JP2018117234A - Image processing apparatus and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method capable of setting initial setting content according to original type on the basis of the history information.SOLUTION: In an image formation device 10, a discrimination processing unit 71 discriminates the original type based on the image data of a script. A first setting processing unit 73 sets the content of one or more than one setting items related to image processing by preset initial setting content, and changes the content of the setting items according to user operation. A storage processing unit 74 stores the content of the setting items, as history information, in a storage section 6 in association with the original type every time when image processing is executed. A second setting processing unit 75 sets the initial setting content for each original type based on the content of the setting items of each original type in the history information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for executing image processing according to the contents of one or a plurality of setting items.

  For example, at the start of a printing process for printing an image of a document on a sheet, the contents of one or a plurality of setting items related to the printing process are set according to a user operation. On the other hand, a technique for predicting user-preferred setting contents based on the past use frequency of setting contents of print processing by a user operation is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-257698 A

  However, when the user wants to change the print processing setting contents according to the type of document to be printed, the user can appropriately change the setting contents predicted based on the past use frequency according to the document type. It is necessary to change to.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method capable of setting initial setting contents according to document types based on history information.

  An image processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a determination processing unit, an image processing unit, a first setting processing unit, a storage processing unit, and a second setting processing unit. The discrimination processing unit discriminates a document type based on document image data. The image processing unit executes image processing using the image data in accordance with the contents of one or a plurality of setting items set in advance. The first setting processing unit sets the contents of the setting items with preset initial setting contents and changes the contents of the setting items according to a user operation. The storage processing unit causes the storage unit to store the contents of the setting item as history information in association with the document type every time the image processing is executed. The second setting processing unit sets the initial setting content for each document type based on the content of the setting item for each document type in the history information.

  An image processing method according to another aspect of the present invention includes a determination processing step, an image processing step, a first setting processing step, a storage processing step, and a second setting processing step. In the determination processing step, the document type is determined based on the image data of the document. In the image processing step, image processing using the image data is executed in accordance with the contents of one or more preset setting items. In the first setting process step, the contents of the setting items are set with initial setting contents set in advance, and the contents of the setting items are changed according to a user operation. In the storage processing step, each time the image processing is executed, the contents of the setting items are stored in the storage unit as history information in association with the document type. In the second setting process step, the initial setting content is set for each document type based on the content of the setting item for each document type in the history information.

  According to the present invention, there are provided an image processing apparatus and an image processing method capable of setting initial setting contents according to the document type based on history information.

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 a setting screen displayed on the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of first setting information used in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of second setting information used in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of history information used in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of transition of user setting values used in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of transition of user setting values used in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen displayed on the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of setting control 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, an image forming apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an operation display unit 1, an ADF 2, an image reading unit 3, an image forming unit 4, a communication I / F 5, a storage unit 6, and a control unit. 7 etc. Specifically, the image forming apparatus 10 is a multifunction machine capable of executing various image processes such as a print process, a scan process, a copy process, and a facsimile communication process. The image forming apparatus 10 is an example of an image processing apparatus that executes the image processing according to the contents of one or more preset setting items. Note that the image processing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to a multifunction peripheral, and may be an apparatus such as a printer, a scanner, a copier, or a facsimile machine.

  The operation display unit 1 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display that displays information, a touch panel that receives user operations, and operation buttons. The touch panel can detect a touch operation of the display unit by a user. Examples of the operation buttons include a start button, a cancel button, and a stop button.

  The ADF 2 is an automatic document conveyance device that includes a document setting unit, a conveyance roller, a document pressing unit, a paper discharge unit, and the like and conveys a document to be read by the image reading unit 3. The image reading unit 3 includes a document table, a light source, a mirror, an optical lens, and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device). The image reading unit 3 reads an image from a document transported by the ADF 2 or a document placed on the document table and outputs it as image data. Is possible.

  The image forming unit 4 can execute a printing process by an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method based on the image data. For example, when the image forming unit 4 is an electrophotographic image forming unit, the image forming unit 4 includes a photosensitive drum, a charger, an exposure device, a developing device, a transfer device, a fixing device, and the like.

  The communication I / F 5 executes communication processing in accordance with 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 6 is a non-volatile storage unit such as a hard disk or an EEPROM (registered trademark). In the storage unit 6, various control programs executed by the control unit 7, first setting information D <b> 1 (see FIG. 3), which will be described later, relating to various image processing settings executed by the image forming apparatus 10, Setting information D2 (see FIG. 4), history information D3 (see FIG. 5), and the like are stored.

  The control unit 7 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.

