JP2016221773A - Image formation apparatus, image formation method and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image formation apparatus capable of effectively assisting a user in saving print sheets.SOLUTION: An image formation apparatus 1 forming an input image on a print sheet comprises: an unprinted surface number determination unit 10 which calculates the number of print sheets that are image formation objects on the basis of an input image surface number NI that is the number of image surfaces of input images and printing setting, and determines an unprinted surface number NB that is the number of unprinted surfaces in the calculated number of print sheets; a saving surface number determination unit 10 which determines a value obtained by subtracting the unprinted surface number NB from the input image surface number NI as a saving surface number; and an operation display unit 30 which displays the printing setting and the saving surface number corresponding to the printing setting in association with each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus that supports a user so that printing paper can be used efficiently.

  Various methods for prompting the user to save printing paper consumed in the image forming apparatus have been proposed. Specifically, for example, the following three types of techniques have been proposed. (1) The first type is a technique (Patent Document 1) that aggregates and records a printing parameter in association with a predetermined eco point and identification information for identifying a user, and an index for saving a medium. This is a technique (Patent Document 2) that creates aggregated data representing a medium saving situation based on definition information. (2) The second type is a technique (Patent Document 3) that shows a saving effect as a reduction ratio (percentage) compared to a printing state that does not have a saving effect with respect to an actual printing result. (3) In the third type, when a situation where it is predicted that it is difficult to achieve the resource use target is automatically changed to a print setting having an effect of saving (Patent Document 4) or printing. This is a technique (Patent Document 5) that obtains a saving effect in consideration of both the print settings set by the executing user and the print settings preferred by the distribution target user.

JP 2010-176184 A JP 2011-158847 A JP 2013-89003 A JP 2007-249563 A JP2013-134520A

  However, the first type of technology simply aggregates and records the saving effect, and lacks a specific approach to the user. The second type of technology only shows the saving effect abstractly by the reduction ratio (percentage), and the specific saving amount due to the setting change is not known. As a result, there is a problem that the approach to the user easily falls into mannerism. The third type of technology takes into account external factors such as the achievement of resource usage goals and the print settings preferred by the distribution target user, so that the user considers various situations such as the print target and usage. Thus, it is difficult to save printing paper smoothly.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for smoothly and effectively supporting a user to save printing paper.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus that forms an input image on a print sheet, and is a print sheet that is an image formation target based on the number of input image faces that are the number of image faces of the input image and print settings And calculating the number of unprinted surfaces from the input image number, and determining the number of unprinted surfaces that is the number of unprinted surfaces of the calculated number of print sheets. A saving surface number determining unit that determines a subtracted value as a saving surface number, the print setting, and an operation display unit that displays the saving surface number corresponding to the print setting in association with each other.

  In the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus further includes a saving surface number totaling unit that totals the number of saving surfaces under a preset condition, and the operation display unit displays the total number of saving surfaces. Also good.

  In the image forming apparatus, the saving surface number totaling unit may execute the totaling when a setting is changed to a print setting in which the saving surface number is displayed and a printing process is performed.

  According to the image forming method of the present invention, the number of print sheets to be image-formed is calculated based on the number of input image faces, which is the number of image faces of the input image, and the print setting. An unprinted surface number determining step for determining the number of unprinted surfaces that is the number of unprinted surfaces, and a saved surface number determining step for determining a value obtained by subtracting the unprinted surface number from the input image surface number as a saved surface number And an operation display step of displaying the print settings and the number of saved planes corresponding to the print settings in association with each other.

  The control program of the present invention is a control program for controlling an image forming apparatus that forms an input image on a printing sheet, and the control program includes the number of input image planes that are the number of image planes of the input image and print settings. And calculating the number of unprinted surfaces, which is the number of unprinted surfaces of the calculated number of print sheets, from the number of input image surfaces. A value obtained by subtracting the number of printed pages is determined as the number of saved pages, and the image forming apparatus is controlled to display the print settings and the saved number of pages corresponding to the print settings in association with each other.

