JP2012063552A - Apparatus, method and system for forming image - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus, a method and a system for forming an image which allow a user's desire to be reflected in a printing result in forcible printing.SOLUTION: There are provided an apparatus, a method and a system for forming an image that select from plural sheet feed trays a sheet feed tray holding a sheet specified by image-forming data; form an image contained in the image-forming data on the specified sheet; and forcibly print on another sheet when a sheet error occurs to the specified sheet. An image forming apparatus 10 includes a display panel that displays a display image produced by reducing an image Ap of a printing zone including a feed direction of said another sheet and an image Im that is an object of the forcible printing at the same scale, overlapping apexes V constituting reference, and overlapping respective two sides sandwiching the apex when a sheet error occurs.

Description

  In the present invention, when an out-of-paper error or an out-of-paper error in which an appropriate size or type of paper does not exist in the paper feed tray occurs during image formation processing, image formation is performed using paper from another paper feed tray. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and an image forming system.

  Conventionally, an image forming apparatus has another paper feed when a paper error occurs, such as when the paper runs out during the image forming process, or when a paper of an appropriate size or type is not in the paper feed tray. Some have a forced printing function for forming an image using paper on a tray (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Here, Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus that automatically restarts image formation using another paper feed tray having the closest condition when the paper error occurs during image formation.

  By the way, in the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1, it is assumed that a paper error that causes the A4 paper to run out occurs during image formation of A4 vertical (vertical: 297 mm, horizontal 210 mm) data. In this case, for example, when the paper selection condition is set in advance so as to preferentially select a paper of the same type as the designated paper and different size, B4 horizontal (vertical: 257 mm, horizontal: 364 mm) When forced printing is executed using the paper feed tray, an A4 vertical size image is printed in the B4 horizontal range. In this case, the entire horizontal direction of the image is printed, but the lower part of the image is missing without being printed. On the other hand, for example, when the paper selection condition is set in advance so as to preferentially select paper having a similar paper type and size, if forced printing is performed using the B5 vertical paper feed tray, the A4 vertical size In some cases, the image is partially cut and printed, and the print result desired by the user cannot be obtained.

  As described above, in the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, printing is automatically resumed using another paper feed tray having the closest condition during forced printing, so that the user's wish cannot be reflected in the print result. In addition, there is a problem in that it is not possible to determine whether or not the printing result is as desired unless actually printed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and an image forming system capable of reflecting a user's wishes on a printing result at the time of forced printing. To do.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the image forming apparatus of the present invention selects a designated paper tray holding a designated paper designated by image forming data from a plurality of paper feed trays, and An image forming apparatus that forms an image included in the image forming data and executes forced printing with another sheet when a sheet error related to the designated sheet occurs, and when the sheet error occurs, A display in which the image of the print area including the feeding direction of the other paper and the image to be forcibly printed are reduced at the same scale, the reference vertexes are overlapped, and the two sides sandwiching the vertexes are overlapped. It is characterized by comprising display means for displaying an image for use.

  Here, in the present invention, the paper error relating to the designated paper refers to an error that occurs due to out of paper during the image forming process, or because there is no paper of an appropriate size or type in the paper feed tray. To do.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention described above, the display unit may be a rectangular display unit, and the length of a larger one of the image in the print area and the image to be forcibly printed. Displaying a compulsory print selection screen including a display unit for displaying a compulsory print selection screen including a display unit that displays the display image that has been reduced and overlapped so that the side becomes one side of the display unit It is characterized by.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention further includes a display image creating unit that creates a display image obtained by rotating the image to be forcibly printed by a predetermined angle with respect to the image in the print area. It is characterized by that.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention further includes a display image creating unit that creates a display image by enlarging or reducing the image to be forcibly printed with respect to the image in the print area. It is characterized by that.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention further includes a display image creating unit that creates a display image in which the image to be forcedly printed is page-shifted with respect to the image in the print area. It is characterized by.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention further includes a display image creating unit that creates a display image in which the image to be forcibly printed is page-backed with respect to the image in the print area. It is characterized by.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above invention, the image forming apparatus further comprises display image creating means for creating an image of the print area in accordance with a paper size of the other paper.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, in the above invention, a print image creating unit that creates a print image that holds a position of the image to be forcibly printed with respect to the image of the print region in the display image. It is characterized by providing.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, in the above invention, the image to be forcibly printed of the display image is positioned at a position corresponding to the image in the print area of the display image on the other sheet. A print image creating means for creating a print image to be printed is provided.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the image forming method of the present invention selects a paper feed tray holding a designated paper designated by image forming data from a plurality of paper feed trays, and An image forming method for forming an image included in the image forming data on a specified sheet and executing forcible printing with another sheet when a sheet error relating to the specified sheet occurs, wherein the sheet error occurs In addition, a paper feed tray selection step of selecting a paper feed tray holding the other paper from the plurality of paper feed trays, an image of a print area including a paper feed direction of the other paper, and a target of the forced printing And a display step of displaying a display image in which two sides sandwiching the vertex are overlapped with each other and the reference vertex is overlapped.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an image forming system of the present invention is connected to the image forming apparatus and the image forming apparatus via a network, and transmits an image to the image forming apparatus. A paper feed tray holding a designated paper designated by the formation data is selected from a plurality of paper feed trays of the image forming apparatus, and an image included in the image formation data is printed on the designated paper, and a paper related to the designated paper And a management device that causes the image forming apparatus to execute forced printing on another sheet when an error occurs.

  In the image forming system of the present invention, in the above invention, when the paper error occurs, the image of the print area including the feeding direction of the other paper and the image to be forcibly printed are the same. The image processing apparatus includes a management-side display unit that reduces the scale and overlaps the reference vertex and displays a display image in which two sides sandwiching the vertex are overlapped.

