JP2012027266A - Image forming apparatus, method for managing the number of sheets of output paper - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus and a method for managing the number of sheets of output paper, which can change the printing conditions of jobs on hold by a reservation function.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: page number acquiring means 201; printing condition receiving means 202; output sheet number calculating means 203 for calculating the number of sheets of output paper for each job from the number of pages and printing conditions; output sheet number storage means 204 for storing the number of printed sheets of output paper; upper limit storage means 210 for storing an upper limit; job management means 220 for managing the number of pages, printing conditions and image data of jobs on hold; job information acquiring means 206 for acquiring the printing conditions of jobs on hold; comparing means 207 for comparing the value acquired by adding the number of printed sheets to the number of sheets of output paper of jobs on hold calculated by the output sheet number calculating means with the upper limit; and printing condition presenting means 208 for presenting the printing conditions of the jobs on hold, in which if the comparing means determines that the value has exceeded the upper limit, the value becomes less than or equal to the upper limit.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that limits the number of output sheets to a set upper limit number of sheets, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus that can change printing conditions and an output sheet number management method.

  In order to reduce the running cost of copiers and printers, companies may set an upper limit for running costs for each individual, department, or device, and prohibit the use of copiers and printers if the upper limit is exceeded. is there.

  When the upper limit is reached, in principle, the user cannot use a copier or printer. However, before the upper limit is reached, if the user stops color printing and switches to black-and-white printing, or switches to aggregate printing, the document is within the upper limit. There are many cases where copying and printing are possible. In this regard, an image forming apparatus that warns the user when the usage fee approaches the upper limit of the budget and prompts the user to set a printing condition that can reduce the fee is considered (for example, see Patent Document 1). .)

  By the way, a reserved copy function or a reserved printing function (hereinafter referred to as a reserved function) has been installed in a copy machine or the like. With the reservation function, for example, even when another document is printed by the plotter, the scanner reads the next document, stores the document data and copy conditions in the storage unit, and the plotter sequentially stores the document from the storage unit. Data and copy conditions can be read and printed. Since the reading of the original by the scanner and the printing by the plotter operate independently, the user can leave the copier after reading by the scanner and can effectively use the time.

  When the reservation function is used, the usage fee may approach the upper limit of the budget while the document data is stored in the storage unit by the reservation function.

  The image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 can set a printing condition that can reduce the charge for a job before being stored by the reservation function, but can set a printing condition that can reduce the charge for an already stored job. There is a problem that you can not.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus and an output sheet number management method capable of changing printing conditions for a job waiting by a reservation function.

  The present invention relates to a page number acquisition unit that acquires the number of pages of a document for each job, a print condition reception unit that receives a print condition, and an output sheet number calculation that calculates the number of output sheets for each job from the page number and the print condition. Means, an output number storage means for storing the number of printed sheets of the output paper in a predetermined management period, an upper limit number storage means for storing an upper limit number for determining an upper limit of the output number, and waiting until the printing means starts printing A job management means for managing the number of pages of the waiting job, printing conditions and image data, a job information obtaining means for obtaining the printing conditions of the waiting job, and the output number calculating means of the waiting job calculated by the output number calculating means. Comparing means for comparing the value obtained by adding the number of printed sheets to the number of printed sheets and the upper limit number of sheets, and the comparison means, wherein the value exceeds the upper limit number of sheets. If it is determined that the value is equal to or less than the maximum number, to provide an image forming apparatus characterized by having a printing condition presenting means for presenting the printing condition of the waiting job.

  It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus and an output sheet number management method capable of changing printing conditions for a waiting job by a reservation function.

1 is an example of a diagram illustrating an outline of an image forming apparatus. 1 is an example of a system configuration diagram including an image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is an example of a diagram illustrating a mode in which a job is registered in an image forming apparatus in the system. 1 is an example of a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus. 2 is an example of a hardware configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus and a client PC. FIG. 1 is an example of a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatus. It is an example of the front view of an operation panel. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation screen displayed on a liquid crystal touch panel. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of the print setting displayed on the display of client PC. FIG. 5 is an example of a diagram schematically illustrating an example of calculating the number of output sheets. FIG. 3 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure in which the image forming apparatus counts the number of output sheets. It is an example of the upper limit sheet number setting screen displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel. It is an example of the operation screen displayed on a liquid crystal touch panel. FIG. 6 is an example of a diagram schematically illustrating management of reserved jobs. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printing condition change table. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing condition change priority setting screen displayed on a liquid crystal touch panel. FIG. 10 is an example of a flowchart illustrating a procedure for presenting or changing printing conditions that do not exceed an upper limit count for a reading job or a standby job. An example of a flowchart showing a procedure for securing the number of output sheets for the next job is shown. It is an example of the flowchart figure which shows the procedure in which an upper limit count setting means sets an upper limit sheet number. It is a figure which shows an example of a change presentation screen etc. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a next job securing screen. It is a figure which shows an example of the performance ratio change screen displayed on a liquid crystal touch panel.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Outline]
FIG. 1 is an example of a diagram illustrating an outline of the image forming apparatus 100. The storage device of the image forming apparatus 100 stores a plurality of jobs registered by the reservation function. The table in FIG. 1 shows a list of jobs (reservation management table) registered by the image forming apparatus 100.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus 100, an upper limit number of output sheets is set in response to a request for cost reduction or the like. According to the illustrated upper limit number of sheets, the jobs 101 to 104 can be printed without reaching the upper limit number. However, when the new job 105 is executed, the number of output sheets exceeds the upper limit number.

  In such a case, the image forming apparatus 100 displays a warning and accepts a change in printing conditions for the jobs 102 to 105. In the figure, the print condition of the job 102 is changed from the condition 302 to the condition 302 ′. By changing the printing conditions, the number of output sheets can be suppressed to the upper limit or less even when a new job 105 is executed.

  One of the features of the image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is that the printing conditions of not only the job 105 but also the waiting jobs 102 to 104 can be changed.

  The jobs of this embodiment are mainly classified from the viewpoint of the execution stage into printing jobs, standby jobs, and new jobs (new jobs become standby jobs after reading jobs), and are collectively referred to as reserved jobs. . Regardless of the original application, it is assumed that each has a stage for printing.

〔Constitution〕
FIG. 2 shows an example of a system configuration diagram including the image forming apparatus 100. In the figure, a client PC (Personal Computer) 200 and an image forming apparatus 100 are connected via a network 300. The network 300 is an in-house small-scale LAN, a VLAN (Virtual LAN) configured via a layer 3 switch, a WAN, or the Internet.

  The image forming apparatus 100 is mainly an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) in which a printer, a copier, a scanner device, and a FAX device are integrated. However, if the image forming apparatus 100 has a function as a printer, reserved printing is possible. In the embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 will be described as a copier.

  When the user directly operates the image forming apparatus 100 to copy a document, the printing conditions are input from the operation panel, and the image forming apparatus 100 generates bibliographic information associated therewith.

  The user can execute application software on the client PC 200 and request the image forming apparatus 100 to print an electronic document generated by the application software. In this case, the printing conditions and bibliographic information are transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100 together with the electronic document.

<Register reserved print jobs>
FIG. 3 is an example for explaining a mode in which a job is registered in the image forming apparatus 100 in such a system. In the figure, a mode in which a job is registered is described according to a mode in which image data is generated.