  The control unit 7 executes the control program stored in the ROM or the storage unit 6 by the CPU. Specifically, the control unit 7 executes various image processes such as the print process, the scan process, the copy process, and the facsimile communication process in accordance with the control program.

  By the way, the control unit 7 sets the contents of one or a plurality of setting items related to the image processing according to a user operation on the operation display unit 1 before starting various image processing such as the scan processing or the copy processing. To do. On the other hand, for example, a technique for predicting a user's favorite setting content based on the past use frequency of the setting content of print processing by a user operation is known. However, when the user wants to change the print processing setting contents according to the type of document to be printed, the user can appropriately change the setting contents predicted based on the past use frequency according to the document type. It is necessary to change to. On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus 10, it is possible to set the initial setting contents corresponding to the document type based on the history information D3.

  Specifically, the control unit 7 includes a determination processing unit 71, an image processing unit 72, a first setting processing unit 73, a storage processing unit 74, a second setting processing unit 75, a specific processing unit 76, and a notification. And a processing unit 77. The control unit 7 functions as each processing unit by executing various processes according to the control program. Further, a part or plural of each processing unit of the control unit 7 may be an electronic circuit.

  Specifically, in the image forming apparatus 10, the determination processing unit 71 determines a document type based on document image data. The document may be document data (electronic data) created by document creation software, or paper set on the ADF 2 or document table. As a document type discrimination method by the discrimination processing unit 71, any known discrimination method can be used. For example, the determination processing unit 71 may determine the document type based on at least the content of the document. Specifically, the discrimination processing unit 71 extracts feature information (for example, keyword, person image, layout, feature point, color information, etc.) from the image data of the document, and sets the extracted feature information and document type in advance. The document type may be determined by collating with the collated feature information. The document type determined by the determination processing unit 71 may include at least one of a passport, a letter, a receipt, a license, an employee ID card, an ID card, a form, and a document.

  The image processing unit 72 executes image processing using the image data in accordance with the contents of one or a plurality of setting items set in advance. Specifically, in the image forming apparatus 10, the image processing unit 72 executes the print process, the scan process, the copy process, the facsimile communication process, and the like as the image process. For example, the setting items corresponding to the copy process include, for example, “color mode”, “original size”, “paper size”, “enlargement / reduction”, and the like.

  The first setting processing unit 73 can set the contents of the setting items with initial setting contents set in advance, and can change the contents of the setting items according to a user operation. For example, the first setting processing unit 73 displays the setting screen P1 (see FIG. 2) used for setting the setting item on the operation display unit 1 in a state where the content of the setting item is set to the initial setting content. Let Note that the layout and the like of the setting screen P1 are stored for each image process such as the print process, the scan process, the copy process, and the facsimile communication process executed by the image forming apparatus 10.

  The initial setting contents corresponding to each setting item are stored in first setting information D1 (see FIG. 3) and second setting information D2 (see FIG. 4) stored in the storage unit 6. The first setting information D1 may be stored in the ROM of the control unit 7.

  The first setting information D1, the second setting information D2, and the history information D3 (see FIG. 5) are information such as the print process, the scan process, the copy process, and the facsimile communication process executed by the image forming apparatus 10. Stored for each image processing. The second setting information D2 and the history information D3 are stored in association with each user of the image forming apparatus 10. However, in other embodiments, the second setting information D2 and the history information D3 may be stored common to all users.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the setting screen P1 corresponding to the copy process. As shown in FIG. 2, the setting screen P1 displays a plurality of operation keys K1 to K4 corresponding to a plurality of setting items. Specifically, the operation keys K1 to K4 are operation keys respectively corresponding to the setting items of “color mode”, “original size”, “paper size”, and “enlargement / reduction” regarding the copy processing.

  And the control part 7 receives the setting operation of the setting item corresponding to the operation keys K1-K4 according to operation of the operation keys K1-K4 in the setting screen P1. For example, when the operation key K1 is operated, the control unit 7 displays two options “full color” and “black and white” on the operation display unit 1, and selects one of the options in “color mode”. Accepted as a setting operation. In addition, when the operation key K2 is operated, the control unit 7 displays a plurality of document size candidates and an input unit in which the size can be arbitrarily input on the operation display unit 1, so that any one of the document sizes is displayed. A selection operation or a numerical value input operation for the input unit is accepted as a “document size” setting operation. Further, when the operation key K3 is operated, the control unit 7 displays a list of paper sizes that can be used in the image forming apparatus 10 on the operation display unit 1, and selects one of the paper sizes as “paper size”. As a setting operation. Further, when the operation key K4 is operated, the control unit 7 displays a plurality of enlargement rate candidates and an input unit capable of arbitrarily inputting the enlargement rate on the operation display unit 1, and any of the enlargement rates Or a numerical value input operation for the input unit is accepted as a setting operation of “enlargement / reduction”.