  According to the present invention, when a paper error occurs, the image of the print area including the feeding direction of the other paper and the image to be forcibly printed are reduced at the same scale, and the reference vertex is overlapped. Since the display image with the two sides sandwiching the vertex is displayed, the user can determine whether to continue or cancel the forced printing from the displayed image, and the user's print result at the time of forced printing can be determined. The effect is that the hope can be reflected.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an overview of an image forming system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the printer apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention connected to the network. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the printer apparatus. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a forced printing selection screen displayed on the operation panel as an error message. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view for explaining the display of the icon indicating the paper feed tray displayed on the forced print selection screen. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a forced print selection screen when a paper feed tray holding B5 paper whose paper feed direction is horizontal is selected. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an image to be forcibly printed and an image in the print area of the paper displayed on the display screen. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a forced print selection screen when a paper feed tray holding A3 paper whose paper feed direction is horizontal is selected. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an automatic cancellation warning screen that is displayed when execution of forced printing is selected on the forced printing selection screen. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure executed by the printer device when forcibly printing print data on a sheet. FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining display image creation processing executed in printing of print data on paper. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a forced print selection screen of the printer apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram in which an image to be forcibly printed is rotated on the forced print selection screen shown in FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining a control procedure executed by the printer device 10 during forced printing including image rotation and size correction. FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining size correction of an image to be forcibly printed with respect to an image in a print area on the display screen. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating another example of size correction. FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining rotation and size correction of an image to be forcibly printed with respect to an image in a print area on the display screen. FIG. 18 is a diagram of a forced printing selection screen for explaining forced printing using the page feed function and the page return function. FIG. 19 is a diagram of a print menu screen displayed when an execution button for executing forced printing is operated on the forced printing selection screen. FIG. 20 is a flowchart for explaining a control procedure executed by the printer apparatus 10 in forced printing using the page feed function or the page return function. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a forced print selection screen of the printer device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a paper size setting screen for setting the paper size. FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure executed by the printer device when paper is forcibly printed by feeding paper from the manual feed tray. FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a forced print selection screen of the printer device according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 25 is a diagram in which an image to be forcibly printed is displayed in the center of the display screen on the forced printing selection screen shown in FIG. FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure executed by the printer device when the image to be forcedly printed is centered and forcibly printed. FIG. 27 is a diagram for explaining the print position associated with centering based on the image to be forcibly printed and the image in the print area displayed on the display screen D shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the image forming apparatus, the image forming method, and the image forming system of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, an image forming system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention that uses a printer device including a laser printer as the image forming device will be described. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an overview of an image forming system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, in the image forming system 1 according to the first embodiment, a printer device 10 is connected to a host computer 3 as a management device via a network 2. The network 2 is also connected to other image forming apparatuses (not shown) such as facsimile machines and printer apparatuses.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the printer apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the printer apparatus 10. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the printer device 10 includes an operation panel 12, a printer engine 13, and a control unit 20.

  The operation panel 12 inputs instructions from the user related to various operations related to the printer device 10 such as mode switching of the printer device 10, and various information related to the printer device 10, for example, the status of the printer device 10 or a paper error occurs. This is a display means that also serves as an input means for displaying a forced print selection screen or the like in such a case. The operation panel 12 is configured as a so-called touch panel that outputs a signal corresponding to the touched icon, button, or the like by operating (touching) the icon, button, or the like displayed at the touched position with a finger. .

  The printer engine 13 is a part that forms an image in the printer device 10. The printer engine 13 forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member by a video signal (image signal) and a control signal input from the control unit 20, develops the electrostatic latent image with toner, and is supplied from the paper feeding unit. The image is formed by transferring and fixing on a sheet of paper.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the printer engine 13 includes a printing unit 13 a and a tray information detection unit 13 b that individually detects information on a plurality of paper feed trays of the paper feed unit.

  The printing unit 13a executes printing of a printing image on a sheet. The tray information detection unit 13b detects tray information related to the out of paper in each paper feed tray, the paper size and paper orientation of the paper held in each paper feed tray, and the like. Here, the tray information is detected by detecting the position of the side fence of each paper feed tray set in the paper feed unit of the printer apparatus 10 and the presence or absence of paper by an appropriate sensor such as an optical sensor or a proximity sensor. For the paper size and paper orientation, settings relating to the paper of the printer device 10 may be read from a predetermined storage unit.

  The control unit 20 converts the print data signal input from the host computer 3 into a video data signal (image data signal) according to the control mode set in the printer device 10 and the control code signal input from the host computer 3. A computer for outputting to the printer engine 13. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 20 includes a network I / F 21, a program ROM 22, a font ROM 23, an input I / F 24, an SD card I / F 25, a USB I / F 26, a CPU 27, a RAM 28, an NV-RAM 29, and an engine I / F 30. And an optional RAM 31.

  The network I / F 21 outputs control signals and data signals from the host computer 3 to the printer device 10, and outputs status signals from the printer device 10 to the host computer 3 to exchange various data with the host computer 3. The interface to perform. The program ROM 22 stores data management in the control unit 20 and programs for controlling peripheral modules. The font ROM 23 stores data relating to various fonts used for printing in image formation by the printer device 10.

  The input I / F 24 is an interface for inputting a control signal or the like for switching the state or mode of the printer apparatus 10. The SD card I / F 25 is an interface for receiving a data signal from the SD card. The USB I / F 26 is an interface for receiving a data signal from the USB. The CPU 27 processes data input from the host computer 3 according to the program ROM 22. At this time, the CPU 27 sorts data input from the host computer 3 into print data, print control data, and other data. The CPU 27 converts the print data and print control data into control codes and then stores them in a buffer (not shown).

  The RAM 28 is a work memory used when the CPU 27 processes data signals, a buffer for managing and temporarily storing print data input from the host computer 3, and converting the temporarily stored print data into a print image. It is used as a memory for storing image data for printing as a bitmap memory. The NV-RAM 29 is a non-volatile RAM that stores data that is to be retained when the printer 10 is turned off. The engine I / F 30 is an interface for a control signal output from the control unit 20 to the printer engine 13 and a status signal output from the printer apparatus 10 to the control unit 20. The option RAM 31 is an SD card as a RAM for storing various programs.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 20 includes a job control unit 32, a communication unit 33, a print image creation unit 34, a data analysis unit 35, a print image holding unit 36, a tray information holding unit 37, a print image conversion unit 39, and A display image creation unit 40 and the like are further provided.

  The job control unit 32 comprehensively controls a series of processes from input to the printer apparatus 10 of various information related to image formation including forced printing and output based on the input information. The communication unit 33 transmits and receives various signals related to image formation with the host computer 3 via the network 2. The print image creation unit 34 creates a print image from data relating to image formation input via the communication unit 33 and outputs the print image to the print image holding unit 36 and the print image conversion unit 39. Note that the image for printing includes an image to be forcibly printed in addition to an image in normal printing. A selection signal when a paper feed tray is selected on the operation panel 12 is output to the job control unit 32. Thereby, the job control unit 32 can grasp the change of the paper feed tray when printing an image, and thus the change of the paper when printing the image.

  The data analysis unit 35 analyzes data relating to image formation input via the communication unit 33 and outputs the result to the printing condition holding unit 38. The print image holding unit 36 stores the print image and the print conversion image created by the print image creation unit 34 and the print image conversion unit 39. The tray information holding unit 37 stores paper information related to the paper size and the paper feeding direction of the paper held by each paper feed tray provided in the printer apparatus 10.

  The print condition holding unit 38 analyzes the size of the print image, the orientation of the print image, the presence / absence of double-sided printing of the print image, the paper size, and the paper orientation, which are the analysis results of the data analysis unit 35 that has analyzed the data related to image formation. , The printing conditions relating to the paper type, the presence / absence of punching, the presence / absence of stapling, and the like are stored. The print image conversion unit 39 converts the print image created by the print image creation unit 34 into a print processing image that has been subjected to processing such as rotation, size correction (enlargement and reduction), centering, and RGB conversion according to printing conditions. Output to the print image holding unit 36.

  Note that the print image creation unit 34, the data analysis unit 35, the print image holding unit 36, the tray information holding unit 37, the print condition holding unit 38, and the print image conversion unit 39 include the display image of the image to be forcibly printed. Printing image creating means for creating a printing image that retains the position of the print area relative to the image.