  Image data to be printed by the plotter engine is generated when the scanner engine scans an original, when an electronic document (which is also converted into image data) is transmitted from the PC, and when the FAX engine is transmitted by facsimile. There are cases where received image data is received. In addition, in order to register a job whose print data is to be printed by the plotter engine, there are mainly a case where the user operates the operation panel 70 and a case where the user operates the client PC 200.

  When the image forming apparatus 100 scans a document and generates image data, a typical job registration operation is a “copy operation”, and a typical job registration operation when the client PC 200 transmits image data is “Print request”. When image data is generated by FAX reception, the user registers the job without operating the operation panel 70 or the client PC.

  Further, no matter how the image data is generated, the image forming apparatus 100 can spool the image data in the storage device (can be set not to spool). “After spooling” in the figure means that image data is spooled by a typical job registration operation. The spooled image data can be registered as a job regardless of whether the user operates the operation panel 70 or the PC.

  For example, the user can register a job by operating the operation panel 70 to display a list of spooled image data (which may be generated in any way) and selecting the image data.

  A printer utility that displays a list of image data by communicating with the image forming apparatus 100 is installed in the PC. The user can register a job by operating the printer utility to display a list of spooled image data (which may be generated in any way) on the display of the client PC 200 and selecting the image data.

  When the plotter engine is printing, the job registered in the image forming apparatus 100 is automatically a reserved job (new job handling will be described later).

  It is also possible for the user to consciously register image data and printing conditions in the image forming apparatus 100. This is a function called “hold printing”. In this case, it can be handled in the same way as spooled image data.

  Further, the location where the image data is physically stored may not necessarily be the image forming apparatus 100, but the image forming apparatus 100 and the client PC 200 register the storage locations of the image data, the print location, and the bibliographic information. .

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the user operates the image forming apparatus 100 to change the printing condition will be described, but the printing condition can also be changed by operating the client PC 200.

<Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 100>
FIG. 4 shows an example of a schematic configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus 100. When copying, the user first places a document bundle on the document table 2 of the automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as ADF) 1 with the image surface of the document facing up. When the copy condition is set and the user presses the start key 74 on the operation unit 70, the original bundle is moved from the bottom original to a predetermined position on the contact glass 6 by the feeding roller 3 and the feeding belt 4. Be fed.

  The ADF 1 has a count function that counts up the number of documents when the feeding of one document is completed. The fed original on the contact glass 6 is read by the reading unit 50 and converted into image data.

  The document that has been read is discharged by the feeding belt 4 and the discharge roller 5. Further, when the ADF 1 detects that there is a next document on the document table 2 by the document set detection sensor 7, the lowermost document is similarly fed onto the contact glass 6. The feeding roller 3, the feeding belt 4, and the discharging roller 5 are driven by a conveyance motor.

  The first tray 8, the second tray 9, and the third tray 10 are loaded with transfer sheets. The transfer paper is fed by the first paper feeding device 11, the second paper feeding device 12, and the third paper feeding device 13, and is transported to a position where it is in contact with the photoconductor 15 by the vertical transport unit 14.

  The writing unit 57 modulates the laser with the image data read by the reading unit 50 and writes a latent image of the image data on the photoconductor 15. The latent image is developed into a toner image by passing through the developing unit 27.

  Then, the transfer paper is transported by the transport belt 16 at the same speed as the rotation of the photoconductor 15 and is transported in timing with the toner image on the photoconductor 15, whereby the toner image is transferred to the transfer paper. Thereafter, the image is fixed on the transfer paper by the fixing unit 17, and the transfer paper is discharged to the finisher 99 of the post-processing apparatus by the paper discharge unit 18.

  When forming an image on both sides of the transfer paper, the transfer paper fed from each of the paper feed trays 8 to 10 is not guided to the paper discharge tray 104 side, and the branch claw 112 for switching the path is used. By setting it on the upper side, it is once stocked in the duplex feeding unit 111. Thereafter, the transfer paper stocked on the double-sided paper feeding unit 111 is re-fed from the double-sided paper feeding unit 111 to transfer the toner image formed on the photosensitive member 15 again, and the branching claw 112 for switching the path. Is set on the lower side and guided to the paper discharge tray 104. In this way, the duplex feeding unit 111 is used when creating images on both sides of the transfer sheet.

  The photoconductor 15, the conveyor belt 16, the fixing unit 17, the paper discharge unit 18, and the development unit 27 are driven by a main motor, and the driving of the main motors is transmitted and driven by a paper supply clutch. The vertical conveyance unit 14 is driven to transmit the drive of the main motor by an intermediate clutch.

  The finisher 99 of the post-processing device can guide the transfer paper conveyed by the paper discharge unit 18 of the main body in the direction of the normal paper discharge roller 102 and the direction of the staple table 108.

  The finisher 99 of the post-processing apparatus can discharge paper to the normal paper discharge tray 104 side via the transport roller 103 by switching the switching plate 101 upward. Further, by switching the switching plate 101 downward, the switching plate 101 can be conveyed to the staple table 108 via the conveying rollers 105 and 107.

The transfer paper loaded on the staple table 108 is aligned by the paper jogger 109 every time one sheet is discharged, and is bound by the stapler 106 upon completion of a partial copy. The transfer paper group bound by the stapler 106 is stored in the staple completion discharge tray by its own weight.
When saddle stitching staples are specified in the bookbinding method, the transfer paper is transported via transport rollers 115, 116, 117, 118, and 122, and saddle stitching stapler 121 executes saddle stitching staples. The transfer paper group closed by the saddle stitching stapler 121 is transported to the cutting machine 123 by the transport roller 122, and the cutting process is performed. The transfer paper group cut by the cutting machine 123 is discharged to the saddle stitch staple / cut completion discharge tray 110.

  On the other hand, the normal paper discharge tray 104 is a paper discharge tray that can move back and forth. The paper discharge tray 104 that can be moved back and forth moves back and forth for each original document or for each part sorted by the image memory, and sorts the copy paper that is simply discharged.

  5A shows an example of a hardware configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus 100, and FIG. 5B shows an example of a hardware configuration diagram of the client PC 200. FIG. The image forming apparatus 100 includes a CPU 171, a ROM 172, a RAM 173, an external I / F 174, a communication card 175, a panel control unit 176, a scanner engine control unit 177, a plotter engine control unit 178, and a FAX engine control unit 183 connected via an internal bus. And a storage device 179.

  The CPU 171 controls the entire image forming apparatus 100 by executing a program stored in the storage device 179 or the ROM 172 using the RAM 173 as a working memory. The external I / F 174 is an interface for mounting a cable such as a USB or a storage medium 160. The storage medium 160 is a flash memory such as a USB memory, an optical storage medium such as a CD-ROM, or the like.

  The communication card 175 is called a LAN card or an Ethernet (registered trademark) card, and transmits packet data to the client PC 200 according to an instruction from the CPU 171 and receives packet data from the client PC 200.

  The panel control unit 176 displays a UI on the operation panel 70 and accepts operations of UI soft keys and hardware keys. The scanner engine control unit 181 receives reading conditions such as resolution set by the user from the operation panel 70, and controls the scanner engine 181 based on the reading conditions. The scanner engine 181 optically scans a document placed on a contact glass, A / D converts the reflected light, performs image processing, and outputs digital data with a predetermined resolution (hereinafter referred to as image data). Generate.