  According to the present invention, the user can always be aware of the saving effect and the occurrence of a blank page (unused side) at the time of printing, and can be guided to an appropriate print setting in accordance with the usage status of the printed matter. . Thereby, it is possible to effectively assist the user in saving printing paper.

2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a printing process in the image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the display 31 which displays an example of the initial setting screen of the print setting of the operation display part 30 which concerns on one Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the display 31 which displays an example of the saving condition display screen of the operation display part 30 which concerns on one Embodiment. 6 is a table showing a printing status in an initial setting of the image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. 6 is a table showing a printing status in printing using a backing paper of the image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the display 31 which displays an example of the paper saving screen of the print setting of the operation display part 30 which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a table | surface which shows the printing condition in the double-sided printing of the image forming apparatus 1 which concerns on one Embodiment. 6 is a table showing a printing status in 4-in-1 page aggregation single-sided printing of the image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. 6 is a table showing a printing state in double-sided printing of 4in1 page aggregation of the image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. 4 is a table showing a printing state in 4in1 page aggregation backing paper printing of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment.

  Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10, an image forming unit 20, an operation display unit 30, a paper feeding unit 40, and a storage unit 50. The image forming unit 20 includes an image reading unit 21 that reads an image from a document and generates image data, and an image processing unit 22 that performs image processing for generating an image to be printed on printing paper. The image reading unit 21 has an automatic document feeder (ADF) (not shown) that can set a plurality of documents.

  The image processing unit 22 has a page aggregation function. Specifically, the page aggregation function generates image data representing an image for one A4 size by, for example, reducing and arranging two (or four) A4 size documents of the input image. It is a function. The operation display unit 30 includes a display 31 that is a liquid crystal display and operation buttons 32, and plays a role as a user interface.

  The paper feed unit 40 includes a transport unit 41, a back paper detection unit 42, and a plurality of paper feed cassettes 43. The plurality of paper feed cassettes 43 store a plurality of types of printing paper such as printing paper of various sizes, double-sided white paper, and back paper. Double-sided white paper is a new printing paper on which both sides are not yet printed. The backing paper is a printing paper on which one side has already been printed. The transport unit 41 can select and feed double-sided white paper and back paper stored in a plurality of paper feed cassettes 43. The backing paper detection unit 42 detects whether or not the printing paper transported by the transporting unit 41 is a backing paper with an optical sensor (not shown), and transmits it to the control unit 10. The control unit 10 stores the result in the storage unit 50. The transport unit 41 further has a switchback path (not shown) in the transport path of the printing paper, and enables double-sided printing by changing the orientation of the printing paper.

  The control unit 10 includes main storage means such as RAM and ROM, and control means such as MPU (Micro Processing Unit) and CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 10 also has controller functions related to various I / O, USB (Universal Serial Bus), bus, and other hardware such as hardware, and controls the entire image forming apparatus 1.

  The storage unit 50 is a storage device including a hard disk drive or a flash memory that is a non-temporary recording medium, and stores a control program and data for processing executed by the control unit 10.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a printing process in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. In step S10, the user sets a plurality of documents (here, 10) in the ADF, and presses the operation button 32 (copy switch). At this time, the user logs in to the image forming apparatus 1 in advance on a login screen (not shown) and can use it. As a result, the image reading unit 21 starts reading a plurality of documents and determines the number of documents. The image forming apparatus 1 displays an initial setting screen for print settings on the display 31 of the operation display unit 30.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display 31 that displays an example of an initial setting screen for print settings of the operation display unit 30 according to an embodiment. The display 31 displays an initial setting screen for print settings. The initial setting screen has an icon 31a indicating a paper saving copy. The icon 31a indicates that the paper can be saved and displays “10 pages not used”. The non-use of 10 pages indicates that printing is performed on the respective front surfaces of the 10 printing sheets, and the occurrence of 10 unused surfaces (back surfaces) is predicted after copying.

  In step S20, the user performs a print setting operation. The print setting operation includes settings not related to paper saving such as reduction / enlargement and sorting / sorting, and settings related to paper saving such as duplex / division and page aggregation. In the present embodiment, the paper saving copy setting can be selected on the initial setting screen of the display 31. The paper saving copy can be set by the user touching the icon 31a. When the user touches the icon 31a, first, the process proceeds to step S30.

