JP2010259030A - Image forming apparatus and status page evaluation program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus that automatically verifies validity of a status page for outputting a setting state of the apparatus, in particular, validity of the order of FAX transmission/reception records arranged by date/time, to save power. <P>SOLUTION: Regarding a status page including FAX transmission/reception records created by a status page creating section of an image forming apparatus, a date/time check section verifies whether or not the FAX transmission/reception records are arranged by date/time. If the records are not arranged by date/time, an output processing section highlights a corresponding part, to verify whether or not the FAX transmission/reception records are arranged in the correct order by date/time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for verifying the validity of a status page output for notifying the setting state of an apparatus in an image forming apparatus.

  In an image forming apparatus, a page called a status page for notifying the setting state of the apparatus is generally output on a sheet. The status page includes the image forming device model name, firmware version number, language settings, local time settings, installed memory capacity, network settings, interface settings, installed paper cassette information, print settings such as the number of copies, and image scanning A variety of image forming apparatus information such as the file format, scanner settings such as resolution, and counter information of the number of printed sheets are output.

  Conventionally, a method for confirming whether the output of the status page is intended and correct is performed by visually checking a status page printed on a sheet. Therefore, for example, when checking data whose data has changed for each item in the status page, it is necessary to check a very large number of outputs, and there is a problem that it takes time.

  For the purpose of providing a network printing system including a plurality of printers as a prior art, the network printing system having a small amount of communication traffic for collecting information and a simple computer changing operation for collecting job information and the like Each printer constituting the network printing system is set as a device that transmits printer status information (error / status / job report) to a designated computer according to a designated schedule, and for each printer. There is a method for setting the printer status information to be transmitted to the same computer in the network printing system (see Patent Document 1).

  However, even with this method, it is impossible to verify the validity of the status page created by the image forming apparatus, in particular, to verify whether the fax transmission / reception records are correctly arranged in the order of date and time and to save labor.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-1128

  The problem to be solved is to verify the validity of the output status page in an image forming apparatus capable of outputting a status page, in particular, to improve the efficiency and labor savings of verifying whether the fax transmission / reception records are arranged in the order of date and time. It is a point that cannot be done.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a status page creation unit for creating and outputting a status page in which a setting state of the apparatus is described for each item, and the status page creation unit includes the status page in chronological order. If there is a mistake in the date and time order of the status page list and the date and time check part that verifies whether the status page list is correctly arranged in the order of date and time, And an output processing unit that performs output processing indicating that it is an error.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention may be the image forming apparatus, wherein the list of status pages is at least one of fax transmission / reception records and job histories.

  The date check unit of the image forming apparatus of the present invention may be characterized in that the status page list is verified by performing pattern matching of data obtained by bitmapping the status page created by the status page creation unit. .

  The output processing of the output processing unit of the image forming apparatus of the present invention is any one of highlighting, underlining, italicizing a font, surrounding with a frame, coloring, or a free combination thereof. It may be characterized by being.

  The status page evaluation program according to the present invention includes a status page creation function for enabling a computer to create and output a status page in which a setting state of an apparatus is described for each item, and the status page creation function includes: If the page can be created as a list in order of date and time, and the date and time check function for verifying whether the list of status pages is correctly arranged in order of date and time, and the date and time order of the list of status pages is different, An output processing function for performing output processing indicating that there is an error in a recorded portion having an error is realized.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a status page creation unit for creating and outputting a status page in which a setting state of the apparatus is described for each item, and the status page creation unit includes the status page in chronological order. If there is a mistake in the date and time order of the status page list and the date and time check part that verifies whether the status page list is correctly arranged in the order of date and time, And an output processing unit that performs output processing indicating that it is an error.

  For this reason, the date and time check unit verifies whether there is a mistake in the date and time order of the list in the status page, and without confirming the result visually as in the past, the output processing unit can identify the wrong part at a glance. Since it is processed so that it can be recognized, verification efficiency and labor saving are realized.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention may be the image forming apparatus, wherein the list of status pages is at least one of fax transmission / reception records and job histories.

  For this reason, it is possible to verify an error in the date order of fax transmission / reception records and job history lists.