  The plotter engine control unit 178 receives print conditions such as the number of prints set by the user from the operation panel 70, and controls the plotter engine 182 based on the print conditions. The plotter engine 182 has, for example, a tandem type photosensitive drum, modulates a laser beam based on the image data and the electronic document received from the client PC 200, and scans the photosensitive drum to form a latent image. The image for each page, developed by attaching toner to the latent image, is transferred to a sheet with heat and pressure.

  The storage device 179 is a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as an HDD or a flash memory. The storage device 179 stores application programs executed by the CPU, font data, and image data.

  The storage device 179 stores a printing condition proposal program 190. The print condition proposing program 190 corrects the print condition of the waiting job when the number of printed sheets of the image forming apparatus 100 reaches the upper limit number. The print condition proposing program 190 may be stored in the storage device 179 when the image forming apparatus 100 is shipped, or may be distributed in a state stored in the storage medium 160 after the image forming apparatus 100 is shipped. It may be distributed from a server (not shown) on the network 300.

  The FAX engine control unit 183 receives transmission conditions such as a destination (FAX number, e-mail address, etc.) set by the user, and controls the FAX engine 184 based on the transmission conditions. The FAX engine 184 is connected to the network 300 via the communication card 105 and connected to the public communication network via the communication procedure corresponding to the standards of T.37 and T.38, or the NCU (Network Control Unit), for example. Image data is transmitted and received according to communication procedures corresponding to the G3 and G4 standards. Further, even when image data is received when the power of the image forming apparatus 100 is OFF, the plotter engine 182 can be activated to print the image data on paper.

<Configuration of client PC 200>
The client PC 200 includes a CPU 211, a ROM 212, a RAM 214, an external I / F 214, a communication device 215, an input device 216, a display control unit 217, and a storage device 218 that are connected to each other via a bus. In each block, description of the same block as the image forming apparatus 100 is omitted.

  The communication device 215 transmits an electronic document, printing conditions, and bibliographic information to the image forming apparatus 100 according to an instruction from the CPU 211. The input device 216 is a keyboard, a mouse, or the like that receives user operations. The display control unit 217 displays a GUI or the like on the display 219 according to an instruction from the application software 131.

  The storage device 218 of the client PC 200 stores application software (word processing software, browser, etc.) 131 executed by the CPU 211, a printer utility 132, a printer driver, and the like. These programs may be stored in the storage device 218 at the time of shipment of the client PC 200, may be distributed in a state of being stored in the storage medium 220 after shipment of the client PC 200, or are not illustrated on the network 300. It may be distributed from other servers.

  The printer utility 132 is a program serving as a user interface when a print request is issued from the client PC 200 to the image forming apparatus 100. The user can specify and print image data via the printer utility 132.

<Function of Image Forming Apparatus 100>
FIG. 6 shows an example of a functional block diagram of the image forming apparatus 100. Each function block in FIG. 6 is a function realized by the CPU 171 executing the printing condition proposal program 190. The manuscript page measurement unit 201 measures the number of pages of a paper manuscript from the number of manuscript pages scanned by the reading unit 50 or the number of manuscript pages passed through the ADF 1. When there is a print request from the client PC 200, the manuscript page measuring unit 201 extracts the number of manuscript pages from the bibliographic information. If there is a waiting job, the number of document pages can be extracted from the job information (including bibliographic information and printing conditions) of the waiting job.

  The print condition acquisition unit 202 acquires a print condition specified by the user from the operation panel 70 and a print condition registered in association with the electronic document. The print condition acquisition unit 202 can also acquire the print condition of the standby job.

  The output sheet count calculation unit 203 acquires printing conditions such as the number of document pages from the document page measurement unit 201, the number of copies from the printing condition acquisition unit 202, and the printing mode (mode setting such as duplex / aggregation / binding). The number of output sheets is calculated from the above information.

  The print count storage unit 204 stores the actual number of output sheets for each user of the image forming apparatus 100. This numerical value is preferably a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk because it is necessary to retain information even when the power of the device is turned off.

  The upper limit count acquisition unit 205 refers to the upper limit number and ratio (described later) set by the administrator or the like, and acquires the upper limit number of the target user.

  The standby job information acquisition unit 206 acquires job information of the standby job and provides necessary information to the document page measurement unit 201 and the print condition acquisition unit 202.

  The count comparison unit 207 compares the total number of output sheets of the print count storage unit 204 with the total number of output sheets calculated by the output sheet count calculation unit 203 with the upper limit number of the upper limit count acquisition unit 205. Accordingly, it is determined whether or not the number of output sheets exceeds the upper limit for each target user.

  When it is determined that the number of output sheets exceeds the upper limit number, the printing condition presentation unit 208 presents a printing condition that does not exceed the upper limit number and performs a process associated therewith. The print condition presenting unit 208 selects the changed print condition that is preferentially presented when changing the print condition of the standby job. Various warning screen displays are also executed by the printing condition presentation unit 208.

  The standby job information changing unit 209 reflects the changed content presented by the printing condition presenting unit 208 in the standby job or new job.

  The job management unit 220 manages job execution, job information registration, job transition, and the like, and updates the reservation management table 540.

  The upper limit count setting unit 210 provides an administrator upper limit number setting screen 501 and the like, and also provides a screen on which each user or administrator inputs information regarding the upper limit number.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a front view of the operation panel 70. The operation panel 70 includes a liquid crystal touch panel 71, a numeric keypad 72, a clear / stop key 73, a start key 74, a preheat key 75, a reset key 76, and an initial setting key 77.

  The liquid crystal touch panel 71 displays function keys (referred to as buttons and soft keys) for accepting user operations, the number of copies, a message indicating the state of the image forming apparatus 100, and the like.

  When the user presses the initial setting key 77, the initial state of the image forming apparatus 100 can be arbitrarily customized. By pressing the initial setting key 77, the paper size of the transfer paper loaded on the paper feed trays 8 to 10 is set, and the state set when the copy function mode clear key is pressed is arbitrarily set. Is possible. Also, select applications that are preferentially selected when there is no operation for a certain period of time, set the transition time to low power according to the International Energy Star Plan, and set the transition time to auto-off / sleep mode. It is possible to set.

<Setting printing conditions>
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation screen 301 displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 71. An operation screen 301 in FIG. 8 is a copy application screen. The operation screen 301 includes a tab field 302, an information display field 303, a reading setting field 304, and a print setting field 305. The tab field 302 includes a “new” tab, a “printing” tab, and a “standby 1 to 3” tab for setting copy conditions. The information display field 303 displays a message indicating the status of the image forming apparatus 100 (“printing is possible”), the number of original pages, the number of printed pages set by the user, and the number of copied copies.

  The reading setting field 304 includes a “document type” button 3041, a “density setting” button 3042, and a “document feed” button 3043. The user sets the document type (character, photo, character / photo, etc.) from the “document type” button 3041, sets the reading density of the document from the “density setting” button 3042, and sets the document from the “document feed” button 3043. Set how to send.

  In the print setting column 305, the user can set the paper size of the transfer sheet, zooming designation, finishing setting (punch and staple finishing method), and printing mode (duplex / aggregate / bookbinding mode). The conditions set in this field are printing conditions.

  The button selected by touching the user can be visually distinguished from other buttons by, for example, being highlighted. When the user operates the tab, not the new job copy conditions but the “printing” and “standby 1 to 3” job printing conditions are displayed.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of a print setting screen 401 displayed on the display 219 of the client PC 200. Here, setting items that are closely related to the present embodiment will be described. In FIG. 9A, a print range column 402 and a print number column 403 are provided. Using the input device, the user can set a print range of one page or more from the print range column 402 and can set one or more copies from the print number column 403.

