JP2017215734A - Image forming apparatus and image forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming method that can print a print object while changing the unit of numerical values included in the print object to a different unit.SOLUTION: In an image forming apparatus 1, en extraction processing part 172 extracts an extraction object character string including numerical values and predetermined unit symbol from character strings included in print data described in a page description language. A unit conversion processing part 173 converts the unit symbol included in the extraction object character string extracted by the extraction processing part 172 into another unit symbol related to the unit symbol, and converts the numerical values included in the extraction object character string according to the combination of the unit symbol of the conversion source and the unit symbol of the conversion destination. A replacement processing part 175 replaces the extraction object character string included in the print data with a character string after the unit is changed by the unit conversion processing part 173. An image forming part 14 forms an image on a sheet on the basis of the print data after the replacement performed by the replacement processing part 175.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method for forming an image on a sheet based on print data described in a page description language.

  After a paper document is read by a scanner or the like to generate a document image, a reusable document having the same layout as the original paper document is generated by performing character recognition processing and layout analysis processing on the document image Document image recognition apparatuses capable of performing the above are known. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP-A-9-297762

  By the way, there are cases where it is desired to change the unit of the numerical value included in the print target automatically generated by the image forming apparatus to a different unit, such as various reports automatically generated and output by the image forming apparatus. .

  In such a case, the document image recognition apparatus needs to read a report output from the image forming apparatus with a scanner or the like, which is troublesome for the user and wastes paper. In addition, it takes time for character recognition processing and layout analysis processing. Further, since it is necessary to print the generated document after being edited by the user, it takes time for calculation of unit conversion and time for printing instruction.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming method capable of printing by changing a numerical unit included in a printing target to a different unit.

  An image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes an extraction processing unit, a unit conversion processing unit, a replacement processing unit, and an image forming unit. The extraction processing unit extracts an extraction target character string including a numerical value and a predetermined unit symbol from character strings included in print data described in a page description language. The unit conversion processing unit converts a unit symbol included in the extraction target character string extracted by the extraction processing unit into another unit symbol related to the unit symbol, and converts the unit symbol of the conversion source and the conversion destination unit symbol. A numerical value included in the extraction target character string is converted according to a combination with a unit symbol. The replacement processing unit replaces the extraction target character string included in the print data with a character string changed by the unit conversion processing unit. The image forming unit forms an image on a sheet based on the print data after replacement by the replacement processing unit.

  An image forming method according to another aspect of the present invention includes an extraction step, a unit conversion step, a replacement step, and an image formation step. In the extraction step, an extraction target character string including a numerical value and a predetermined unit symbol is extracted from the character string included in the print data described in the page description language. In the unit conversion step, the unit symbol included in the extraction target character string extracted in the extraction step is converted into another unit symbol related to the unit symbol, and the conversion source unit symbol and the conversion destination unit A numerical value included in the extraction target character string is converted according to a combination with a symbol. In the replacement step, the extraction target character string included in the print data is replaced with the character string after the change in the unit conversion step. In the image forming step, an image is formed on the sheet based on the print data after the replacement in the replacement step.

  According to the present invention, there are provided an image forming apparatus and an image forming method capable of printing by changing a numerical unit included in a printing target to a different unit.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image to be printed used in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of item information used in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of unit information used in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of automatic conversion information used in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of conversion prohibition information used in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an inquiry screen used in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of automatic conversion information used in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image formed on a sheet in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of unit conversion printing processing executed by the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings for understanding of the present invention. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an operation display unit 11, an ADF 12, an image reading unit 13, an image forming unit 14, a communication I / F 15, a storage unit 16, and a control unit. 17 and the like. Specifically, the image forming apparatus 1 is a multifunction machine having a printer function, a scanner function, a copy function, a facsimile function, and the like. The present invention is not limited to a multi-function peripheral, and can be applied to any image forming apparatus capable of forming an image on a sheet based on print data described in a page description language.

  The operation display unit 11 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display that displays information, and an operation unit such as a touch panel and operation buttons that accept user operations.

  The ADF 12 is an automatic document conveyance device that includes a document setting unit, a conveyance roller, a document pressing unit, and a paper discharge unit, and conveys a document to be read by the image reading unit 13.

  The image reading unit 13 includes an original table, a light source, a mirror, an optical lens, and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), and can read an image of the original and output it as image data.

