge unit 32, and the paper is discharged to the paper discharge device 22 constituting the shift paper discharge unit 32. The position is shifted (S9).

  At this time, the shift instruction unit 30 determines whether or not the setting is to repeat the shift paper discharge every predetermined page (S10). If the setting is to repeat the shift discharge every fixed page, P = 0 is set (S11), and the operations from S7 are repeated.

  On the other hand, if it is not set to repeat the shift discharge every fixed page in S10, the shift instruction unit 30 sets M = M + 1 (S12), and determines whether the value of M is larger than N set in S1. (S13). If the value of M is not greater than N, the number Q of pages for executing the Mth shift sheet discharge is newly set (S14), and the operations from S7 are repeated.

  On the other hand, if the value of M is larger than N in S13, the shift instruction unit 30 sets M = 0 and Q = 0 (S15), and repeats the operations from S7.

  If the above operation is executed and it is determined in S8 that printing of all pages of the print data has been completed, the process ends.

  The above-described program for executing the steps of FIG. 7 can be stored in a recording medium, and the program can be provided by communication means. In that case, for example, the above-described program can also be regarded as an invention of a “computer-readable recording medium recording the program”.

  The “computer-readable recording medium on which a program is recorded” refers to a computer-readable recording medium on which a program is recorded, which is used for program installation, execution, program distribution, and the like.

2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example when shift sheet discharge is performed in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example when shift paper discharge is performed in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating still another example when shift paper discharge is performed in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating still another example when shift paper discharge is performed in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an operation example of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Control part, 12 Memory, 14 Input / display apparatus, 16 Document input apparatus, 18 Communication apparatus, 20 Printing apparatus, 22 Paper discharge apparatus, 24 Stapler means, 26 Storage apparatus, 28 Page designation part, 30 Shift instruction part, 32 Shift paper discharge unit.

Claims (8)

A page specifying means for specifying a page of print data;
Shift instruction means for outputting shift discharge instruction information based on the page designated by the page designation means;
Shift paper discharge means for discharging printed paper to different positions for each page instructed by the shift paper discharge instruction information;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when an insertion page is inserted into a printed sheet, the shift paper discharge is executed according to the number of pages not including the insertion page.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when an insertion page is inserted into a printed sheet, shift paper discharge is executed according to the number of pages including the insertion page.   4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the printing data is printed on both sides or a plurality of pages are printed on one sheet, the designated printing data page is included. 5. An image forming apparatus, wherein the discharge position of the paper is changed after the paper is discharged. A copy number specifying means for specifying the number of copies of the print data;
Shift instruction means for outputting shift discharge instruction information for each number of copies designated by the number of copies designation means;
Shift paper discharge means for discharging printed paper to different positions for each number of copies designated by the shift paper discharge instruction information;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a stapler unit that binds the set of sheets for each set of sheets discharged from the shift discharge unit to different positions. An image forming apparatus. Computer
Page specification means for specifying the page of print data,
A shift discharge instruction information is output based on the page specified by the page specifying means, and the shift discharge means discharges the printed paper to a different position for each page specified by the shift discharge instruction information. Instruction means,
An image forming program that functions as a computer program. Computer
A copy number specifying means for specifying the number of copies of the print data;
A shift paper discharge instruction information is output based on the number of copies designated by the number of copy designation means, and the shift paper discharge means causes the printed paper to be discharged to a different position for each number of copies designated by the shift paper discharge instruction information. Instruction means,
An image forming program that functions as a computer program.

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