  FIG. 9B is an example of a print setting screen 401 transitioned from FIG. In FIG. 9B, an aggregation setting field 404 and a duplex setting field 405 are provided. Using the input device 216, the user can set the number of aggregations in the aggregate printing from the aggregation setting field 404, and can set the presence / absence of double-sided printing or bookbinding printing from the double-sided setting field 405. The conditions set in the number of copies field 403, the aggregation setting field 404, and the duplex setting field 405 are main printing conditions related to the number of output sheets.

  It is assumed that the number of document pages set in the print range column 402 is included in the bibliographic information. The bibliographic information includes the file name of the electronic document, the name of the application software that generated the electronic document, the date and time, and the like. The printing conditions and bibliographic information are transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100 together with the electronic document.

<Calculation of the number of output sheets>
FIG. 10 is an example of a diagram schematically illustrating an example of calculating the number of output sheets. The number of output sheets can be determined by the number of original pages, the number of copies, the number of aggregations, and the presence / absence of duplex printing. The output sheet count calculation means 203 refers to items related to the number of output sheets (for example, the number of copies and duplex / aggregation mode) from the number of document pages of an electronic document or paper document and the printing conditions of each job, and outputs Calculate the paper count.

  Number of manuscript pages: In the case of an electronic document, it is included in the bibliographic information attached to the electronic document. In the case of a paper document, the number of documents counted by the ADF 1 is used (when a document having a document written on both sides is read, the ADF 1 counts one document twice). In the case of a standby job in which a job has already been registered, one of these document page numbers is included in the job information.

  Aggregation number, duplex printing: When the aggregation number is 2, the number of document pages is set to a constant ½, and when the aggregation number is 4, the number of document pages is set to a constant ¼. In the case of duplex printing, the number of document pages is set to a constant ½. If both are set, multiply by two constants. Round up to the nearest decimal place.

  Bookbinding printing: In the case of bookbinding printing, the number of aggregation is 2 and synonymous with double-sided printing, so a constant 1/4 is applied.

  Number of copies: The result of multiplying the number of original pages by the above constant is multiplied by an integer by the number of copies.

  Other: When the paper size is A3 size or larger, one A3 sheet is counted as two sheets (double counting). In consideration of the color mode, it is possible to count one sheet for monochrome printing and 2 to 5 sheets for color printing.

  FIG. 11 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure in which the image forming apparatus 100 counts the number of output sheets. The first half of the drawing shows the calculation of the number of output sheets for a paper document, and the second half shows the calculation of the number of output sheets for a standby job.

  In the case of a job in which a scanner reads a paper document, the document page measuring unit 201 acquires the number of document pages from the ADF 1 or the like (S1). Also, the printing condition acquisition unit 202 acquires printing conditions from the operation panel 70 (S2).

  The output sheet count calculation unit 203 acquires the number of document pages and the printing conditions from both (S3, S4).

Then, the output sheet count calculation unit 203 counts the number of output sheets from the number of document pages and the printing conditions (S5). For example, when the number of manuscript pages is 6 and there are both sides, no consolidation, and the number of copies is 10,
The number of output sheets = (6 × 1/2) × 10 = 30.

  In the case of a standby job, the number of original pages and printing conditions are included in the job information, and the standby job information acquisition unit 206 acquires job information of the standby job based on the reservation management table 540.

  Therefore, the manuscript page measuring unit 201 obtains the number of manuscript pages from the standby job information obtaining unit 206 (S6). The document page measuring unit 201 sends the number of document pages to the output sheet count calculating unit 203 (S7).

  Further, the printing condition acquisition unit 202 acquires the printing conditions from the standby job information acquisition unit 206 (S8). The printing condition acquisition unit 202 sends the printing conditions to the output sheet count calculation unit 203 (S9).

  Then, the output sheet count calculation unit 203 counts the number of output sheets from the number of document pages and the printing conditions (S10).

<Setting the maximum number of sheets>
FIG. 12 is an example of the upper limit number setting screen 501 displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 71. When the administrator presses the initial setting key 77 and inputs a predetermined operation from the operation panel 70, an upper limit number setting screen 501 is displayed. A function relating to the setting of the upper limit number is provided by the upper limit count setting means 210.

  The upper limit number setting screen 501 has a “cancel” button 508, a “setting” button 509, a message “Please set the ratio of job usage”, a “setting list” button 503, change buttons 504 to 506, and a setting table 507. Have FIG. 12 assumes settings for each user, but settings for each department or for each image forming apparatus 100 are also possible.

  A “setting list” button 503 is a button for displaying a list of users. In the setting table 507, for example, a setting example of the upper limit number of sheets for each week as a division unit is displayed by dividing one month by week. In this case, the administrator can set an upper limit number of sheets for one month. In the figure, “ratio (%)” is displayed. When “percentage (%)” is multiplied by the upper limit sheet number for one month, the upper limit sheet number for each week as a division unit is calculated.

  For example, if the upper limit number of management units is 10,000, the upper limit number of sheets in the first week is “4000”, the upper limit number of sheets in the second week is “2000”, and the upper limit number of sheets in the third week is “ 1000 sheets ”, the upper limit number of sheets in the fourth week is“ 1000 sheets ”, and the upper limit number of sheets in the fifth week is“ 2000 sheets ”.

  Using the numeric keypad 72, the administrator can set the ratio from the first week to the fifth week in units of 1%. The upper limit count setting unit 210 corrects the weekly values other than those set by the administrator so that the total is 100%.

  The print count storage unit 204 stores the number of output sheets of the user in association with the date. By associating with the date, it is possible to flexibly cope with the change of the management unit and the division unit.

A change button 505 is a button for switching the management unit to another period (for example, 1 to 10 weeks, 1 month to 12 months, 1 year, etc.).
FIG. 12B is an example of the upper limit number setting screen 511 displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel when the change button 505 is pressed.

The upper limit number setting screen 511 includes a message “Please select management unit”, “Year” button 514, “Month” button 515, “Week” button 516, Month number input field 517, Week number input field 518, A “cancel” button 512 and a “setting” button 513 are provided. The administrator can freely set the management unit by pressing each button or operating the numeric keypad 72. When the user presses the “SET” button 513, the screen returns to the upper limit number setting screen 501 in FIG.
A change button 506 is a button for switching the division unit.
FIG. 12C is an example of the upper limit number setting screen 521 displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 71 when the change button 506 is pressed.

The upper limit number setting screen 521 has a message “Please select a division unit”, “Month” button 524, “Week” button 525, “Cancel” button 522, and “Set” button 521. The administrator can set the division unit by pressing each button. When the administrator presses the “SET” button 521, the screen returns to the upper limit number setting screen 501 in FIG.
FIG. 12D shows an example of the upper limit number setting screen 531 in which the management unit is set to the year and the division unit is set to the month. Unlike FIG. 12A, the administrator can set the ratio for each month. Using the numeric keypad 72, the administrator can set the ratio from January to December in units of 1%. The upper limit count setting unit 210 corrects the numerical value of the month other than that set by the administrator so that the total becomes 100%.