  The image forming unit 14 can execute a printing process based on image data by an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method, and forms an image on a sheet based on the image data. For example, when the image forming unit 14 is an electrophotographic image forming unit, the image forming unit 14 includes a photosensitive drum, a charger, an exposure device, a developing device, a transfer device, and a fixing device.

  The communication I / F 15 executes communication processing according to a predetermined communication protocol with an external facsimile apparatus or an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer via a communication network such as a telephone line, the Internet, or a LAN. It is a communication interface that can.

  The storage unit 16 is a non-volatile storage unit such as a flash memory. The storage unit 16 includes various control programs for executing unit conversion printing processing (see FIG. 10) described later executed by the control unit 17, and item information 30 (see FIG. 3) described later, unit information. 31 (see FIG. 4), automatic conversion information 32 (see FIG. 5), conversion prohibition information 33 (see FIG. 6), and the like are stored.

  The control unit 17 includes control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic processes. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which information such as a control program for causing the CPU to execute various processes is stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or nonvolatile storage unit used as a temporary storage memory (working area) for various processes executed by the CPU.

  Specifically, the control unit 17 includes a search processing unit 171, an extraction processing unit 172, a unit conversion processing unit 173, an inquiry processing unit 174, a replacement processing unit 175, and an exclusion processing unit 176. The control unit 17 functions as each of these processing units by executing various processes according to the control program. Moreover, the control part 17 may be provided with the electronic circuit which implement | achieves a part or some processing function of each of these process parts.

  Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of an image to be printed that is printed on a sheet by the image forming unit 14. The image 20 shown in FIG. 2 includes item names “memory size”, “data capacity”, and “motor rotational speed”, and numerical values of the respective items indicated by these item names. The image 20 is an image of a status page that is an example of various reports that are automatically generated and output by the image forming apparatus 1.

  By the way, there is a case where it is desired to change the unit of numerical values included in the print target automatically generated in the image forming apparatus 1 like the image 20 to a different unit. Specifically, there is a case where the unit of “1000 KB” indicating the value of “memory size” in the image 20 is changed from KB to MB and then printed on a sheet. In such a case, after reading a paper document with a scanner or the like to generate a document image, the same layout as the original paper document can be reused by performing character recognition processing and layout analysis processing on the document image. It is conceivable to use a document image recognition apparatus capable of generating a simple document. However, in the document image recognition apparatus, since it is necessary to read a report output from the image forming apparatus with a scanner or the like, it is troublesome for the user and paper is also wasted. In addition, it takes time for character recognition processing and layout analysis processing. Further, since it is necessary to print the generated document after being edited by the user, it takes time for calculation of unit conversion and time for printing instruction.

  On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, printing can be performed by changing the unit of the numerical value included in the print target to a different unit more easily by the operation described below. Is possible.

  The image forming apparatus 1 can interpret print data described in a page description language such as PostScript (registered trademark) and print an image to be printed on a sheet. The print data written in the page description language includes the character string printed on the sheet, display position information indicating the display position of the character string, font information indicating the font of the character string, and the character size of the character string. The character size information shown is included.

  The storage unit 16 includes item information 30 as shown in FIG. The item information 30 includes an item name such as “memory size” and a unit symbol related to the item name. The storage unit 16 is an example of the “item information storage unit” in the present invention.

  When receiving a print request for print data described in the page description language, the search processing unit 171 of the control unit 17 selects a character string (for example, a character string printed on a sheet) included in the print data. A character string including an item name (such as “memory size”) included in the item information 30 is searched.

  When the search processing unit 171 finds a character string including the item name, the extraction processing unit 172 displays the display position of the character string including the item name (for example, “memory size”) included in the print data. Based on the displayed display position information, a character string (for example, “1000 KB”) including a numerical value and a predetermined unit symbol from among character strings (for example, character strings printed on a sheet) included in the print data. ) As an extraction target character string. More specifically, the extraction processing unit 172 has a specific positional relationship with a character string (for example, “memory size”) including the item name based on the display position information and the item information 30. A character string (for example, “1000 KB”) including a numerical value and a unit symbol related to the item name is extracted as the extraction target character string.