  The date check unit of the image forming apparatus of the present invention may be characterized in that the status page list is verified by performing pattern matching of data obtained by bitmapping the status page created by the status page creation unit. .

  For this reason, it is possible to detect not only the order of the list but also an error in the format of transmission / reception recording.

  The output processing of the output processing unit of the image forming apparatus of the present invention is any one of highlighting, underlining, italicizing a font, surrounding with a frame, coloring, or a free combination thereof. It may be characterized by being.

  For this reason, it is easy to recognize the output processed portion, and it is possible to select the optimum output processing according to the output format.

  The status page evaluation program according to the present invention includes a status page creation function for enabling a computer to create and output a status page in which a setting state of an apparatus is described for each item, and the status page creation function includes: If the page can be created as a list in order of date and time, and the date and time check function for verifying whether the list of status pages is correctly arranged in order of date and time, and the date and time order of the list of status pages is different, An output processing function for performing output processing indicating that there is an error in a recorded portion having an error is realized.

  For this reason, the date and time check unit verifies whether there is a mistake in the date and time order of the list in the status page, and without confirming the result visually as in the past, the output processing unit can identify the wrong part at a glance. Since it is processed so that it can be recognized, verification efficiency and labor saving are realized.

1 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart of the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the correct data creation mode of this invention Example, and the evaluation mode of a status page. 6 is an example of a status page indicating fax transmission / reception records output by the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

  In an image forming apparatus capable of outputting a status page, in an image forming apparatus capable of outputting a status page, verification of the validity of the output status page, in particular, whether a list recorded in order of date and time is correctly arranged in order of date and time The date and time check unit verifies whether the list recorded in the date and time order in the status page is correctly arranged in the order of the date and time. This is solved by a method in which the output processing unit performs processing such as highlighting the portion.

  The image forming apparatus 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

[Constitution]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatus 101 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The image forming apparatus 101 includes the following functional blocks, a communication I / F (interface) 111, a fax I / F (interface) 112, a data receiving unit 113, a fax control unit 114, a print job control unit 115, and a status page evaluation unit. 117, NVRAM 119, disk control unit 121, disk 123, data analysis unit 125, drawing data processing unit 127, drawing unit 129, panel 131, status page creation unit 133, date check unit 134, memory management unit 135, output processing unit 136 A system control unit 137, a device information holding unit 138, an evaluation sequence generation unit 139, a correct page input unit 140, a correct page generation unit 141, an output unit 143, and a print engine 145.

  The image forming apparatus 101 is connected to an image forming apparatus B102 or a terminal apparatus 201, which are other image forming apparatuses, via a communication I / F 111. Further, the image forming apparatus 101 is connected to the public line network 301 via the fax I / F 112, and can send and receive faxes with other image forming apparatuses and fax machines.

  The image forming apparatus 101 has a computer (not shown), and each computer implements each functional block (or a control portion of the apparatus indicating each functional block).

  Specifically, a computer is a device that executes a program to perform computation and / or control. The computer has a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM), and a random access memory (RAM). The CPU, ROM, RAM, and interface are connected to each other via a bus, a controller, and the like so that data communication can be performed.

  The CPU is an arithmetic processing unit that executes processing described in a program and forms each functional block inside. The ROM is a non-volatile memory that stores programs and data in advance. The RAM is a memory that temporarily stores the program and data when the program is executed and uses it as a work area.

  Each functional block will be described below.

  A communication I / F (interface) 111 is an intermediary device for connecting the image forming apparatus 101 to a terminal device 201 such as a PC (Personal Computer) or another image forming apparatus (image forming apparatus B102). The communication I / F 111 may be a network interface, or other USB interface or parallel interface.

  A fax I / F (interface) 112 is an interface unit for connecting to the public line network 301 and performing facsimile communication.

  The data receiving unit 113 is a functional unit that buffers the print data received by the communication I / F 111 and reconstructs the data for each print data.

  The fax control unit 114 is a functional unit that controls transmission / reception of faxes via the fax I / F 112. The fax control unit 114 records the fax transmission / reception record 142 (an example of a list recorded in order of date) in the device information holding unit 138.

  The print job control unit 115 is a functional unit that controls the execution, stop, and completion operations of the print job of the image forming apparatus 101.