  Although the upper limit number setting screens 501, 511, 521, and 531 displayed on the operation panel 70 are illustrated in the figure, they can be displayed on the display of the administrator PC 400. In this case, the administrator starts up the browser of the administrator PC 400, specifies the IP address of the image forming apparatus 100, and logs in to the image forming apparatus 100 by inputting a password or the like. Since the image forming apparatus 100 transmits an upper limit number setting screen (for example, an HTML file, an XML file) to the administrator PC 400, the administrator can set the upper limit number, the ratio, the management unit, and the division unit with the same operability. 100 can be set.

<Management of reserved jobs>
FIG. 13 is an example of the operation screen 301 displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 71. In FIG. 13, the description of the same part as in FIG. 8 is omitted.

  The “printing” tab displays the printing conditions of the printing job being printed by the plotter engine 182. The “standby 1 to 3” tab displays the print conditions of the standby job that is on standby. In the “New” tab, an operation screen 301 in which the user is setting copy conditions is displayed. Here, when the user presses the start key 74, a new job is registered.

  In the present embodiment, a new job will be described separately for a read job and a standby job. Among the new jobs, the job after the paper document reading operation is completed and the image data is determined is referred to as a read job, and the job after the image data is determined is referred to as a standby job. Therefore, “determined” means that the printing condition is temporarily determined (if there is no change, it remains as it is).

  Further, when printing image data that has already been spooled in the storage device 179, the reading job is until the user specifies an electronic document (image data) on the operation panel 70 and presses the start key. As described above, after this, this job becomes a standby job.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, a job being printed, a standby job, and a new job may be collectively referred to as a “reserved job”.

  The standby job transitions to the printing job in order when there is no printing job. When the image data is confirmed, the new job transitions from the reading job to the standby job. Note that a new job may become a printing job immediately after a transition from a reading job to a standby job (when the plotter engine 182 is free).

  FIG. 14 is an example of a diagram for schematically explaining management of reserved jobs. The job information management unit 220 acquires job information from each application such as a copy application and registers it in the reservation management table 540 stored in the storage device 179.

  In the reservation management table 540, “status”, “job number”, “image number”, “printing condition”, “bibliographic information”, and the like are registered for each job. “Status” indicates the distinction between a job being printed, a standby job, and a new job. When the job management unit 220 obtains notification of completion of printing of the printing job from the application, the job management unit 220 requests the application to print the standby job, deletes the “printing job”, and changes to “printing job” in “standby job”. Register the transition.

  “Job number” is, for example, a serial number that does not overlap. The “image number” is associated with a storage location (address) of image data in the storage device 179. The “print condition” is associated with the storage location (address) of each job stored in the storage device 179. The “bibliographic information” is associated with the storage location (address) of each job stored in the storage device 179.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 100 can access information necessary for printing from the reservation management table 540 when a job is specified.

<Print condition change table>
FIG. 15 shows an example of the print condition change table 550. The print condition change table 550 indicates the “count difference” of the number of output sheets when the “target function” of the print condition is changed to the “change function”, for various “target functions” and “change functions”. It has the result calculated according to the combination. The change table 550 is stored in the storage device 179 in advance.

  The print condition presenting means 208 refers to the change table 550 and presents the print conditions and changes the operation. For example, when the single-sided printing is changed to the double-sided printing, it is understood that the number of output sheets may be reduced by one as the count difference. By registering on the table in this way, it is not necessary for the printing condition presentation unit 208 to calculate the number of reductions in the number of output sheets in accordance with various combinations of “target functions” and “change functions”.

  “Function classification” is a function that enables a reduction in the number of output sheets. “Double-sided / consolidation” means that single-sided printing has been changed to double-sided printing, or the number of consolidations has increased. “Color printing” means that color printing is changed to monochrome printing, and “paper” means that double-count paper is changed to single-count paper.

  “No.” in the change table 550 indicates the order in which the printing conditions can be easily changed (the smaller the number, the easier it is to change), and corresponds to the arrangement order of items in a “printing condition change priority setting screen” 701 described later. is doing. It is assumed that the priority of “change function” is determined by the arrangement of the change table 550. Note that “easy to change printing conditions” means that the influence of the change is less. Since how to feel the influence varies depending on the user, it is preferable that the user can change the arrangement of the change table 550.

<Job selection settings>
FIG. 16 shows an example of a print condition change priority setting screen 701 displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 71. When the administrator presses the initial setting key 77 and inputs a predetermined operation from the operation panel 70, a printing condition change priority setting screen 701 is displayed.

  The print condition change priority setting screen 701 is a screen for setting how the print condition presenting unit 208 changes the print condition of the reserved job. The print condition of the reservation job including the change mode set on the print condition change priority setting screen 701 is changed.

  On the print condition change priority setting screen 701, the message “Set the print condition change priority for the print standby job. Items with check boxes in the following items are treated as target jobs”, “OK” ”Button 702,“ Previous ”button 703, and“ Next ”button 704 are displayed.

  In the print condition change priority setting screen 701, a change mode (for example, changing single-sided printing to double-sided printing) 705 is registered as a pair with a check box. This change mode corresponds to “target function” and “change function” in the change table 550. For example, when “double-sided printing” is checked, a change mode of changing single-sided printing (target function) to double-sided printing (changing function) is set. Thus, a change mode of increasing the number of aggregation functions is set. As described above, the print condition change priority setting screen 701 is a screen for setting print conditions before and after the change.

  In this change mode, the print condition before the change corresponds to the “target function” in the change table 550, and the print condition after the change corresponds to the “change function”. For example, for “duplex printing”, the change table 550 No. Nos. 1 and 10 correspond to “Increase in number of aggregated sheets (1)”. Nos. 2 and 8 correspond to “Increase in number of aggregated sheets (2)”. Nine records correspond. In addition, there is a record that is determined by a plurality of change modes so that No. 5 is a record that is specified when both “double-sided printing” and “increase number of consolidated pages (1)” are selected.

  The user operates the “Previous” button 703 and the “Next” button 704 to scroll the screen, select a print condition that can be changed from the standby jobs while viewing the print condition, and touch the check box. Set a mark.

  As will be described later, the standby jobs are sorted according to the order of the change table 550 in FIG. 15 regardless of the order of registration as jobs. If the number of sheets of output paper falls below the upper limit count by changing the print conditions of the standby job in the order in which the print condition presentation unit 208 is sorted, the change of the print conditions of the standby job may be stopped there. The printing conditions may be changed for all standby jobs.

<Operation procedure>
Hereinafter, an operation procedure of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to a screen example.
FIG. 17 is an example of a flowchart illustrating a procedure for presenting or changing printing conditions that do not exceed the upper limit count for a reading job or a standby job. Note that the user has already logged in to the image forming apparatus 100, and the image forming apparatus 100 has specified the user name and the like.

  This procedure starts, for example, when the number of output sheets for the reading job is determined. Therefore, for example, the process starts immediately after the user presses the start key and the reading of the document is completed.

  First, the count comparison means 207 determines whether or not the upper limit count is exceeded (S1-1). For this determination, the output sheet count calculation unit 203 calculates the number of output sheets of the reading job according to the above procedure. The output sheet count calculation unit 203 similarly calculates the number of output sheets of the job being printed and the number of output sheets of the standby job.

  The count comparison unit 207 sums the number of three output sheets, and further sums it with the number of output sheets stored in the print count storage unit 204. The number of output sheets stored in the print count storage unit 204 is the number of output sheets already printed by the user during the management unit.

  Further, the upper limit count acquisition unit 205 acquires the upper limit number (for example, in division units) of the target user set by the upper limit count setting unit 210.