  For example, the print data corresponding to the image 20 shown in FIG. 2 includes “memory size”, “data capacity”, and a character string including an item name (such as “memory size”) included in the item information 30. Contains the string "motor speed". A character string including a numerical value and a unit symbol (hereinafter referred to as a numerical character string) “1000 KB” is displayed on the same line as the character string “memory size”. In addition, a numerical character string “120 GB” is displayed on the same line as the character string “data capacity”. In addition, a numerical character string “1200 rpm” is displayed on the same line as the character string “motor rotation number”.

  In particular, in various reports output from the image forming apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 2, numerical character strings corresponding to the items are displayed on the same line as the character strings including the item names of the various items to be reported. It is common to be done. Based on such a tendency, the extraction processing unit 172 determines a specific positional relationship (for example, the same line) with respect to the character string including the item name based on the display position information included in the print data. ) Can be extracted as the extraction target character string. For example, the extraction processing unit 172 extracts the numeric character string having the same Y coordinate value as the character string including the item name (that is, the coordinate value indicating the vertical position included in the display position information). It may be extracted as a target character string. In addition, when there are a plurality of numerical character strings having the same Y coordinate value as the character string including the item name, the extraction processing unit 172 includes the item name in the numerical character strings, for example. A numerical character string at a display position closest to the character string may be extracted as the extraction target character string.

  The extraction processing unit 172 extracts the extraction target character string with higher accuracy by considering both the display position information included in the print data and the unit symbol included in the item information 30. can do.

The unit conversion processing unit 173 converts the unit symbol included in the extraction target character string extracted by the extraction processing unit 172 into another unit symbol related to the unit symbol, and converts the conversion source unit symbol and the conversion destination unit. A numerical value included in the extraction target character string is converted according to a combination with a symbol. Specifically, the unit conversion processing unit 173 converts a numerical value and a unit symbol included in the extraction target character string based on, for example, unit information 31 as shown in FIG. The unit information 31 indicates coefficients used for unit conversion for each combination of conversion source unit and conversion destination unit. For example, when converting the unit of the 1000 KB numeric character string shown in FIG. 2 from KB to MB, the unit conversion processing unit 173 obtains the numeric character string value (ie, 1000) from the unit information 31. The unit conversion is performed by multiplying the coefficient (ie, 1024 ⁻¹ ).

The operation of the unit conversion processing unit 173 varies depending on the contents of the automatic conversion information 32 and the conversion prohibition information 33. The automatic conversion information 32 is information indicating an automatic conversion condition to be automatically converted by the unit conversion processing unit 173 and a conversion destination unit. The automatic conversion information 32 is stored in, for example, the storage unit 16 (an example of the automatic conversion information storage unit of the present invention). For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the automatic conversion information 32 includes an item name, a conversion source unit, and a conversion destination unit. A combination of an item name and a conversion source unit is an example of the automatic conversion condition. The unit conversion processing unit 173 converts the unit of the extraction target character string that matches the automatic conversion condition among the extraction target character strings extracted by the extraction processing unit 172 into the conversion destination unit indicated by the automatic conversion information 32. Automatically convert to For example, in the extraction target character string, the unit conversion processing unit 173, when a numerical value indicating “motor rotation number” is expressed in units of “rpm”, according to the automatic conversion information 32 shown in FIG. The unit of the extraction target character string is converted to “s ⁻¹ ”. As a result, the numerical character string “1200 rpm” in the image 20 shown in FIG. 2 is automatically converted to “20s ⁻¹ ”.

  The conversion prohibition information 33 is information indicating a conversion prohibition condition for which conversion by the unit conversion processing unit 173 should be prohibited. The conversion prohibition information 33 is stored, for example, in the storage unit 16 (an example of the conversion prohibition information storage unit of the present invention). The conversion prohibition information 33 includes, for example, item names and units as shown in FIG. A combination of an item name and a unit is an example of the conversion prohibition condition. The exclusion processing unit 176 excludes, from the extraction target character strings extracted by the extraction processing unit 172, the extraction target character strings that match the conversion prohibition condition from the conversion target by the unit conversion processing unit 173. For example, when the numeric value indicating “data capacity” is expressed in units of “GB” in the extraction target character string, the exclusion processing unit 176 extracts the extraction according to the conversion prohibition information 33 shown in FIG. The target character string is excluded from the conversion target by the unit conversion processing unit 173. As a result, the numeric character string “120 GB” in the image 20 shown in FIG. 2 is not unit-converted.