  In step S <b> 30, the control unit 10 displays on the display 31 a display screen that displays the saving status of the user who is operating. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the display 31 that displays an example of the saving status display screen of the operation display unit 30 according to the embodiment.

  The saving status display screen displays a result of totaling the number of saving faces under a predetermined condition including a preset period (in the present embodiment, each month). In this example, the display 31 indicates that the total number of printed pages of the user in a certain month is 421 pages, and 161 pages have been saved by the saving setting. Further, the display 31 shows the content of the saving setting used last time (double-sided + page aggregation (4 in 1)) and the number of printing papers saved last time with the saving setting (7 pages). In addition, the display 31 also shows the number of saved faces (six faces) when the same setting is used in the current printing.

  FIG. 5 is a table showing the printing status in the initial setting of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. In the default print setting, single-sided printing is performed using new paper without aggregation. The input image plane number NI is the number of image planes of image data input as an image plane to be printed. The image forming surface number NF is the number of image forming surfaces on which the image is formed on the printing paper by the image forming apparatus 1. The unprinted surface number NB is the number of unprinted surfaces of the printing paper to be image-formed before printing. The unused surface number NW is the number of unused surfaces that are not printed after printing out of the unprinted surface number NB.

  In this example, ten documents are set in the ADF and read by the image reading unit 21. Therefore, the number of input image planes NI is 10. In the initial setting, printing is performed without aggregation, so that the number of input image faces NI is equal to the number of image forming faces NF. Accordingly, the number of image forming surfaces NF is 10. In the initial setting, since single-sided printing is performed, the number of image forming surfaces NF is equal to the number of printing sheets. That is, the same number (10 sheets) of new printing paper as the number of image forming surfaces NF is required. Therefore, the number of unprinted pages NB is 20 because it is the number of both sides of 10 new print sheets.

  Specifically, an image of the first page is formed on the first surface of ten new printing papers, and printing is not performed on the back surface, leaving it as an unused surface. The same applies to the second to tenth printing sheets. Therefore, the number of unused surfaces NW is 10, so that “10 surfaces not used” is displayed on the icon 31a in FIG.

  In step S40, the control unit 10 touches the “OK” icon on the saving status display screen to switch the display 31 to the paper saving copy screen. As a result, the display 31 displays a paper saving screen for print settings. At this time, the previously used saving setting (double-sided + page integration (4 in 1)) is selected in advance and is highlighted.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display 31 that displays an example of a paper saving screen for print settings of the operation display unit 30 according to an embodiment. In FIG. 7, the reverse display is omitted. FIG. 6 is a table showing the printing status in the backsheet-use printing of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment.

  In this example, the number of input image planes NI is 10 as described above. In the printing using backing paper, printing is performed without aggregation, and the number of input image faces NI is equal to the number of image forming faces NF, so the number of image forming faces NF is 10. In printing using backing paper, single-sided printing is performed, and the number of image forming faces NF is equal to the number of printing sheets. Therefore, the same number (10 sheets) of backing paper as the number of image forming faces NF is required. However, since only the front surface of the backing paper is an unprinted surface, the number of unprinted surfaces NB is 10 because it is the number of the surfaces of ten backing papers. Therefore, all surfaces that are unprinted surfaces are used, and the number of unused surfaces NW is 0. For this reason, “Number of saved pages: 0” is displayed on the icon for using the back paper in FIG. 7.

  In FIG. 7, in addition to “use of backing paper” (number of saved faces: 0) on the display 31, double-sided printing (number of saved faces: 0), 4in1 page aggregation (number of saved faces: 4), duplex + 4in1 The page aggregation (number of saved pages: 6 pages), backing paper + 4in1 page aggregation (number of saved pages: 7 pages), and 2in1 page aggregation (number of saved pages: 0 pages) are displayed. In this way, the number of saved faces corresponding to each print setting is displayed. Note that the display 31 may be configured such that other settings can be used by scrolling, for example.