  Note that an operation key K5 for automatically setting a plurality of setting items is displayed on the setting screen P1. When the operation key K5 is operated, the document processing unit 71 determines the document type. For example, when the document is set on the ADF 2, the document set on the ADF 2 is sequentially read by the image reading unit 3, and the document type is determined based on the read image data. Each setting item is automatically set according to the determined document type. A mechanism for automatically setting each setting item will be described later.

  On the other hand, FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the first setting information D1 corresponding to the copy process, and FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the second setting information D2 corresponding to the copy process. As shown in FIG. 3, the first setting information D1 stores reference setting values corresponding to the setting items. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the second setting information D2 stores user setting values corresponding to the setting items for each document type. In the present embodiment, the reference setting value and the user setting value are examples of the initial setting content.

  The reference setting value of the first setting information D1 is a setting content of each of the setting items that are set in advance and not changeable when the image forming apparatus 10 is manufactured or shipped. On the other hand, the user setting value of the second setting information D2 is a setting content of each of the setting items that can be arbitrarily set according to a user operation on the operation display unit 1 at the time of initial setting or the like. Note that the control unit 7 may be able to reset the user setting value to the reference setting value in accordance with a user operation. Further, the control unit 7 can automatically set the user setting value of the second setting information D2 based on the history information D3 (see FIG. 5) in a setting control process described later. On the other hand, the user setting value is not stored in the second setting information D2 until the user setting value is set. In this case, the user setting value of each of the setting items in the second setting information D2 may be set to the same value as the reference setting value of each of the setting items in the first setting information D1.

  Each time the image processing is executed, the storage processing unit 74 associates the content of each setting item with the document type and stores it in the storage unit 6 as history information D3. That is, the history information D3 includes the setting contents of each of the setting items set in response to a user operation in the past. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of history information D3 corresponding to the copy process. In the history information D3, the date and time when the image processing (for example, the copy processing) is executed in the image forming apparatus 10, the type of document to be processed in the image processing, and the setting items used in the image processing are set. Contains content. The history information D3 shown in FIG. 5 is sorted by date and time, the date and time T1 is the oldest date and time, and the date and time T25 is the newest date and time.

  The second setting processing unit 75 sets the user setting value for each document type based on the content of the setting item for each document type in the history information D3. Various setting methods are conceivable as the setting method of the user setting value by the second setting processing unit 75. Hereinafter, two specific examples of the user setting value setting method by the second setting processing unit 75 will be described.

<First setting method>
As a first setting method, when the second setting processing unit 75 executes the image processing more than a predetermined number of times (for example, twice) with the same content of a certain setting item for a certain document type. In addition, the content of the setting item may be set as the user setting value corresponding to the setting item of the document type. In this case, the second setting processing unit 75 executes the image processing for a certain setting item of a certain document type with a plurality of different contents from each other for the predetermined number of times (for example, twice). In this case, the latest content of the plurality of contents may be set as the user setting value corresponding to the document type.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of transition of user setting values set by the first setting method based on the history information D3 shown in FIG. First, focusing on “passport”, as shown in FIG. 5, at the time when the copy process of “passport” was executed at the date and time T1, any setting item of “passport” was used twice or more. There are no settings. Therefore, at this time, the user setting value of any setting item of “passport” is not set.

  At the time when the copy process of “passport” is executed at the date and time T2, the history information D3 indicates that “black and white” is used twice for the date and time T1 and the date and time T2 as the setting contents of the “color mode” of the “passport”. I understand. Therefore, the second setting processing unit 75 sets the user setting value corresponding to the “color mode” of “passport” to “monochrome”. Similarly, the second setting processing unit 75 sets the user setting value corresponding to “original size” of “passport” to “A6”, and further sets the user setting corresponding to “paper size” of “passport”. Set the value to “A4”. Note that the user setting value corresponding to “enlargement / reduction” of “passport” is not set at this time. At the time when the “passport” copy process is executed at the date and time T3, “200%” is used twice as the date and time T2 and the date and time T3 as the setting contents of the “enlargement / reduction” of the “passport”. Therefore, the second setting processing unit 75 sets the user setting value corresponding to “enlargement / reduction” of “passport” to “200%”.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the “passport” copy process at the date and time T8, compared to the previous “passport” copy process (that is, the “passport” copy process at the date and time T4), the “color mode”, The settings for “paper size” and “enlarge / reduce” have changed. However, at the time when the “passport” copy process is executed at the date and time T8, only “monochrome” is used more than once as the setting contents of the “color mode” of the “passport”. Therefore, at this time, the user setting value corresponding to the “color mode” of the “passport” remains “monochrome”. Similarly, the user setting value corresponding to “paper size” of “passport” remains “A4”, and the user setting value corresponding to “enlargement / reduction” of “passport” remains “200%”. It is.