  When the extraction target character string extracted by the extraction processing unit 172 does not match either the automatic conversion condition or the conversion prohibition condition, the inquiry processing unit 174 is extracted by the extraction processing unit 172. The process of inquiring the user whether or not the unit of the character string to be extracted should be converted by the unit conversion processing unit 173 is performed. At this time, in addition to whether or not the unit of the extraction target character string should be converted, the inquiry processing unit 174 may perform a process of inquiring the user as to which unit of the extraction target character string should be converted. . In this case, the inquiry processing unit 174 may display an inquiry screen 40 as shown in FIG. In the inquiry screen 40, a button 41 for designating a conversion destination unit, a button 42 for instructing not to perform unit conversion, and the same condition as this time (for example, when the item name and unit are the same as this time) In the same manner as this time, a check box 43 for instructing whether or not to automatically process from the next time is included.

  The type of the button 41 displayed on the inquiry screen 40 is determined based on the unit information 31, for example. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when inquiring to the user which unit the numeric character string of “1000 KB” should be converted, it is indicated in the unit information 31 as the conversion destination unit from the conversion source unit “KB”. Buttons 41 corresponding to “TB”, “GB”, “MB”, and “B” are displayed on the inquiry screen 40. For example, when the user selects the button 41 corresponding to “MB” on the inquiry screen 40, the unit conversion processing unit 173 converts the unit of “KB” to “MB”. As a result, the numerical character string “1000 KB” in the image 20 shown in FIG. 2 is converted to “0.977 MB”. At this time, if the check box 43 is checked, the automatic conversion condition and the conversion destination unit corresponding to the current processing content are added to the automatic conversion information 32 as shown in FIG. When the button 42 is selected with the check box 43 checked, a new conversion prohibition condition is added to the conversion prohibition information 33.

The replacement processing unit 175 replaces the extraction target character string included in the print data with the character string after the unit change by the unit conversion processing unit 173. For example, the replacement processing unit 175 converts the extraction target character strings “1000 KB” and “1200 rpm” included in the image 20 illustrated in FIG. 2 into the character strings “0. Replace with “977 MB” and “20 s ⁻¹ ”.

The image forming unit 14 forms an image on the sheet based on the print data after replacement by the replacement processing unit 175. FIG. 9 shows an example of an image formed on the sheet by the image forming unit 14. In the image 21 shown in FIG. 9, the character strings “1000 KB” and “1200 rpm” included in the image 20 shown in FIG. 2 are replaced with the character strings “0.977 MB” and “20 s ⁻¹ ”, respectively. ing. As described above, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to easily change the unit of the numerical value included in the print target to a different unit for printing.

  Next, the image forming method of the present invention will be described together with an example of the unit conversion printing process executed by the control unit 17 with reference to FIG. Here, steps S1, S2,... Represent the numbers of processing procedures (steps) executed by the control unit 17. The unit conversion printing process is started, for example, in response to the power supply of the image forming apparatus 1 being turned on, and then ended in response to the power supply of the image forming apparatus 1 being turned off.

<Step S1>
First, in step S <b> 1, the control unit 17 determines whether or not a print target print instruction has been received through the operation display unit 11 of the image forming apparatus 1 or a print host device that can communicate with the image forming apparatus 1. If it is determined that a print instruction has been received (S1: Yes), the process proceeds to step S2. On the other hand, if it is determined that the print instruction has not been received (S1: No), the process of step S1 is repeated until the print instruction is received. For example, when the various reports are set to be automatically output from the image forming apparatus 1 periodically, the processing after step S2 is automatically performed when the output time of the various reports is reached. May be executed automatically.

<Step S2>
In step S <b> 2, the control unit 17 reads the item information 30 stored in the storage unit 16 and selects one item name from among a plurality of item names included in the item information 30. Hereinafter, the item name selected here will be referred to as “attention item name”.

<Step S3>
In step S3, the control unit 17 searches the attention item name from the character string included in the print data (print data described in the page description language) corresponding to the print target.

<Step S4>
In step S <b> 4, the control unit 17 determines whether or not the attention item name is found from the character string included in the print data. If it is determined that the attention item name is found (S4: Yes), the process proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, if it is determined that the noted item name has not been found (S4: No), the process proceeds to step S12.