  The status page evaluation unit 117 is a functional unit that evaluates a status page generated by the image forming apparatus 101. The image forming apparatus 101 compares and evaluates the bitmap data of the intended correct status page received by the correct page input unit 140 and the bitmap data of the status page output by the status page creation unit 133 of the image forming apparatus 101. Evaluate the validity of the status page to be output.

  An NVRAM (Non Volatile Random Access Memory) 119 is a non-volatile memory and has a function of recording setting information of the image forming apparatus 101. The information stored in the NVRAM 119 does not disappear even when the power is turned off, and the setting state of the image forming apparatus can be maintained regardless of the power state. The setting information stored in the NVRAM is passed to the status page creation unit 133 via the system control unit 137 and output to the status page.

  The disk control unit 121 controls reading and writing of information with respect to a disk 123 formed of a rotating magnetic disk device that is a secondary storage device of the image forming apparatus 101.

  The disk 123 is a secondary storage device of an image forming apparatus composed of a rotating magnetic disk device or the like. A program necessary for the operation of the image forming apparatus 101, image data, and the like are recorded and held, and read out when necessary and appropriately processed such as printout.

  The data analysis unit 125 analyzes a page description language (PDL) and PCL (Printer Control Language) included in the print data, and performs a drawing data processing unit 127, a drawing unit 129, and an output unit described later. Instructions for necessary operations are given to 143 and the like.

  The drawing data processing unit 127 converts print data described in the page description language into a display list that is an intermediate language based on the data analysis of the data analysis unit 125.

  The drawing unit 129 converts the print data written in the intermediate language (display list) converted by the drawing data processing unit 127 into bitmap data to be printed by the print engine 145 via the output unit 143.

  The panel 131 is an interface device for performing input / output with a user, which includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal panel and an input unit such as a touch panel and buttons.

  The status page creation unit 133 is a functional unit that creates a status page for outputting the setting state (or setting value) of the image forming apparatus 101 to a sheet. As described above, various types of information are output to the status page, and information on these setting states is acquired via the system control unit 137. An example of the status page output by the status page creation unit 133 is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 4 shows a fax transmission record in the status page. On the status page, a model name 41 of the image forming apparatus, a firmware version number 43, and a fax transmission record 45 are shown. The fax transmission record shows a transmission date 51, a transmission time 53, a transmission destination 55, a transmission mode 57, a transmission time 59, and a transmission page number 61. A portion 63 in which the date order of transmission records is not correct is highlighted. Details will be described later.

  Various items such as language settings and local time may be output on the status page, but only the fax transmission record most relevant to the essence of the present invention is shown as an example.

  The status page creation unit 133 further includes a date / time check unit 134 and an output processing unit 136.

  When the status page creation unit outputs a fax transmission / reception record on the status page, the date / time check unit 134 checks whether the transmission / reception records to be output are correctly arranged in the order of date / time.

  When the fax transmission / reception records output to the status page by the date / time check unit 134 are not correctly arranged in the date / time order, the output processing unit 136 processes the output so as to alert the transmission / reception recording portions that are not correctly arranged. As a processing method, a method of highlighting the recording portion may be used.

  The memory management unit 135 is a functional unit that manages a main memory that is a primary storage device of the image forming apparatus 101.

  The system control unit 137 is a functional unit that controls the entire apparatus of the image forming apparatus 101. Information on the setting state of the image forming apparatus 101 is acquired from the device information holding unit 138 and each function unit of the image forming apparatus. The acquired information is passed to the status page creation unit 133 and output as a status page.

  The device information holding unit 138 is a functional unit that holds information about devices such as the number of printed sheets and an effective cassette (a paper feeding cassette that is mounted on the image forming apparatus and is operable). Information held by the device information holding unit 138 is passed to the status page creation unit 133 via the system control unit 137, and the information is output to the status page.

  The evaluation sequence generation unit 139 is a functional unit that generates a series of sequences for evaluating the status page. In order to evaluate the validity of the status page, the date / time check unit 134 in the status page creation unit 133 described above evaluates the order of the date / time of fax transmission / reception recording. It is possible to evaluate the page. The evaluation sequence controls the image forming apparatus to change the setting state of the image forming apparatus 101 and output the status page by a simple script.