  The display image creation unit 40 is a display image creation unit, and includes an image creation unit 40a, an image composition unit 40b, an image conversion unit 40c, and an image holding unit 40d as shown in FIG.

  The image creation unit 40a creates a display image to be displayed on the operation panel 12 based on data relating to image formation input via the communication unit 33, and outputs the display image to the image composition unit 40b, the image conversion unit 40c, and the image holding unit 40d. To do. The image compositing unit 40b is configured to display a plurality of composite images for display (images to be forcibly printed and paper held in the paper feed tray selected by the user based on data related to image formation input via the communication unit 33. Are combined with a single display image displayed on the operation panel 12, and the combined composite image for display is output to the image conversion unit 40c and the image holding unit 40d. The image conversion unit 40c performs rotation, size correction (enlargement, reduction), centering, RGB conversion, and the like on the display image generated by the image generation unit 40a and the display combined image combined by the image combining unit 40b according to display conditions. It converts into the display conversion image which displays the state at the time of the printing which performed the process, and outputs it to the image synthetic | combination part 40b and the image holding | maintenance part 40d. The display conversion image that displays the state at the time of printing is the same image as the processing image for printing actually printed on the paper. The image holding unit 40d stores the display image, the display composite image, and the display conversion image created by the image creation unit 40a, the image composition unit 40b, and the image conversion unit 40c.

  The host computer 3 includes a management operation panel configured in the same manner as the operation panel 12 of the printer apparatus 10.

  In the image forming system 1 of the present invention configured as described above, the print data in the data generated by the host computer 3 and input via the network 2 is printed on the paper designated by the printer device 10 as the print data. Print.

  Here, for example, when the user selects a paper feed tray holding A4 paper from a plurality of paper feed trays and prints 10 images on A4 paper, the selected paper feed tray has A4 paper. Suppose you have only three. In this case, the printer device 10 runs out of paper when three images are printed, and the job control unit 32 outputs a paper error signal in response to a paper out signal input from the tray information detection unit 13b.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a forced printing selection screen displayed on the operation panel as an error message. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view for explaining the display of the icon indicating the paper feed tray displayed on the forced print selection screen. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a forced print selection screen when a paper feed tray holding B5 paper whose paper feed direction is horizontal is selected.

  When the paper error signal is output, the printer device 10 displays the forced printing selection screen S1cp shown in FIG. On the forced printing selection screen S1cp, icons I1 to I4 indicating paper feed trays holding A4 plain paper, B5 plain paper, A3 plain paper, and A5 recycled paper, respectively, and a display as a display unit for displaying a printing state A screen D, an execution button Bex for inputting execution of the selected operation, and a job reset button Bjr for inputting job reset are displayed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, for example, the icon I3 indicates the paper feed tray number Tno, the remaining paper amount R, and the paper feed direction Al in order from the upper left column. Further, the middle row of the icon I3 indicates the paper size, and the lower row indicates the paper type. Other icons I1, I2, and I4 are displayed in the same manner. Icon I1 indicates that the paper (A4) in the paper feed tray is fed in the horizontal direction in the vertical state, and icons I2 to I4 indicate that the paper (B5, A3, A5) in the paper feed tray is in the landscape orientation. Indicates that paper is fed in the horizontal direction. Further, when the sheet is out of paper with no remaining amount of paper, an arrow is displayed in the remaining amount of paper field R as indicated by the icon I1. When the paper in the paper feed tray is full, a line indicating the paper position is displayed up to the upper end as indicated by the remaining paper amount R column of the icon I3.

  In the forced printing selection screen S1cp shown in FIG. 4, the user selects the paper feed tray (No. 2) by touching the icon I2. Then, on the forced print selection screen S1cp after the paper feed tray is selected, the selected paper feed tray (No. 2) is highlighted as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an image Im to be forcibly printed displayed on the display screen D and an image Ap of the print area of the paper. As shown in FIG. 7, the display screen D as a display unit is set to a quadrangle, for example, a square, and the image Im to be forcibly printed is the same as the image Ap of the print area including the paper feed direction. The image is reduced to the scale, and the reference vertex V is overlapped, and a display image is displayed in which the two sides sandwiching the vertex V are overlapped. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the display screen D has a longer side of the larger image Im of the image Im of the printing area Ap (B5) and the image Im to be forcibly printed as one side of the display screen D. The display image that is reduced and overlapped is displayed.

  Here, depending on the paper feed tray selected by the user, the image Ap of the print area of the paper held in the paper feed tray may be larger than the image Im to be forcibly printed. For this reason, in this embodiment, it is possible to determine whether or not to continue the forced printing by checking the display screen D before printing the image.

  In particular, when the user sees the image Im to be forcibly printed on the display screen D and the image Ap (B5) of the print area including the paper feeding direction, the image is lost without being printed. This range can be easily confirmed. Therefore, the user can avoid unnecessary printing by canceling forced printing using B5 paper.

  Here, when the user selects a paper feed tray that holds A3 paper, the forced print selection screen S1cp displays a paper feed tray (A3 paper that holds A3 paper in the horizontal feeding direction) as shown in FIG. No. 3) is highlighted. On the display screen D, the image Im to be forcibly printed and the image Ap (A3) of the print area of the paper (A3) in which the paper feed direction held in the selected paper feed tray (No. 3) is horizontal. Are displayed at the time of printing by reducing the image Ap (A3) having a large size at the same scale, overlapping the vertex V at the upper left of the reference image, and overlapping the two sides sandwiching the vertex V, respectively. The

  At this time, since the image Ap (A3) of the print area of the A3 sheet is larger in size than the A4 image Im to be forcibly printed, the display screen D shown in FIG. 8 is changed to the display screen D shown in FIG. The reduction ratio of the image Im becomes larger than that. For this reason, on the display screen D shown in FIG. 8, the size of the image Im to be forcibly printed is apparently smaller than the image Im of the display screen D shown in FIG.

  Therefore, the user can easily confirm that it is possible to print an image with no omission by using the A3 sheet as the sheet by looking at the display screen D displaying the state at the time of printing.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an automatic cancellation warning screen that is displayed when execution of forced printing is selected on the forced printing selection screen. Normally, when punch processing or stapling processing is set, if forcible printing is executed by a general printer device, the position of punching or stapling may deviate from a designated position input in advance. Therefore, when the user selects execution of forced printing, the printer device 10 warns the user by displaying the automatic cancellation warning screen Swa shown in FIG. 9 on the forced printing selection screen S1cp. Accordingly, when the user touches the execution button Bex on the screen in the forced printing selection screen S1cp shown in FIG. 8, the automatic release warning screen Swa is displayed over the forced printing selection screen S1cp.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the automatic cancellation warning screen Swa warns that the staple processing is automatically canceled, and displays a cancel button Bpc for canceling forced printing and a continuation button Bpe for continuing forced printing. .

  At this time, if the user touches the cancel button Bpc, the forced printing is canceled. Then, the automatic cancellation warning screen Swa is closed and the screen returns to the forced printing selection screen S1cp shown in FIG. 8 before the forced printing selection.