  FIG. 8 is a table showing the printing status in duplex printing of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. In duplex printing, printing is performed without aggregation, and the number of input image faces NI is equal to the number of image forming faces NF, so the number of image forming faces NF is 10. In double-sided printing, the number of print sheets is half of the number of image forming faces NF, so five new print sheets are required. The number of unprinted pages NB is 10 because it is the number of both front and back sides of five new print sheets. Therefore, all the non-printed surfaces are used, and the unused surface number NW is 0. For this reason, “the number of saved pages: 0” is displayed on the double-sided printing icon in FIG. 7.

  FIG. 9 is a table showing a printing state in the 4-in-1 page aggregation single-sided printing of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. In 4in1 page aggregation, printing is performed in 4in1, so the number of image forming faces NF is a value obtained by adding 1 to the quotient obtained by dividing the number of input image faces NI by 4 (when the number is divisible, 1 is not added). Specifically, pages 1 to 4 are printed on the surface of the first sheet, pages 5 to 8 are printed on the surface of the second sheet, and pages 9 to 10 are printed on the surface of the third sheet. . Therefore, since the number NF of image forming faces is 3, 7 faces (= NI−NF) are saved. On the other hand, the number of unprinted surfaces NB is 6 because the number of both front and back sides of three new printing papers is used, but only the front surface and the back surface that are unprinted surfaces are used. The number of unused surfaces NW (= NB-NF). Therefore, both are added, and “double-sided printing: 4” is displayed on the double-sided printing icon in FIG.

  The unused surface number NW (= NB-NF) has a meaning as the negative saving surface number NS (= NF-NB). Therefore, the saving plane number NS is obtained by subtracting the negative saving plane number NS (= NB-NF) from the saving plane number NS (= NI−NF) by page aggregation (= NI−NF− (NB). −NF) = NI−NB), which can be calculated simply by subtracting the unprinted surface number NB from the input image surface number NI. As described above, in the present embodiment, the saving surface number NS can be calculated based on the input image surface number NI and the unprinted surface number NB.

  FIG. 10 is a table showing a printing state in 4-in-1 page aggregation double-sided printing of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. In 4in1 page aggregation, printing is performed in 4in1, so the number of image forming faces NF is a value obtained by adding 1 to the quotient obtained by dividing the number of input image faces NI by 4 (when the number is divisible, 1 is not added). Specifically, pages 1 to 4 are printed on the front surface of the first sheet, pages 5 to 8 are printed on the back surface of the first sheet, and pages 9 to 10 are printed on the surface of the second sheet. . Therefore, since two new printing papers are required, the number of unprinted pages NB is four on both the front and back sides of two new printing papers.

  Therefore, the number of saved faces NS (= NI−NB) is 6 faces obtained by subtracting the unprinted face number NB (4 faces) from the input image face number NI (10 faces). For this reason, “the number of saved pages: 6 pages” is displayed on the double-sided printing icon in FIG. 7.

  FIG. 11 is a table showing the printing status in 4in1 page aggregation backing paper printing of the image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. In 4in1 page aggregation, printing is performed in 4in1, so pages 1 to 4 are printed on the surface of the first sheet, pages 5 to 8 are printed on the surface of the second sheet, and the surface of the third sheet is printed. Pages 9-10 are printed. On the other hand, the number NB of unprinted surfaces is three because it is the number of the surfaces of the three back sheets. Therefore, the number of saved surfaces NS is 7 surfaces obtained by subtracting the unprinted surface number NB (3 surfaces) from the input image surface number NI (10 surfaces). For this reason, “the number of saved pages: 7 pages” is displayed on the double-sided printing icon in FIG. 7.

  It should be noted that the 2-in-1 page aggregation single-sided printing icon displays “Number of saved faces: 0” by the same calculation method.

  In step S <b> 50, the user can select one of the saving settings by referring to various recommended settings displayed on the recommended setting display and touch the “decision” icon. In this case, the process proceeds to step S60. The user can touch the “OK” icon after returning to the initial setting with the “RETURN” icon. In this case, the process of step S60 is bypassed, and the process proceeds to step S70.