  The script is executed in the following format, for example.

"Command, setting item, setting value"
For example, when the language setting is set to English, the correct page generation unit 141 creates a bitmap with the correct page, and then sets the language setting of the image forming apparatus to English and the status page creation unit 133 maps the status page to the bitmap. A series of scripts for generating a converted page, causing the status page evaluation unit 117 to compare the status page with the correct page, and printing the evaluation result on a sheet by the print engine 145 is as follows.

; *** master creation mode ***
REC_MASTER_START
SET_MFP_VALUE Local_Language, English
CREATE_MASTER_BITMAP_AND_SAVE FILE_NAME = MASTER_01
REC_MASTER_END
; *** evaluation mode ***
EVAL_START
SET_MFP_VALUE, Local_Language, English
OUTPUT_BITMAP_AND_SAVE, StatusPage, FILE_NAME = LOCAL_LANG_TEST
COMPARE_BITMAP MASTER_01, LOCAL_LANG_TEST, RESULT
Print RESULT
EVAL_END
As a result of printing output by the above Print RESULT, a method is used in which the bit is output (colored in black) only where the bitmap data does not match.

  Moreover, the method of describing inconsistency items in a list form may be used.

  The evaluation sequence generation unit 139 converts the script into PCL (Printer Control Language) and controls the image forming apparatus through the print job control unit 115 and the system control unit 137.

  The correct page input unit 140 receives an input of a status page (hereinafter referred to as a correct page) on which the correct setting state (or setting value) for each item is described according to the setting state of the image forming apparatus 101. The correct page is created, for example, by the status page creation unit 133b of the image forming apparatus B102 (FIG. 1), which is another image forming apparatus whose validity of the status page has already been verified. The method of accepting via may be sufficient. Further, it may be a correct page created on the terminal device 201 by a document creation program or the like. Furthermore, the correct page which the correct page generation part 141 mentioned later produces | generates may be sufficient. This correct answer page uses not only the correct setting state (or setting value) for each setting item but also the correct output format (setting item name and setting value output position). It is also possible to compare the status page formats output by the creation unit 133.

  The correct page generation unit 141 is a functional unit that generates a correct output (correct page) of the status page generated based on the sequence (described above) generated by the evaluation sequence generation unit 139.

  The output unit 143 receives the print data bitmapped by the drawing unit 129, transmits the print data to the print engine 145 that is a mechanism unit that actually performs printing, and controls data transmission to the print engine 145.

  The print engine 145 is a mechanism unit that prints on paper.

[flowchart]
The date and time check operation of the fax transmission / reception recording of the status page output by the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  First, FIG. 2A shows an operation when FAX transmission / reception occurs.

  S11: FAX transmission / reception occurs.

  S13: The fax control unit 114 records and stores the fax transmission / reception record 142 in the device information holding unit 138.

  Next, FIG. 2B shows the operation when creating the status page.

  S15: A status page creation request is generated by an input from the operation panel or the like.

  S17: The print job control unit 115 instructs the status page creation unit 133 to create a status page. When the status page is created, the status page creation unit 133 acquires the fax transmission / reception record 142 from the device information holding unit 138 and creates bitmap data of the status page on which the fax transmission / reception record is recorded.

  S19: The date and time check processing unit 134 analyzes whether the fax transmission / reception records in the status page created by the status page creation unit 133 in S17 are correctly arranged in order of date and time by performing pattern matching of bitmap data.

  S21: If the fax transmission / reception records are not correctly arranged in date order in S19, the operation proceeds to S23. If they are correctly aligned, the operation proceeds to S25.

  S23: The output processing unit 136 processes the bitmap data of the part so that the part not correctly arranged in the order of the transmitter / receiver recording date and time can be recognized in S21. In the output processing, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the portion is highlighted (bit inversion). In addition, the output processing may be processing such as drawing an underline, italicizing a font, surrounding with a frame, or colorizing.

  S25: When the status page created in S21 or the pass in S23 is passed, the print engine 145 prints out the status page output processed in S23 on paper.