  On the other hand, when the user touches the continue button Bpe, the forced printing is continued, the automatic release warning screen Swa is closed, and the forced printing is started. As shown in the display screen D in FIG. The image Im to be forcibly printed is printed on the left half side of the paper (A3) fed in the horizontal direction.

  Thereafter, the same operation regarding forced printing is repeated for the remaining six sheets that are out of paper.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure executed by the printer device 10 when the print data is forcibly printed on paper. Hereinafter, printing of print data on a sheet, which is executed by the printer apparatus 10 under the overall control of the job control unit 32, will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

  First, the job control unit 32 receives print data (step S100). The print data is received via the communication unit 33. Subsequently, the job control unit 32 causes the data analysis unit 35 to analyze the received print data (step S102). Subsequently, the job control unit 32 causes the print image creation unit 34 to create a print image based on the analyzed print data (step S104).

  Thereafter, the job control unit 32 determines whether or not the sheet designated by the printing conditions is in the sheet feed tray (step S106). When the paper specified by the printing conditions is not in the paper feed tray (No at Step S106), the job control unit 32 displays a forced print selection screen S1cp on the operation panel as a paper error (Step S108). Here, the case where there is no paper specified by the printing conditions means that there is no paper of the number, paper size, or paper type specified by the printing conditions. Subsequently, the job control unit 32 determines whether or not a paper feed tray holding a substitute paper is selected (step S110).

  When the paper feed tray is not selected (No at Step S110), the job control unit 32 repeats the determination until the paper feed tray is selected. When the paper feed tray is selected (step S110, Yes), the job control unit 32 causes the display image creation unit 40 to execute display image creation processing (step S112). The display image includes a composite image obtained by combining an image to be forcibly printed and an image of a print area including the paper feed direction of the paper held in the paper feed tray selected by the user. At this time, the display image is reduced to the same scale on the basis of the image of the large size by the display image creation unit 40 as the image to be forcibly printed and the image of the print area, and the upper left vertex of the reference image V is overlapped and two sides sandwiching the vertex V are overlapped to create a composite image at the time of printing, and the longer side of the larger image of the image of the print area and the image to be forcibly printed is displayed on the display screen D. The image is reduced to one side and displayed on the display screen D.

  After creation, the job control unit 32 causes the display image creation unit 40 to display a display image on the display screen D of the forced print selection screen S1cp (step S114). Thereafter, the job control unit 32 determines whether there is a change in the paper feed tray selection (step S116). This determination is made based on a paper feed tray selection signal input by touching any icon on the forced printing selection screen S1cp.

  If there is a change in the paper feed tray selection (Yes in step S116), the job control unit 32 returns to step S112. On the other hand, when there is no change in the paper feed tray selection (No in step S116), the job control unit 32 determines whether there is an instruction to execute forced printing (step S118). This determination is made based on the presence or absence of a forced printing execution instruction signal input by touching the execution button Bex on the forced printing selection screen S1cp.

  If there is no instruction to execute forced printing (step S118, No), the job control unit 32 returns to step S116. On the other hand, when there is an instruction to execute forced printing (step S118, Yes), the job control unit 32 determines whether stapling or punching is set (step S120). This determination is made based on the printing conditions stored in the printing condition holding unit 38.

  If the stapling process or the punching process is not set (No at Step S120), the job control unit 32 proceeds to Step S126. On the other hand, when the stapling process or punching process is set (step S120, Yes), the job control unit 32 displays a warning screen for automatically canceling the stapling process or punching process (step S122).

  Subsequently, the job control unit 32 determines whether to continue forced printing (step S124). This determination is made based on a forced print signal touched by forced printing on the warning screen or a forced print cancel signal touched by cancel. If the continuation of forced printing is not selected on the warning screen (No at Step S124), the job control unit 32 returns to Step S116. On the other hand, if the continuation of forced printing is selected on the warning screen (step S124, Yes), the job control unit 32 outputs a control signal to the printer engine 13 to print an image (step S126).

  Subsequently, the job control unit 32 determines whether there is a next page (step S128). If there is no next page (step S128, No), the job control unit 32 ends the control of the printer device 10. If there is a next page (step S128, Yes), the job control unit 32 returns to step S106 and continues control of the printer device 10.

  On the other hand, if the paper designated by the printing conditions in step S106 is in the paper feed tray (step S106, Yes), the job control unit 32 proceeds to step S126.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining display image creation processing executed in printing of print data on paper. As shown in FIG. 11, first, the display image creating unit 40 acquires the printing condition of the printing image from the printing condition holding unit 38 (step S1141). The print conditions to be acquired are the size and orientation of the print image. Subsequently, the display image creating unit 40 acquires a print image from the print image holding unit 36 (step S1142). Thereafter, the display image creation unit 40 acquires information on the paper size and the paper feeding direction from the tray information holding unit 37 (step S1143).

  Subsequently, the display image creation unit 40 determines the size on the display screen of the image of the print area of the paper and the image to be forcibly printed based on the size of the print image, the paper size, and the paper feeding direction. (Step S1144). The size on the display screen is determined by calculation.

  Subsequently, the display image creation unit 40 creates an image Ap of the print area (step S1145). This image is created by the image creation unit 40a. Subsequently, the image Ap of the print area of the paper and the image Im to be forcibly printed are combined (step S1146). This image composition is based on an image having a large size, and the vertex V serving as a reference is overlapped, and two sides sandwiching the vertex V are respectively overlapped, and the image Ap of the print region and the image Im to be subjected to forced printing are combined. Reduction is performed so that the longer side of the larger image becomes one side of the display screen D.

  Thereafter, the display image creation unit 40 converts the composite image into an image (step S1147). This image conversion is executed by the image conversion unit 40c of the display image creation unit 40 to convert the composite image into a format (RGB) that can be identified on the display screen D. Thereby, the display screen D can display a composite image in a state at the time of printing.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, when a paper error occurs, the image Ap of the print area including the paper feeding direction on the display screen D of the forced printing selection screen S1cp and the image to be forcibly printed. Im is displayed in the state at the time of printing. For this reason, since the user can determine whether to continue or cancel the forced printing based on the display on the display screen D, the user's desire can be reflected in the printing result at the time of the forced printing.

  The first embodiment has been described with respect to a mode in which when the paper error occurs in the printer device 10, the printer device 10 deals with the paper error. However, a paper error may be dealt with on the host computer 3 side by inputting a paper tray selection instruction and a forced printing execution instruction on the management operation panel of the host computer 3.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the image Im to be forcibly printed is forcibly printed on the display screen D while being relatively enlarged / reduced in relation to the size of the image Ap in the print area of the paper. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the image Im to be forcibly printed can be forcibly printed by rotating, correcting the size, feeding the page, or returning the page on the display screen D. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a forced print selection screen S2cp of the printer device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram in which the image Im to be forcibly printed is rotated on the forced print selection screen S2cp shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the forced print selection screen S2cp includes four buttons, a rotation instruction button Brt, a size correction instruction button Bzm, a page feed instruction button Bpf, and a page return instruction button Bpb, in addition to the buttons of the forced print selection screen S1cp. The button is displayed. Here, the forced print selection screen S2cp shown in FIG. 12 shows a case where a paper feed tray holding B5 paper whose paper feed direction is horizontal is selected as an alternative tray for forced printing. On the display screen D, the image Im to be forcibly printed and the image Ap (B5) of the printing area of the paper (B5) whose paper feeding direction is the horizontal direction have a long side of the large image Im. The image is reduced so as to be one side of the display screen D, and the upper left vertex V serving as a reference is overlapped, and the vertex V is overlapped and displayed in the state at the time of printing.