  Then, the count comparison unit 207 determines whether or not the upper limit count is exceeded based on whether or not the total number of output sheets is larger than the upper limit number. If the upper limit count is not exceeded (No in S1-1), the process in FIG. 17 ends.

  If the upper limit count is exceeded (Yes in S1-1), the job management unit 220 determines whether there is an unreferenced submitted job (S1-2). The “input job” is a job (standby job, reading job) whose print conditions can be changed. “Reference” refers to examining whether or not the printing conditions can be changed.

  If there is an unreferenced input job (Yes in S1-2), the printing condition presenting unit 208 determines whether the reading job is unreferenced (S1-3). This determination is a determination for preferentially referencing the reading job, and is Yes at the first determination in step S1-3.

  When the reading job is not referenced (Yes in S1-3), the printing condition acquisition unit 202 reads the printing condition of the reading job from the storage device 179, and the printing condition is set on the printing condition change priority setting screen 701. It is determined whether it is included in the printing condition of “target function” (S1-4). This determination makes it clear whether or not the number of output sheets can be reduced by changing the printing conditions.

  If the print condition of the read job is not included in the print condition of the “target function” set on the print condition change priority setting screen 701 (No in S1-4), the print condition of the read job cannot be changed. Therefore, the process returns to step S1-1 and proceeds to step S1-3 again.

  When the print condition of the read job is included in the print condition of “target function” set on the print condition change priority setting screen 701 (Yes in S1-4), the output paper count calculation unit 203 displays the print condition of the print condition. With reference to the change table 550, the record of the target function included in the print condition among the “target functions” of the change table 550 is read. Then, the number of output sheets when the reading job is changed to the “change function” printing condition of the change table 550 is calculated (S1-5). Thus, it can be determined whether or not the number of output sheets is equal to or less than the upper limit number.

  Then, the printing condition presentation unit 208 displays a change presentation screen on the liquid crystal touch panel (S1-6). FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating and explaining several screens. In step S1-6, the change presentation screen 601 in FIG. The change presentation screen 601 displays the message “The printing of the reading job has reached the upper limit. If the following print conditions are changed, printing can be performed within the upper limit. Do you want to change?” 604 is displayed. In addition, “target function” that is the printing condition before the change and “change function” that is the printing condition after the change are displayed. Note that the number of output sheets to be saved (count difference) may be displayed.

  When changing the printing conditions of the reading job, the change presentation screen 601 does not need to be displayed if printing cannot be performed within the upper limit number. This is because the process proceeds to a process for changing the print condition of the standby job.

  When changing to this condition, the user presses the “Yes” button 602, and when not changing, the user presses the “No” button 603.

  The print condition presenting means 208 waits for the user's operation. When the user operates, the print condition presenting means 208 determines whether or not to change the print condition (S1-7). The print condition presenting means 208 determines that the print condition is changed if the user presses the “Yes” button 602 (Yes in S1-7).

  When the user presses the “No” button 603 (No in S1-7), the print condition presenting means 208 determines that the print condition is not changed to the “change function” shown in FIG. Return to S1-1.

  When the user presses the “Yes” button 602 (Yes in S1-7), the printing condition presenting unit 208 determines to change the printing condition to the “changing function” illustrated in FIG. For this reason, the standby job information changing unit 209 changes the printing condition of the reading job (S1-8). The standby job information changing unit 209 refers to the reservation management table 540, accesses the print condition of the job information of the reserved job, and changes the print condition.

  As described above, the printing conditions of the reading job can be changed.

  Next, the process returns to step S1-1. If the upper limit count over is not solved depending on the change in the print condition of the reading job, it is determined whether there is an unreferenced job. If there is a waiting job, the process proceeds to step S1-3.

  If the read job is not unreferenced (No in S1-3), the print condition presenting unit 208 determines whether or not a change mode for extracting a standby job is set in the print condition change priority setting screen 701 ( S1-9).

  When the change mode for extracting the standby job is set (Yes in S1-9), the standby job information acquisition unit 206 searches for the standby job including the print condition before the change mode is changed (S1-10). The standby job information acquisition unit 206 refers to the reservation management table 540, accesses the print conditions of all standby jobs, and searches for all standby jobs including a change mode for extracting the standby jobs.

  At this time, the standby job information acquisition unit 206 refers to the change table 550 and sorts the standby jobs in the order of printing conditions that are easy to change.

  Then, the standby job information acquisition unit 206 determines whether or not the standby job including the printing condition before the change mode is changed in the search (S1-11). When the waiting job including the printing condition before the change mode is not found in the search (No in S1-11), the process determines the upper limit count over in S1-1 without changing the printing condition of the waiting job. Return to. In this case, it is determined No in step S1-2, and the process proceeds to step S1-18.

  When the standby job including the print condition before the change mode is changed in the search (Yes in S1-11), the output sheet count calculation unit 203 changes the print condition for one or more standby jobs found by the search. The number of output sheets when changing to the changed printing conditions set on the priority setting screen 701 is calculated (S1-12). First, the number of output sheets is counted under the changed printing condition for the standby job whose printing condition is most easily changed based on the sorted result.

  Next, the count comparison unit 207 determines whether or not the total number of output sheets of the standby job and the reading job has fallen below the upper limit number due to the change of the printing conditions (S1-13).

  When the number is below the upper limit (Yes in S1-13), the printing condition presentation unit 208 displays the change presentation screen 611 on the liquid crystal touch panel (S1-14).

  20B and 20C show examples of the change presentation screens 611 and 621. FIG. In step S1-14, there are two change presentation screens 611. FIG. 20B shows a change presentation screen 611 for forcibly changing the print condition of the standby job without the user's permission, and FIG. 20C shows the case of changing the print condition of the standby job upon accepting the user's permission. This is a change presentation screen 621. Which is displayed is set in advance from the initial setting key 77.

  FIG. 20B is different from FIG. 20A in that “target function” which is the print condition before the change and “change function” which is the print condition after the change are displayed for one or more standby jobs. In addition, a message 613 including “login name” is displayed to clearly indicate the user of the standby job. When the user presses the “Confirm” button 612, the print condition presenting means 208 accepts the change of the print condition.

  In FIG. 20C, a message 624, a “Yes” button 622, and a “No” button 623 are displayed instead of the “Confirm” button. When the user presses the “Yes” button 622, the print condition presenting means 208 accepts the change of the print condition, and when the user presses the “No” button 623, the print condition presenting means 208 does not accept the change of the print condition.

  Returning to FIG. 17, when the number is not less than the upper limit (No in S1-13), the printing condition presenting means 208 displays the priority change screen 631 on the liquid crystal touch panel (S1-15).

  FIG. 20D shows an example of the priority change screen 631. On the priority change screen 631, the message “Reading job reaches the maximum number of prints. Even if the print condition of the standby job is changed, the upper limit number is reached. Do you want to change it? ”,“ Yes ”button 634,“ No ”button 635,“ Priority setting ”button 632, and“ Change details ”button 633 are displayed.

  When the “priority setting” button 632 is pressed, the print condition change priority setting screen 701 shown in FIG. 16 is displayed, and the user can operate the operation panel 70 to set the print conditions. The “change details” button 633 is a button for displaying printing conditions before and after the change.

  The printing condition presenting means 208 determines which of the “Yes” buttons 622 and 634 or the “No” buttons 623 and 635 the user has selected (whether the change of the printing conditions is permitted) (S1-16), When changing the printing condition (Yes in S1-16), the standby job information changing unit 209 changes the printing condition of the standby job (S1-17). The standby job information changing unit 209 refers to the reservation management table 540, accesses the print condition of the job information of the standby job, and changes the print condition.