  In step S60, the control unit 10 accumulates the number of saved faces NS. Specifically, for example, when 4-in-1 page aggregation double-sided printing (number of saved pages: 6 pages) is selected and printed, the control unit 10 determines the total number of printed pages (421 pages) and the total number of saved pages ( 161) is added to the number of printed pages (10 pages) and the number of saved pages (6 pages). The control unit 10 has functions as an unprinted surface number determining unit and a saving surface number determining unit.

  In step S <b> 70, the control unit 10 selects either the paper feed cassette that stores new print paper or the paper feed cassette that stores the back paper among the paper feed cassettes 43 based on the selected setting. This selection is performed based on information detected by the backing paper detection unit 42 and stored in the storage unit 50. In this example, since double-sided printing is performed, a paper feed cassette that stores new printing paper is selected.

  As a result, next time, the control unit 10 displays the total number of printed pages (431 pages) and the total number of saved pages (167 pages) on the display 31. In this way, since the number of saved pages NS of each user is integrated, the achievement amount of the saved number of pages NS of the printing paper can be confirmed. This sense of accomplishment can increase the motivation for saving printing paper for each user.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment displays the various printing modes and the number of saving pages for saving the printing paper and generating the blank page (unused side), thereby displaying the printing paper by the user. Savings can be effectively supported.

  The present invention can be implemented not only in the above embodiment but also in the following modifications.

  Modification 1: In the above embodiment, the number of saved faces is managed for each user, but may be managed for each image forming apparatus or each user group, for example.

  Modified example 2: In the above embodiment, the paper feed cassette that stores the back paper and the new print paper is managed and selected using the back paper detection unit 42. For example, each paper feed cassette stores manually. You may make it register whether paper is a back paper or a new article.

  Modified example 2: In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the copy function. However, the present invention may be applied to, for example, print output from a personal computer. In this case, the personal computer functions as a control unit, an operation display unit, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 10 Control part 20 Image forming part 21 Image reading part 22 Image processing part 30 Operation display part 31 Display 31a Icon 32 Operation button 40 Paper feed part 41 Conveyance part 42 Back paper detection part 43 Paper feed cassette 50 Storage part

Claims (5)

An image forming apparatus for forming an input image on printing paper,
The number of print sheets to be image-formed is calculated based on the number of input image faces, which is the number of image faces of the input image, and the print settings, and is the number of unprinted faces of the calculated number of print sheets. An unprinted surface number determining unit for determining the number of unprinted surfaces;
A conserved surface number determining unit that determines a value obtained by subtracting the unprinted surface number from the input image surface number as a conserved surface number;
An operation display unit that displays the print settings in association with the number of saved faces corresponding to the print settings;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
A savings number counting unit for counting the number of savings on a preset condition;
The operation display unit is an image forming apparatus that displays the total number of saved faces. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2,
The saving surface number counting unit is an image forming apparatus that executes the counting when a print process is performed after changing the setting to the print setting in which the saving surface number is displayed. An image forming method for forming an input image on printing paper,
The number of print sheets to be image-formed is calculated based on the number of input image faces, which is the number of image faces of the input image, and the print settings, and is the number of unprinted faces of the calculated number of print sheets. An unprinted surface number determining step for determining the number of unprinted surfaces;
A conserved surface number determination step for determining a value obtained by subtracting the unprinted surface number from the input image surface number as a conserved surface number;
An operation display step for displaying the print settings in association with the number of saved faces corresponding to the print settings;
An image forming method comprising: A control program for controlling an image forming apparatus for forming an input image on printing paper,
The control program is
The number of print sheets to be image-formed is calculated based on the number of input image faces, which is the number of image faces of the input image, and the print settings, and the number of unprinted faces of the calculated number of print sheets. Determine the number of unprinted pages,
A value obtained by subtracting the number of unprinted surfaces from the number of input image surfaces is determined as a saving surface number
A control program for controlling the image forming apparatus so as to display the print setting and the saving plane number corresponding to the print setting in association with each other.