  Through the series of operations described above, whether or not the fax transmission / reception recording order on the status page of the image forming apparatus is arranged in order of date and time and output processing when the order of date and time is wrong are performed.

[Effect of Example]
The date / time check unit checks whether the fax transmission / reception records in the status page generated by the status page creation unit 133 of the image forming apparatus are correctly arranged in order of date, and if there is an error, highlights the corresponding part, etc. If there is an error in the date order, the part can be recognized at a glance.

  By using the output processing unit 136 to process and output only a part in which the date order of fax transmission / reception records is wrong, it is possible to easily recognize the part where the error has occurred.

[Others]
In the embodiment of the present invention, an example in which the date and time check unit 134 and the output processing unit 136 are incorporated in the status page creation unit 133 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above example, and the date and time check unit 134 and the output processing unit 136 are included. May exist independently of the status page creation unit. Further, the status page is mounted on the terminal device 201 connected outside the image forming apparatus 101, for example, through a communication interface or a network interface, and the status page created by the status page creation unit 133 is received in the form of bitmap data. The status page may be evaluated in the order of the date and time of fax transmission / reception records.

  In the above case, the status page creation function of the status page creation unit 133, the date and time check function of the date and time check unit 134, and the output processing function of the output processing unit 136 are realized in the computer of the terminal device 201.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the comparison of the status page created by the image forming apparatus is performed by pattern matching after being converted into a bitmap. For example, a method of performing comparative evaluation at the DL or PDL stage before being converted into a bitmap, A status page created by the status page creation unit may be created as text, and the date order in the text data stage may be checked regardless of the format or the like. In this case, the format and the like cannot be compared, but the time required for the comparison evaluation is greatly reduced.

  Alternatively, the data to be compared may be output in HTML format or RTF format instead of text, and a text-based comparison including the format may be performed.

  In the description of the embodiment of the present invention, the transmission / reception recording of faxes has been described as a list recorded in order of date and time, but other types such as a job history may be used.

  In the description of the functional blocks of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the scanner device generally provided in the image forming apparatus is omitted because it is not important to the essence of the present invention. The image forming apparatus may have a scanner device or may not have a scanner device.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the computer is constituted by a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM. However, the number of these components is not limited to one, and a plurality of components may be used, and a control board on which these components are arranged. One or more of them may be used.

101 Image forming apparatus 102 Image forming apparatus B (another image forming apparatus)
111 Communication I / F (interface)
112 fax I / F (interface)
113 Data Receiving Unit 114 Fax Control Unit 115 Print Job Control Unit 117 Status Page Evaluation Unit 119 NVRAM
121 disk control unit 123 disk 125 data analysis unit 127 drawing data processing unit 129 drawing unit 131 panel 133 status page creation unit 134 date and time check unit 135 memory management unit 136 output processing unit 137 system control unit 138 device information holding unit 139 evaluation sequence generation Unit 140 correct page input unit 141 correct page generation unit 142 transmission / reception record 143 output unit 145 print engine 147 paper 201 terminal device 301 public line network

Claims (5)

A status page creation unit for creating and outputting a status page in which the setting state of the device is described for each item;
The status page creation unit creates the status page as a list in chronological order,
A date and time check unit for verifying whether the list of status pages is correctly arranged in order of date and time;
An image processing apparatus comprising: an output processing unit that performs an output processing to indicate that the erroneously recorded portion is erroneous if the date and time order of the list of status pages is incorrect. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The list of status pages is at least one of fax transmission / reception records and job histories. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
The image forming apparatus, wherein the date and time check unit verifies a list of status pages by performing pattern matching of data obtained by bitmapping the status page created by the status page creation unit. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The output processing of the output processing unit is any one of highlighting, underlining, italicizing a font, surrounding with a frame, coloring, or a free combination thereof. Forming equipment. On the computer,
A status page creation function for creating and outputting a status page in which the device setting status is described for each item,
The status page creation function can create the status page as a list in chronological order,
A date and time check function for verifying whether the list of status pages is correctly arranged in order of date and time;
A status page evaluation program, which realizes an output processing function for performing output processing to indicate that the erroneous recorded portion is erroneous if there is a mistake in the date order of the status page list.

Images