<Step S5>
In step S5, the control unit 17 extracts an extraction target character string from the character strings included in the print data. For example, the control unit 17 extracts the extraction target character string based on the display position information of the character string including the attention item name and the unit symbol related to the attention item name. For example, when a character string including the item name “memory size” shown in FIG. 3 is found from the character strings included in the print data, the control unit 17 uses the same line as the character string, Alternatively, a character string including a numerical value and a unit symbol (more specifically, a unit symbol related to “memory size”) displayed near the display position of the character string is extracted as the extraction target character string. May be.

<Step S6>
In step S6, the control unit 17 refers to the automatic conversion information 32 stored in the storage unit 16, and determines whether or not the extraction target character string extracted in step S5 is an automatic conversion target. When it is determined that the extraction target character string is an automatic conversion target (S6: Yes), the process proceeds to step S10. On the other hand, if it is determined that the extraction target character string is not an automatic conversion target (S6: No), the process proceeds to step S7.

<Step S7>
In step S7, the control unit 17 refers to the conversion prohibition information 33 stored in the storage unit 16, and determines whether or not the extraction target character string extracted in step S5 is a conversion prohibition target. When it is determined that the extraction target character string is a conversion prohibition target (S7: Yes), the process proceeds to step S12. On the other hand, if it is determined that the extraction target character string is not a conversion prohibition target (S7: No), the process proceeds to step S8.

<Step S8>
In step S8, the control unit 17 displays an inquiry screen 40 (FIG. 7) for inquiring the user as to whether or not to convert the unit of the character string to be extracted extracted in step S5 and to which unit. It is displayed on the operation display unit 11. Then, the control unit 17 receives a user input operation on the inquiry screen 40.

<Step S9>
In step S <b> 9, the control unit 17 determines whether there is a unit conversion instruction from the user through the operation display unit 11. Specifically, the control unit 17 determines that the unit conversion instruction has been given when any of the buttons 41 on the inquiry screen 40 is selected, and when the button 42 on the inquiry screen 40 is selected, It is determined that there is no unit conversion instruction. If it is determined that the unit conversion instruction has been given (S9: Yes), the process proceeds to step S10. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no unit conversion instruction (S9: No), the process proceeds to step S12.

<Step S10>
In step S10, the control unit 17 sets the unit of the extraction target character string extracted in step S5 to the conversion destination unit indicated by the automatic conversion information 32 or the button 41 selected by the user on the inquiry screen 40. Convert to the corresponding conversion destination unit. The control unit 17 refers to the unit information 31 stored in the storage unit 16 and converts the unit of the extraction target character string.

<Step S11>
In step S11, the control unit 17 replaces the extraction target character string in the print data with the character string after unit conversion in step S10. For example, the control unit 17 replaces the character string “1000 KB” in the print data with the character string “0.977 MB” after unit conversion.

<Step S12>
In step S12, the control unit 17 determines whether all item names included in the item information 30 have been selected as the attention item names in step S2. If all item names have been selected, the process proceeds to step S13. On the other hand, if there is an item name that is not selected as the item of interest in step S2, the process returns to step S2.

<Step S13>
In step S13, the control unit 17 causes the image forming unit 14 to execute a printing process (image forming step) based on the print data. Thereby, for example, when the replacement process in step S11 is executed, the image to be printed is printed on the sheet in a state where the unit of the extraction target character string is converted.

  The process of step S3 is executed by the search processing unit 171 of the control unit 17. The processing (extraction step) of step S5 is executed by the extraction processing unit 172 of the control unit 17. The process of step S7 is executed by the exclusion processing unit 176 of the control unit 17. The processing in step S8 is executed by the inquiry processing unit 174 of the control unit 17. The process of step S10 (unit conversion step) is executed by the unit conversion processing unit 173 of the control unit 17. The process of step S11 (replacement step) is executed by the replacement processing unit 175 of the control unit 17.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the extraction target character string is extracted from the character strings included in the print data described in the page description language. Then, the unit of the extracted extraction target character string is converted, and the extraction target character string included in the print data is replaced with the character string after the unit conversion. Then, an image is formed on the sheet based on the print data after replacement. Accordingly, it is possible to easily change the numerical unit included in the print target to a different unit for printing.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the extraction target character string extraction processing and replacement processing are performed on print data described in a page description language. Therefore, even if the numerical values included in the print target automatically generated in the image forming apparatus 1 are various reports that are automatically generated and output in the image forming apparatus 1, they can be easily changed to different units. It is possible to print by changing to

  In this embodiment, the item information 30, the unit information 31, the automatic conversion information 32, and the conversion prohibition information 33 are stored in advance in the storage unit 16, but the present invention is not limited to this. In another embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 has a function that allows a user to register new information or delete unnecessary information for these pieces of information (item information 30 and the like) through the operation display unit 11. Also good. In still another embodiment, a function that automatically downloads new information from the server device through the communication I / F 15 and automatically updates the information (item information 30 and the like) based on the downloaded information is provided as an image. The forming apparatus 1 may be provided.