  The rotation instruction button Brt is input by touching with a finger an instruction to rotate the image Im to be forcibly printed by 90 degrees with respect to the image Ap of the print area including the paper feeding direction of the selected paper. Similarly, the size correction instruction button Bzm inputs an instruction for automatically enlarging or reducing the image Im to be forcibly printed so as to be within the image Ap of the printing area including the feeding direction of the selected paper. . Similarly, the page feed instruction button Bpf displays not only the image Im of the page to be forcibly printed but also the image Im of the page subsequent to that page and the image Ap of the print area including the paper feeding direction of the selected paper. Enter instructions to page and display. Similarly, the page return instruction button Bpb displays not only the image Im of the page to be forcibly printed but also the image Imp of the page before the page and the image Ap of the print area including the paper feeding direction of the selected paper. Enter the instruction to display the page back.

  Therefore, in the printer device 10 according to the second embodiment, when the forced print selection screen S2cp shown in FIG. 12 is displayed due to a paper error that occurred during the printing of the A4 image, for example, the selected paper is fed. An instruction to rotate the image Im to be forcibly printed with respect to the image Ap (B5) in the print area including the direction is input from the rotation instruction button Brt. Then, as shown in FIG. 13, on the display screen D, the image Im (rt) to be forcibly printed is rotated 90 degrees with respect to the image Ap (B5) in the print area, and the vertex V of each image is displayed. In addition to the overlapping, an image at the time of printing in which two sides sandwiching the vertex V are overlapped is displayed. As is apparent from FIG. 13, the image Im (rt) to be forcibly printed is larger than the image Ap (B5) in the print area. For this reason, when forced printing is executed, a part of the image Im (rt) is lost, and it is necessary to correct the size.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining a control procedure executed by the printer device 10 during forced printing including image rotation and size correction. Hereinafter, forced printing including image rotation and size correction performed by the printer apparatus 10 under the overall control of the job control unit 32 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. Here, in the following description, for the sake of simplicity, description of warning alerting that the staple processing or punching processing is automatically cancelled is omitted, but alerting is performed by displaying the automatic cancel warning screen Swa. Shall.

  First, the job control unit 32 determines whether or not there has been an instruction to rotate the image Im to be forcibly printed (step S200). This determination is made based on an image rotation instruction signal that accompanies the touch of the rotation instruction button Brt. If there is no rotation instruction (No in step S200), the job control unit 32 repeats this determination until there is a rotation instruction. When there is an instruction to rotate the image Im to be forcibly printed (step S200, Yes), the job control unit 32 causes the image creating unit 40a to perform forced printing rotated with respect to the image Ap (B5) in the print area. A target image Im (rt) is created (step S202).

  Thereafter, the job control unit 32 causes the image combining unit 40b to combine the rotated image Im (rt) with the image Ap (B5) in the print area (step S204). In the image synthesis, the upper left vertex V serving as a reference for the two images Im (rt) and Ap (B5) is overlapped, and the two sides sandwiching the vertex V are overlapped to form a display image at the time of printing. Subsequently, the job control unit 32 outputs a display image from the image composition unit 40b to the display panel 12, and displays the composited display image on the display screen D (step S206). Subsequently, the job control unit 32 determines whether or not there is an instruction to correct the size of the rotated image Im (rt) to be subjected to forced printing (step S208). This determination is made based on a size correction instruction signal that accompanies the touch of the size correction instruction button Bzm.

  If there is no size correction instruction (No in step S208), the job control unit 32 repeats this determination until there is a size correction instruction. When there is an instruction to correct the size of the image Im (rt) (step S208, Yes), the job control unit 32 causes the image creation unit 40a to display the vertical side of the image Ap (B5) in the print area for the image Im (rt). And the horizontal side ratio are calculated (step S210). When the value of this ratio exceeds 1 in both the vertical and horizontal sides, the size of the image Ap (B5) in the print area is larger than the size of the image Im (rt). An image Im (rt) can be printed in Ap (B5). However, when the ratio value is 1 or less, the size of the image Ap (B5) in the print area is smaller than the size of the image Im (rt), and thus the image Im (rt) of the corresponding side is printed. The image sticks out of the area, and the image is cut off when printed. Therefore, if the ratio value exceeds 1 for both the vertical and horizontal sides, the image Im (rt) is enlarged. If the ratio value is 1 or less, the image Im (rt) is reduced. There is a need to.

  Subsequently, the job control unit 32 causes the image creation unit 40a to determine whether or not at least one of the obtained side ratio values is 1 or less (step S212). If it is 1 or less (step S212, Yes), the job control unit 32 sets the smaller side ratio as the scaling factor (reduction ratio) (step S214). Subsequently, the job control unit 32 causes the image conversion unit 40c to change (reduce or enlarge) the image Im (rt) in accordance with the enlargement / reduction rate (reduction rate) (step S216).

  Thereafter, the job control unit 32 causes the image combining unit 40b to combine the scaled image Im (rt) with the image Ap (B5) in the print area (step S218). Subsequently, the combined display image is displayed on the display screen D (step S220). FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the size correction of the image Im to be forcibly printed with respect to the image Ap in the print area on the display screen D. As shown in FIG. 15, the display screen D includes an image Im (rt) whose size is corrected to the same size as the image Ap (B5) of the print area from the image Im (rt) displayed on the display screen D of FIG. , rd) is displayed.

  Subsequently, the job control unit 32 determines whether or not there is an instruction to execute forced printing (step S222). This determination is made based on the presence or absence of a forced printing execution instruction signal by touching the execution button Bex for executing forced printing. If there is no instruction to execute forced printing (No in step S222), the job control unit 32 repeats the determination until there is an instruction to execute forced printing. On the other hand, when there is an instruction to execute forced printing (Yes in step S222), the job control unit 32 scales (reduces or enlarges) the print image in the print image conversion unit 39 based on the scaling factor (reduction rate). (Step S224). At this time, the print image conversion unit 39 scales the print image based on the scaling factor (reduction rate or enlargement rate) acquired from the image creation unit 40a to obtain a processing image for printing.

  Thereafter, the job control unit 32 causes the print image conversion unit 39 to output the data signal of the processing image for printing generated to the printer engine 13 and prints the image on the paper (B5) (step S226). Thereby, the forced printing process including the rotation and size correction of the image to be forcedly printed is completed.