  Thereafter, when the printing conditions are not changed (No in S1-16), the process returns to step S1-1. In this case, if there is an unreferenced job, steps S1-9 and subsequent steps are executed. That is, the print conditions of the sorted standby jobs with the next priority are changed.

  In step S1-2, when the upper limit count is exceeded but there is no unreferenced input job, and when the print condition for extracting the standby job is not set (No in S1-9), for example, print condition presenting means 208 displays a print cancel screen 651 and the process ends (S1-18).

  FIG. 20E shows an example of the print cancellation screen 651. The print cancellation screen 651 displays the messages “Job printing has stopped because it has reached the maximum number of sheets.” “If the priority setting for changing the print condition of the standby job is changed, the job may be executed.” 653, and , A “confirm” button 652 is displayed.

  When the user presses a “confirm” button 652, the liquid crystal touch panel 71 returns to the operation screen 301 without registering the read job as a job in the reservation management table 540 or without registering the print condition.

  With the above processing, the print condition of the standby job can be changed, and the number of output sheets can be made to be less than the upper limit count.

  In the first embodiment, the printing conditions can be changed every time the user registers a job in the processing of FIG. 17, but the user may feel troublesome. Therefore, a process for securing printing of the next job in advance will be described. The next job is a temporary job that is not a reading job, and is a job that does not actually exist.

<Next job processing>
FIG. 18 shows an example of a flowchart showing a procedure for securing the number of output sheets for the next job. In FIG. 18, steps S1-5 to S1-8 in FIG. 17 are replaced with S2-1 to S2-8.

  In step S1-4, if the print condition of the read job is included in the print condition before the change mode set in the print condition change priority setting screen 701 (Yes in S1-4), the print condition presenting unit A step 208 determines whether the setting for securing the next job is valid (S2-1). The setting for securing the next job refers to the setting contents on whether or not to secure the next job, which is set on the screen displayed by the administrator from the initial screen or the like.

  If the setting for securing the next job is valid (Yes in S2-1), the output sheet count calculation unit 203 refers to the print condition change table 550 and records “target function” including the print condition of the read job. Is read.

  Then, the number of output sheets when the read job is changed to the “change function” printing condition of the change table 550 is counted (S2-2).

  Next, the printing condition presentation unit 208 displays the change presentation screen 661 on the liquid crystal touch panel 71 (S2-3). FIG. 20F shows an example of the change presentation screen 661. On this change presentation screen 661, the message “The print of the read job has reached the maximum number of prints. Do you want to change the print conditions of the read job and standby job? If there is a next job, reserve the next job. “Change print condition” 646, “Next job reservation” button 642, “Change details” button 643, “Yes” button 644 and “No” button 645 are displayed. When the user presses a “next job reservation” button 642, the print condition presentation unit 208 accepts the reservation of the next job.

  When the user presses the “Yes” button 644, the print condition presenting means 208 accepts the change of the print condition, and when the user presses the “No” button 645, the print condition presenting means 208 does not accept the change of the print condition.

  The print condition presentation unit 208 determines whether or not the next job has been secured (S2-4). If the reservation of the next job is not accepted (No in S2-4), the process proceeds to step S2-7.

  When the reservation of the next job is accepted (Yes in S2-4), the printing condition presenting unit 208 displays the next job reservation screen 711 (S2-5).

  FIG. 21 shows an example of the next job securing screen 711. On the next job reservation screen 711, a “Cancel” button 712, a “Set” button 713, a message “Please set the amount of jobs you want to secure.” And an input field 714 for “Number of original pages” and “Number of copies” A column 715 is displayed. The user can secure the job amount by operating the operation panel 70 and inputting “number of original pages” and “number of copies”.

  In addition to the “detail setting” button 716, a message “Pressing the detail setting button can set a document with a different number of copies from the number of originals, such as double-sided or consolidated / bookbinding” is displayed on the next job securing screen 711. Has been. For the next job, after the “detailed setting” button 716 is pressed, both sides set by the user and aggregation / binding are set as printing conditions. By preferentially presenting such settings, the number of output sheets can be easily suppressed.

  If the user does not press the “detail setting” button 716, single-sided printing is automatically selected as the printing condition. When the user presses the “setting” button 712, the screen returns to the change presentation screen 661 in FIG.

  Next, the output sheet count calculation unit 203 refers to the change table 550 and reads a “target function” record including the print condition of the next job set by the user on the next job securing screen 711. Then, among the printing conditions of the next job, the number of output sheets when the “target function” set on the printing condition change priority setting screen 701 is changed to the “change function” is counted (S2-6).

  The print condition presenting means 208 waits for input of the “Yes” button 644 and the “No” button 645, that is, waits for an input as to whether or not to change the print condition (S2-7). If entered, this process ends.

  If it is input that the printing condition is to be changed (Yes in S2-7), the standby job information changing unit 209 changes the printing condition (S2-8). In this case, there are a case where the printing conditions of the reading job and the next job are changed, and a case where only the printing conditions of the reading job are changed (No in S2-4).

  When the next job is secured, the standby job information changing unit 209 requests the job management unit 220 to register the job information of the next job in the reservation management table 540. As a result, the job information of the next job is registered in the reservation management table 540 in a form in which the next job is secured, and the printing conditions of the reading job and the standby job are changed.

  Next, the process returns to step S1-1. If the upper limit count has been exceeded (Yes in S1-1), the print condition of the standby job is changed on the condition that the read job is not unreferenced (S1-3 No). Is done. Since this process is the same as that in the first embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

  As described above, in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment, the administrator executes, in advance, a procedure for securing the number of output sheets for the next job when the upper limit count is exceeded from the administrator screen. Can be set. With this setting, the change of the printing condition of the next job becomes effective, and the number of output sheets of the next job after the reading job can be secured.

<Procedure for setting the ratio of the maximum number of sheets>
As already described, the administrator can set the upper limit number from the upper limit number setting screen 501 or the like. When the upper limit number is reached, if the upper limit number can be changed, the reading job or the next job can be executed. The administrator can set in advance the upper limit number setting screen 501 or the like so that the user can change the upper limit number.

  FIG. 19 is an example of a flowchart illustrating a procedure in which the upper limit count setting unit 210 sets the upper limit number of sheets. The procedure of FIG. 19 is executed, for example, when the upper limit number is exceeded or when the user starts the ratio changing process at a desired timing.

  First, the upper limit count setting unit 210 determines whether or not an upper limit count ratio has been set (S3-1). If the upper limit count ratio is not set (No in S3-1), the process ends.

  When the setting of the ratio of the upper limit count has been performed (Yes in S3-1), the upper limit count storage unit 204 performs a result update process (S3-2). The performance update process is to update the user's past output number every time a job is completed. In this embodiment, since the upper limit number is managed for each user, the upper limit count storage unit 204 updates the result of the output number for each user and stores it in the storage device 179. This result is initialized for each management unit.

  Next, the upper limit count setting unit 210 determines whether there is a margin with respect to the upper limit number of sheets until the middle of the management unit (S3-3). While the determination in step S1-1 sets the ratio to the management unit as the upper limit number, here, whether or not the user has a margin for the upper limit number in the middle of the management unit (for example, up to the second week). Is determined. Further, “margin” means that there are fewer results than the upper limit number of management units.