  In this embodiment, the case where the print target is a print target such as various reports that are automatically generated and output in the image forming apparatus 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to printing a document created by a user. In this case, after the document created by the user is converted into the print data described in the page description language, the unit conversion process is performed on the print data. Therefore, the unit conversion process can be performed without depending on the file format of the document created by the user.

  In this embodiment, when there are a plurality of conversion destination unit candidates, the user is inquired about which conversion destination unit to convert to, but the present invention is not limited to this. In another embodiment, a conversion destination unit that minimizes the number of digits after unit conversion may be automatically selected. In yet another embodiment, when unit conversion to a specific unit system (for example, SI unit system) is possible, the unit of the specific unit system has priority over the units of other unit systems. It may be selected.

  In the present embodiment, first, when the character string including the item name included in the item information 30 is searched by the search processing unit 171 and the corresponding character string is found, the display position information of the character string is displayed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In another embodiment, the character to be extracted is searched by searching for a character string including a numerical value and a predetermined unit symbol from a character string included in the print data without searching for an item name. The column may be extracted directly.

20 Image 21 Image 40 Inquiry screen 41 Button 42 Button 43 Check box

Claims (8)

An extraction processing unit that extracts an extraction target character string including a numerical value and a predetermined unit symbol from character strings included in print data described in a page description language;
The unit symbol included in the extraction target character string extracted by the extraction processing unit is converted into another unit symbol related to the unit symbol, and according to the combination of the unit symbol of the conversion source and the unit symbol of the conversion destination A unit conversion processing unit for converting a numerical value included in the extraction target character string;
A replacement processing unit that replaces the extraction target character string included in the print data with a character string that has been changed by the unit conversion processing unit;
An image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet based on the print data after replacement by the replacement processing unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising: An item information storage unit for storing item information including a predetermined item name;
A search processing unit for searching for a character string including the item name from among character strings included in the print data;
Further comprising
The extraction processing unit extracts the extraction target character string based on display position information indicating a display position of a character string including the item name, which is included in the print data.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The item information further includes a unit symbol related to the item name,
The extraction processing unit has a specific positional relationship with respect to the character string including the item name based on the display position information and the item information, and includes a numerical value and a unit symbol related to the item name. Extracting a character string as the extraction target character string;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. An automatic conversion information storage unit for storing automatic conversion information indicating automatic conversion conditions and conversion destination units to be converted by the unit conversion processing unit;
The unit conversion processing unit converts an extraction target character string that matches the automatic conversion condition among the extraction target character strings extracted by the extraction processing unit according to the automatic conversion information.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. A conversion prohibition information storage unit for storing conversion prohibition information indicating a conversion prohibition condition in which conversion by the unit conversion processing unit is to be prohibited;
An extraction processing unit that excludes, from the extraction target character string extracted by the extraction processing unit, an extraction target character string that matches the conversion prohibition condition from being converted by the unit conversion processing unit;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The unit conversion processing unit converts a numerical value and a unit symbol included in the extraction target character string extracted by the extraction processing unit when a unit conversion instruction is input through the operation unit.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. When the unit symbol of the conversion destination is specified through the operation unit, the unit conversion processing unit converts the unit symbol included in the extraction target character string extracted by the extraction processing unit into the specified unit of the conversion destination Convert to symbol,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. An extraction step of extracting an extraction target character string including a numerical value and a predetermined unit symbol from character strings included in the print data described in the page description language;
The unit symbol included in the extraction target character string extracted in the extraction step is converted into another unit symbol related to the unit symbol, and according to the combination of the unit symbol of the conversion source and the unit symbol of the conversion destination A unit conversion step of converting a numerical value included in the extraction target character string;
A replacement step of replacing the extraction target character string included in the print data with the changed character string in the unit conversion step;
An image forming step of forming an image on a sheet based on the print data after replacement in the replacement step;
An image forming method comprising:

Images