  On the other hand, if the side ratio exceeds 1 in both the vertical side and the horizontal side in step S212 (No in step S212), the larger side ratio is set as a scaling factor (enlargement ratio), and the process proceeds to step S216. The process proceeds (step S228). In the second embodiment, the forced printing process is executed as described above.

  In this way, during forced printing, the user views the display screen D that displays the printing state, reflects the user's wishes in the print result, and corrects the rotation and size of the target image. Thus, an image can be printed on a sheet having a desired size and orientation.

  At this time, for example, the user selects size correction of the image Im to be forcibly printed, and the image Im (rd) is obtained by reducing the image Im as shown in the display screen D in FIG. ) May be forcibly printed on paper (B5).

  FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the rotation and size correction of the image Im to be forcibly printed with respect to the image Ap in the print area on the display screen D. Hereinafter, an outline of the rotation and size correction of the image Im will be described with reference to FIG. First, the user selects a paper feed tray holding A3 paper as an alternative paper feed tray (FIG. 17A), and rotates the image Im (FIG. 17B). Subsequently, the rotated image Im (rt) is enlarged (FIG. 17C), and the image Im to be forcibly printed is set as a display image Im (rt, el). In this way, it is possible to forcibly print on a large sheet as compared with the case of forcibly printing on the sheet B5 shown in FIG. 16, and the image Im can be enlarged and printed.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram of a forced printing selection screen S2cp for explaining forced printing using the page feed function and the page return function. FIG. 19 is a diagram of a print menu screen displayed when an execution button for executing forced printing is operated on the forced printing selection screen S2cp.

  When displaying the image Im of the desired page and the image Ap of the print area for the image Im to be forcibly printed, the page advance instruction button Bpf or the page return instruction button on the forced print selection screen S2cp (see FIG. 12). A desired page is selected by a page feed operation or a page return operation via Bpb, and an image Im of the desired page and an image Ap of the print area are displayed on the display screen D and forcedly printed as shown in FIG. Execute.

  At this time, when the execution button Bex is touched, a print menu screen Mp shown in FIG. 19 is displayed on the operation panel 12. The print menu screen Mp may be displayed on the forced print selection screen S2cp, or may be displayed at a position different from the forced print selection screen S2cp on the operation panel 12. At this time, by touching “Print all pages” or “Print current page” on the print menu screen Mp, forced printing is performed according to the print menu of either “Print all pages” or “Print current page”. The image Im to be subjected to is forcibly printed.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart for explaining a control procedure executed by the printer apparatus 10 in forced printing using the page feed function or the page return function. Hereinafter, forced printing using the page advance function or page return function executed by the printer apparatus 10 under the overall control of the job control unit 32 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, the job control unit 32 determines whether or not the number of display pages of the image Im to be forcibly printed has been changed (step S300). This determination is made based on a page feed or page return instruction signal that accompanies the touch of the page feed instruction button Bpf or page return instruction button Bpb. If there is no change in the number of display pages (No in step S300), the job control unit 32 repeats this determination until there is a change. When the display page number has been changed (step S300, Yes), the job control unit 32 acquires a print image with the display page number changed from the print image holding unit 36 (step S302).

  Thereafter, the job control unit 32 acquires information on the paper size and the paper feeding direction from the tray information holding unit 37 (step S304). Subsequently, the job control unit 32 causes the image creation unit 40a to create a display image corresponding to the changed number of display pages (step S306). After creation, the job control unit 32 causes the image creation unit 40a to display a display image (step S308).

  Subsequently, the job control unit 32 determines whether or not there has been an instruction to execute forced printing (step S310). This determination is made based on the presence or absence of a forced printing execution instruction signal by touching the execution button Bex. If there is no instruction to execute forced printing (No in step S310), the job control unit 32 repeats the determination until there is an instruction to execute forced printing. On the other hand, when there is an instruction to execute forced printing (step S310, Yes), the job control unit 32 displays the print menu screen Mp on the operation panel 12 (step S312).

  Subsequently, the job control unit 32 determines whether or not all page printing has been selected (step S314). In this case, it may be determined whether or not the current page printing is selected. When all page printing is selected (step S314, Yes), the job control unit 32 causes the image generating unit 40a to output the print processing image data signal for all pages generated to the printer engine 13 and each of the sheets. To print the image of each page (step S316). As a result, all page printing is executed, and forced printing ends.

  On the other hand, when the all page printing is not selected (step S314, No), the job control unit 32 causes the printer engine 13 to output the data signal of the print image for the designated page created by the image creation unit 40a, The image of the current page is printed on the paper (step S318). Subsequently, the job control unit 32 determines whether or not the next page exists (step S320).

  If there is no next page, the job control unit 32 ends the forced printing control. If there is a next page, the job control unit 32 returns to step S302.

  The printer apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment forcibly applies the image Ap in the print area using the rotation instruction button Brt, the size correction instruction button Bzm, the page feed instruction button Bpf, and the page return instruction button Bpb as described above. An image for displaying the state at the time of printing in which the arrangement and size of the image Im to be printed is adjusted is displayed on the display screen D. For this reason, according to the second embodiment, the user performs forced printing based on the image Ap of the print area including the paper feeding direction displayed on the display screen D and the image Im to be forcibly printed. Since it is possible to determine whether to continue or cancel, it is possible to reflect the user's wishes in the print result during forced printing.

(Embodiment 3)
In the first embodiment, the image Im to be forcibly printed is forcibly printed on the display screen D while being relatively enlarged / reduced in relation to the size of the image Ap in the print area of the paper. On the other hand, in the third embodiment, a manual feed tray is used so that forcible printing can be performed on a sheet having a desired size including a sheet having an irregular size. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a forced print selection screen S3cp of the printer device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a paper size setting screen for setting the paper size.

  As shown in FIG. 21, in the forced print selection screen S3cp, the icon I4 replaces the icon for feeding paper from the manual feed tray, and a paper size setting button Bps for inputting an instruction to display the paper size setting screen is added. This is different from the forced print selection screen S2cp of the second embodiment.

  Therefore, in the printer apparatus according to the third embodiment, when the forced print selection screen S3cp shown in FIG. 21 is displayed due to a paper error, when the paper is tried to be fed from the manual feed tray, the paper is not registered and the display is made. The image Ap of the print area of the paper cannot be displayed on the screen D. For this reason, when paper is forcibly printed by feeding paper from the manual feed tray, it is necessary to set the paper size. For this reason, when the manual feed tray is used, a screen for a paper size setting operation is displayed. In this case, when the paper size setting button Bps is touched, a paper size setting screen Sps shown in FIG. 22 is displayed on the operation panel 12.

  As shown in FIG. 22, the paper size setting screen Sps is provided with a setting box Bxsf for setting the paper size of the standard size paper and input boxes Bxsx and Bxsy for inputting the paper size of the non-standard size paper. A setting box Bxsf shown in FIG. 22 indicates that the A4 paper size has been selected.