  When there is no margin in the results (No in S3-3), the process ends because there is no significance in changing the ratio.

  When there is a margin in the actual result (Yes in S3-3), the upper limit number increases by changing the ratio, so the upper limit count setting unit 210 displays the ratio change inquiry screen 661 (S3-4).

  FIG. 20G shows an example of the ratio change inquiry screen 661. On the ratio change inquiry screen 661, the message “The print of the reading job has reached the upper limit number of sheets. Since the printing result is below the plan, it is possible to carry over the margin. Do you want to change the ratio setting?” 665 "Yes" button 663, "No" button 664, and "Change details" button 662 are displayed. When the user presses the “Yes” button 663, a result ratio change screen 801 is displayed.

  When the user presses the “Yes” button 663 (Yes in S3-5), the upper limit count setting unit 210 displays the result ratio change screen 801 and starts changing the ratio (S3-6).

  FIG. 22 shows an example of a performance ratio change screen 801 displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel. The achievement ratio change screen 801 has a “cancel” button 802, a “setting” button 803, and a setting table 804. In the setting table 804, “usage results” and “after results reflection” are displayed for “setting values” (the ratio set in FIG. 12).

  For the sake of explanation, it is assumed that the second week has passed and the third week has now started. The upper limit count setting unit 210 statistically records the results of the first week and the second week, and calculates that the “usage results” are 20% and 10% of the management unit. Since the “set values” are 40% and 20%, respectively, there is a margin for the actual usage.

  The upper limit count setting means 210 allocates the remaining usable ratio (= 100% -30%) to the remaining plurality of weeks (for example, equally) and displays it on the actual ratio change screen 801. In the “after reflecting results” in the figure, the third week is 20%, the fourth week is 20%, and the fifth week is 30%. The sum of the ratios of these three “after reflecting results” is the same as 70% of the usable ratio.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that the “set value” in the third week is 10%, but the number of output sheets is likely to exceed the upper limit. However, since the proportion of the third week has increased from 10% to 20% for the user, another 10% easier output can be used for printing with respect to the upper limit number of management units.

  Note that the ratio of “after reflecting results” can be corrected by the user selecting an item and inputting a value with the numeric keypad. When the user presses the “SET” button 803, the screen returns to the ratio change inquiry screen.

  When the user presses the “No” button 664 on the rate change inquiry screen 661 and does not display the result rate change screen 801 (No in S3-5), the remaining available rates are automatically set to the remaining plurality of available rates. Allocated weekly.

  With the above processing, even if the number of output sheets exceeds the upper limit, the upper limit can be increased if there is a margin in the past results, so the user can print the reading job without changing the printing conditions. Can do.

70 Operation Panel 100 Image Forming Apparatus 171 CPU
172 ROM
173 RAM
174 External I / F
175 Communication card 176 Panel control unit 177 Scanner engine control unit 178 Plotter engine control unit 183 FAX engine control unit 179 Storage device 200 Client PC
201 Document Page Measurement Unit 202 Print Condition Acquisition Unit 203 Output Paper Count Calculation Unit 204 Print Count Storage Unit 205 Upper Limit Count Acquisition Unit 206 Standby Job Information Acquisition Unit 207 Count Comparison Unit 208 Print Condition Presentation Unit 209 Standby Job Information Change Unit 210 Upper Limit Count Setting means 220 Job management means

JP 2009-283993 A

Claims (12)

Page number acquisition means for acquiring the number of pages of a document for each job;
Printing condition receiving means for receiving printing conditions;
Output number calculating means for calculating the number of output sheets for each job from the number of pages and printing conditions;
Output number storage means for storing the number of printed sheets of the output paper in a predetermined management period;
An upper limit number storing means for storing an upper limit number for determining an upper limit of the output number;
Job management means for managing the number of pages of the standby job waiting for the printing start by the printing means, printing conditions, and image data;
Job information acquisition means for acquiring printing conditions of the standby job;
Comparing means for comparing the upper limit number with a value obtained by adding the number of printed sheets to the number of output sheets of the standby job calculated by the output number calculating means;
When the comparison unit determines that the value exceeds the upper limit number, the print condition presenting unit presenting the print condition after the change of the standby job, the value being equal to or less than the upper limit number;
An image forming apparatus comprising: Job information changing means for changing the print condition of the standby job to the print condition presented by the print condition presenting means;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: From a list of print condition change modes, a selection receiving unit that receives selection of the change mode,
The print condition presenting means presents the changed print condition received by the selection accepting means for the standby job having the pre-change print condition included in the change mode accepted by the selection accepting means;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. A storage means for a change table in which a set of pre-change print conditions and post-change print conditions are registered in order of priority;
When there are a plurality of the standby jobs having the pre-change printing conditions included in the change mode received by the selection receiving unit,
The printing condition presenting means sorts the waiting jobs in order of priority of the change table;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3. When the print condition presenting means changes the print condition of the standby job having the pre-change print condition included in the change mode received by the selection accepting means, the value does not become the upper limit number or less, Displaying a screen asking whether or not to select the change mode;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3. The printing condition presenting means for the newest job submitted to the image forming apparatus,
The number of output sheets after the change is calculated in the order of priority of the change table, and the value obtained by adding the calculated number of output sheets and the number of printed sheets is equal to or less than the upper limit number of sheets and the post-change print conditions. Determine a set of printing conditions,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 4. When the comparison means determines that the value exceeds the upper limit number of sheets,
The printing condition presenting means accepts the input of the number of pages, the number of copies of the temporary job, and the printing condition, and the printing condition of the temporary job is changed to be included in the change mode received by the selection receiving means. To
The job information changing means secures the output sheet of the temporary job by registering the changed printing condition as a temporary job.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. The job information changing means accepts printing conditions in which the number of document pages and the number of output sheets are different as printing conditions for a temporary job.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 7. Accepting the setting of the management period in a calendar unit, accepting the setting of a division period for dividing the management period into a plurality of calendar units shorter than the management period,
An upper limit setting means for assigning an allocation ratio of the upper limit number for each division period and setting the upper limit number of division periods for each division period;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The comparing means compares the value with the upper limit number of divided periods obtained by multiplying the upper limit number by the allocation ratio of the divided period to which the present corresponds;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 9. The upper limit setting means includes:
When one or more of the divided periods have elapsed, if the actual number of output sheets is less than the upper limit number of divided periods up to the divided period determined by the allocation ratio, the divided period Allocating the upper limit number of margins to the allocation ratio of the divided period that has not yet passed,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 10. Output number storage means for storing the number of printed sheets of output paper for a predetermined management period;
An upper limit sheet number storing means for storing an upper limit sheet number for determining an upper limit of the output sheet number, and an output sheet number management method for an image forming apparatus,
A page number acquisition means for acquiring the number of pages of a document for each job;
A step in which the printing condition receiving means receives the printing condition;
A step of calculating the number of output sheets for each job from the number of pages and the printing conditions;
A step in which the job management means manages the number of pages of the standby job waiting until the printing start by the printing means, the printing conditions, and the image data;
Job information acquisition means acquires the printing conditions of the standby job;
A step of comparing the upper limit number with a value obtained by adding the number of printed sheets to the number of output sheets of the standby job calculated by the output number calculating unit;
When the comparison means determines that the value has exceeded the upper limit number of sheets, a printing condition presenting means presents the standby job printing conditions in which the value is less than or equal to the upper limit number of sheets;
A method for managing the number of output sheets.

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