  Therefore, in the paper size setting screen Sps shown in FIG. 22, when using the paper size of the standard size paper, when setting the paper size in the setting box Bxsf and using the paper size of the irregular size paper, The horizontal paper size is input from the input box Bxsx, and the vertical paper size is input from the input box Bxsy. The paper size information set or input in this way is input to the tray information holding unit 37 and the display image creating unit 40.

  Accordingly, when the paper size is input on the paper size setting screen Sps shown in FIG. 22 and the apply button is touched, the image Ap of the printing area is displayed together with the image Im to be forcibly printed on the display screen D of the forced printing selection screen S3cp. Is done. In this case, before executing the forced printing, by setting or inputting the paper size again or selecting another paper feed tray, the image Im to be forcibly printed is selected by the user. Can be printed.

  FIG. 23 is a flowchart for explaining a control procedure executed by the printer device 10 when paper is forcibly printed by feeding paper from the manual feed tray. Hereinafter, a case where paper is forcibly printed by feeding paper from a manual feed tray executed by the printer device 10 under the overall control of the job control unit 32 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, when the icon I4 for feeding paper from the manual feed tray is clicked, the job control unit 32 determines whether or not the paper size setting button Bps has been pressed (step S400). This determination is made based on a paper size setting selection signal accompanying the touch of the paper size setting button Bps. If the paper size setting button Bps has not been pressed (No in step S400), the job control unit 32 repeats this determination until pressed. When the paper size setting button Bps is pressed (step S400, Yes), the job control unit 32 displays a paper size setting screen Sps (step S402).

  Subsequently, the job control unit 32 determines whether a paper size has been input (step S404). This determination is made based on a paper size setting signal associated with the touch of the application button on the paper size setting screen Sps. When the paper size is not input (No at Step S404), the job control unit 32 repeats this determination until the paper size is input. When the paper size is input (step S404, Yes), the job control unit 32 acquires information on the input paper size (step S406).

  Subsequently, the job control unit 32 creates a display image of the paper size input to the image creation unit 40a (step S408). After the creation, the job control unit 32 displays a display image on the display screen D (step S410).

  Subsequently, the job control unit 32 determines whether or not there is an instruction to execute forced printing (step S412). This determination is made based on the presence or absence of a forced printing execution instruction signal by touching the execution button Bex. If there is no instruction to execute forced printing (No in step S412), the job control unit 32 repeats the determination until there is an instruction to execute forced printing. On the other hand, when there is an instruction to execute forced printing (step S412, Yes), the job control unit 32 changes the paper size of the printing condition holding unit 38 (step S414).

  Subsequently, the job control unit 32 causes the print image creation / conversion unit 38 to output the data signal of the processing image for printing to the printer engine 13 to execute forced printing (step S416). As a result, the image is printed on the paper whose size has been changed by the user, and the forced printing ends.

  The printer apparatus according to the third embodiment selects the desired size paper using the manual feed tray as described above, and prints the image Ap of the print area of the desired size paper together with the image Im to be forcibly printed. Is displayed on the display screen D which displays the state of For this reason, according to the third embodiment, the user performs forced printing based on the image Ap of the print area including the paper feeding direction displayed on the display screen D and the image Im to be forcibly printed. Since it is possible to determine whether to continue or cancel, it is possible to reflect the user's wishes in the print result during forced printing.

(Embodiment 4)
In the first embodiment, the image Im to be forcibly printed is forcibly printed on the display screen D while being relatively enlarged / reduced in relation to the size of the image Ap in the print area of the paper. On the other hand, in the fourth embodiment, the image Im to be forcibly printed can be forcibly printed in the center of the sheet. FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a forced print selection screen S4cp of the printer device according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 25 is a diagram in which an image Im to be forcibly printed is displayed in the center of the display screen D in the forced print selection screen S4cp shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 24, the forced printing selection screen S4cp is provided with a centering button Bc for inputting an instruction to display the image Im to be forcibly printed in the center of the sheet, forcibly printing according to the second embodiment. It is different from the selection screen S2cp.

  In the printer device 10, when a paper error occurs, the forced printing selection screen S4cp is displayed on the operation panel 12. When the paper tray holding A3 paper is selected by touching the icon I3 and image rotation and size correction are selected by touching the rotation instruction button Brt and the size correction instruction button Bzm, the forced print selection screen S4cp is displayed. A display screen D shown in FIG. 24 is displayed. At this time, on the display screen D, the image Im (rt, rd) to be subjected to forced printing that has been rotated and reduced, and the image Ap (A3) of the printing area of the paper (A3) whose paper feeding direction is the horizontal direction are displayed. ) And the top left vertex V and the two sides sandwiching the vertex V are displayed at the time of printing, and the image Im (rt, rd) is arranged biased to the top left.

  When this state is corrected and the image Im (rt, rd) is printed in the center of the A3 sheet, the centering button Bc is used. Here, when the centering button Bc is touched, an image Im (rt, rd) to be forcibly printed is displayed at the center of the display screen D as shown in FIG. For this reason, when forced printing is executed, the image Im (rt, rd) to be forcibly printed is printed at the center of the A3 paper arranged in landscape orientation.

  FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure executed by the printer device 10 when centering an image to be forcibly printed and forcibly printing. Hereinafter, a case where the image executed by the printer apparatus 10 is centered and forcibly printed under the overall control of the job control unit 32 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, the job control unit 32 determines whether a paper feed tray that holds paper for forced printing has been selected (step S500). When the paper feed tray is not selected (No in step S500), the job control unit 32 repeats the determination until the paper feed tray is selected. If the paper feed tray is selected (step S500, Yes), the job control unit 32 determines whether the centering button Bc is pressed (step S502). This determination is performed based on a centering selection signal input by touching the centering button Bc.

  If the centering button Bc has not been pressed (No in step S502), the job control unit 32 repeats this determination until the job control unit 32 is pressed. When the centering button Bc is pressed (Yes in step S502), the job control unit 32 acquires size information of the print image (step S504). The size information is acquired from the print image holding unit 36 by the job control unit 32.

  Subsequently, the job control unit 32 acquires information on the paper size of the selected paper feed tray (step S506). This size information is obtained from information on the selected paper feed tray that the job control unit 32 obtains from the tray information holding unit 37. Subsequently, the job control unit 32 determines whether or not centering is possible (step S508). This determination is performed based on the size information of the printing image acquired in step S504 and the information on the paper size of the selected paper feed tray acquired in step S506.

  If centering is impossible (No in step S508), the job control unit 32 returns to step S500. If centering is possible (step S508, Yes), the job control unit 32 calculates the print position of the image Im to be forcibly printed (step S510). The print position is calculated by the print image creation unit 34, and the calculated print position information of the image Im is output to the display image creation unit 40.

  FIG. 27 is a diagram for explaining the print position associated with centering based on the image Im (rt, rd) to be forcibly printed and the image Ap (A3) in the print area displayed on the display screen D shown in FIG. It is. In the display screen D shown in FIG. 24 before centering, the image Im (rt, rd) and the image Ap (A3) in the print area are overlapped at the upper left vertex V and the two sides sandwiching the vertex V are overlapped. Is displayed. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 27A, on the display screen D before centering, the difference in size between the image Ap (A3) in the print area and the image Im (rt, rd) to be forcibly printed and the image By arranging Im (rt, rd) so as to be biased to the upper left, a horizontal margin (= ΔX) and a vertical margin (ΔY) are generated on the right side and the lower side of the image Im (rt, rd), respectively.

  On the other hand, after centering, the horizontal margin (= ΔX) and the vertical margin (ΔY) are equally distributed to the top, bottom, left and right of the image Im (rt, rd) to be forcibly printed, the horizontal margin = ΔX / 2, and the vertical margin. = ΔY / 2. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 27B, Ps (x) is the print start position (horizontal) of the image Im (rt, rd), and Pe (x) is the print end position (horizontal) of the image Im (rt, rd). Ps (y) is the print start position (vertical) of the image Im (rt, rd), and Pe (y) is the print end position (vertical) of the image Im (rt, rd). Then, the display screen creation unit 40 creates a display image to be displayed on the display screen D based on these positions.

  Subsequently, the job control unit 32 causes the display image creation unit 40 to create a display image in which the image Im and the image Ap of the print area are combined according to the print position (step S512). After creation, the job control unit 32 outputs a control signal to the display image creation unit 40 to display the display image on the display screen D (step S514).

  Subsequently, the job control unit 32 causes the print image creation / conversion unit 38 to output the data signal of the processing image for printing to the printer engine 13 and determines whether there is an instruction to execute forced printing (step S516). This determination is made based on the presence or absence of a forced printing execution instruction signal by touching the execution button Bex. If there is no instruction to execute forced printing (step S516, No), the job control unit 32 repeats the determination until there is an instruction to execute forced printing. On the other hand, if there is an instruction to execute forced printing (step S516, Yes), the job control unit 32 outputs the print position information of the image Im to be subjected to forced printing to the printer engine 13 (step S518). Thereafter, the job control unit 32 executes forced printing (step S520). As a result, the image for which centering is designated by the user is printed at the center of the designated paper, and forced printing ends.

  The printer device of the fourth embodiment displays the image to be forcibly printed as centered on the display screen D as described above, and forcibly prints the image on the desired size sheet. For this reason, according to the fourth embodiment, the user performs forced printing based on the image Ap of the print area including the paper feeding direction displayed on the display screen D and the image Im to be forcibly printed. Since it is possible to determine whether to continue or cancel, it is possible to reflect the user's wishes in the print result during forced printing.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the printer is used as the image forming apparatus has been described. However, the image forming apparatus of the present invention may be, for example, a facsimile, a copier, a scanner, or the like as long as it has an image forming function for forming an image on a sheet.

  In addition, the printer apparatuses of the first to fourth embodiments may be used by appropriately combining the functions described in the respective embodiments.

  Further, the forced printing described above may be applied during normal printing in which no paper error occurs. When used in normal printing, an image arranged according to the user's preference can be printed on a desired sheet.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming system 2 Network 3 Host computer 10 Printer apparatus 12 Operation panel 13 Printer engine 13a Printing part 13b Tray information detection part 20 Control part 21 Network I / F
22 Program ROM
23 Font ROM
24 input I / F
25 SD card I / F
26 USB I / F
27 CPU
28 RAM
29 NV-RAM
30 Engine I / F
31 Option RAM
32 Job control unit 33 Communication unit 34 Print image creation unit 35 Data analysis unit 36 Print image holding unit 37 Tray information holding unit 38 Print condition holding unit 39 Print image conversion unit 40 Display image creation unit 40a Image creation unit 40b Image composition unit 40c Image conversion section 40d Image holding section Ap Print area image Bc Centering button Bex execution button Bjr Job reset button Brt Rotation instruction button Bpf Page feed instruction button Bpb Page return instruction button Bpc Cancel button Bps Paper size setting button Bxsf Setting box Bxsx Input Box Bxsy Input box Bzm Size correction instruction button D Display screen I1 to I4 Icon Im Image subject to forced printing Mp Print menu screen S1cp to S4cp Forced print selection screen Sps Paper size setting screen Swa Automatic release warning screen

JP 2002-264447 A

Claims (12)

A paper feed tray holding the designated paper designated by the image formation data is selected from a plurality of paper feed trays, an image included in the image formation data is formed on the designated paper, and a paper error relating to the designated paper occurs. An image forming apparatus that executes forced printing with other paper when
When the paper error occurs, the image of the print area including the feeding direction of the other paper and the image to be forcibly printed are reduced at the same scale, and the reference vertex is overlapped, and the vertex An image forming apparatus comprising display means for displaying a display image in which two sides sandwiching each other are superimposed.   The display means is a quadrangular display unit that is reduced and overlapped so that the longer side of the larger image of the image in the print area and the image to be subjected to forced printing becomes one side of the display unit. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a screen for forced print selection including a display unit for displaying the display image is displayed.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display image creating unit that creates a display image obtained by rotating the image to be forcedly printed by a predetermined angle with respect to the image in the print area. apparatus.   The display image creation means for creating a display image by enlarging or reducing the image to be subjected to the forced printing with respect to the image in the print area. The image forming apparatus described in 1.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display image creating unit configured to create a display image in which the image to be forcedly printed is page-fed with respect to the image in the print area. The image forming apparatus described.   The display image creating means for creating a display image in which the image to be forcibly printed is page-backed with respect to the image in the print area is provided. The image forming apparatus described.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display image creating unit that creates an image of the print area according to a paper size of the other paper.   8. A display image creating means for creating a display image in which the image to be forcedly printed is arranged in the center with respect to the image in the print area. The image forming apparatus described in 1.   9. A print image creation unit that creates a print image that holds a position of the image to be forcibly printed with respect to the image of the print area in the display image. The image forming apparatus described in 1. A paper feed tray holding the designated paper designated by the image formation data is selected from a plurality of paper feed trays, an image included in the image formation data is formed on the designated paper, and a paper error relating to the designated paper occurs. An image forming method for executing forced printing with other paper when
A paper feed tray selecting step of selecting a paper feed tray holding the other paper from the plurality of paper feed trays when the paper error occurs;
A display in which the image of the print area including the feeding direction of the other paper and the image to be forcibly printed are reduced at the same scale, the reference vertexes are overlapped, and the two sides sandwiching the vertexes are overlapped. A display process for displaying an image for use;
An image forming method comprising: An image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
A paper feed tray connected to the image forming apparatus via a network and holding designated paper designated by image forming data to be transmitted to the image forming apparatus is selected from a plurality of paper feed trays of the image forming apparatus, and the designated A management device that causes an image included in the image formation data to be printed on a sheet, and that causes the image forming apparatus to perform forced printing on another sheet when a sheet error relating to the designated sheet occurs;
An image forming system comprising: The management device
When the paper error occurs, the image of the print area including the feeding direction of the other paper and the image to be forcibly printed are reduced at the same scale, and the reference vertex is overlapped, and the vertex The image forming system according to claim 11, further comprising a management-side display unit that displays a display image in which two sides sandwiching each other are overlapped.

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