  At the time when the “passport” copy process is executed at the date and time T10, “full color” and “monochrome” are used twice or more as the setting contents of “color mode” of “passport”. In this case, the second setting processing unit 75 sets the latest setting content (that is, the setting content with the latest last use date and time) of these two setting contents to the “color mode” of “passport”. Set as a user setting. As a result, the user setting value corresponding to the “color mode” of the “passport” is set (updated) to “full color”. Similarly, the user setting value corresponding to “paper size” of “passport” is set to “A5”, and the user setting value corresponding to “enlargement / reduction” of “passport” is set to “141%”. The

  Next, focusing on the “receipt”, in FIG. 6, when the “receipt” copy process was executed at the date and time T7, any setting item of the “receipt” was used more than once. There are no settings. Therefore, at this time, the user setting value of any setting item of “receipt” is not set.

  When the copy process of “Receipt” is executed at the date / time T9, “full color” is used twice as the setting contents of the “color mode” of the “receipt”. It can be seen from information D3. Therefore, the second setting processing unit 75 sets the user setting value corresponding to the “color mode” of “receipt” to “full color”. Similarly, the second setting processing unit 75 sets the user setting value corresponding to “original size” of “receipt” to “A5” and the user setting corresponding to “paper size” of “receipt”. The value is set to “A4”, and the user setting value corresponding to “enlargement / reduction” of “receipt” is set to “100%”.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the “receipt” copy process at the date and time T11 is “color” compared to the previous “receipt” copy process (that is, the “receipt” copy process at the date and time T9). The settings for “Mode” and “Enlarge / Reduce” have changed. However, when the “receipt” copy process is executed at the date and time T11, only “full color” is used more than once as the “color mode” setting content of “receipt”. Therefore, at this time, the user setting value corresponding to the “color mode” of the “receipt” remains “full color”. Similarly, the user setting value corresponding to “enlargement / reduction” of “receipt” remains “100%”.

  At the time when the “receipt” copy process is executed at the date and time T13, “full color” and “monochrome” are used twice or more as the setting contents of the “color mode” of the “receipt”. In this case, the second setting processing unit 75 uses the user setting value corresponding to the “color mode” of “receipt” as the latest setting content (here “monochrome”) of these two setting contents. Set as. Similarly, the second setting processing unit 75 sets the user setting value corresponding to “enlargement / reduction” of “receipt” to “141%”.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the “receipt” copy process at date T14 is “paper” compared to the previous “receipt” copy process (that is, “receipt copy process at date T13)”. The settings of “Size” and “Enlarge / Reduce” have changed. However, at the time when the “receipt” copy process is executed at date T14, only “A4” is used more than once as the “paper size” setting for “receipt”. Therefore, at this time, the user setting value corresponding to “paper size” of “receipt” remains “A4”. On the other hand, at this time point, “100%” and “141%” are used twice or more as the setting contents of “enlargement / reduction” of “receipt”. In this case, the second setting processing unit 75 sets the latest setting content (here, “100%”) of these two setting contents to the user corresponding to “enlargement / reduction” of “receipt”. Set as a setting value.

<Second setting method>
As a second setting method, the second setting processing unit 75 executes the image processing continuously for a predetermined number of times (for example, twice) with the same content of a certain setting item for a certain document type. In this case, the content of the setting item may be set as the user setting value corresponding to the setting item of the document type.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of transition of user setting values set by the second setting method based on the history information D3 shown in FIG. First, paying attention to “passport”, as shown in FIG. 5, at the time when the copy process of “passport” is executed at the date and time T1, any setting item of “passport” is continuously executed twice or more. There are no settings being used. Therefore, at this time, the user setting value of any setting item of “passport” is not set.

  At the time when the “passport” copy process is executed at the date and time T2, the “color” of the “passport” including the latest copy process of the “passport” at this time (that is, the copy process of the “passport” at the date and time T2). It can be seen from the history information D3 that “black and white” is used twice as the setting contents of “mode” at the date and time T1 and the date and time T2. Therefore, the second setting processing unit 75 sets the user setting value corresponding to the “color mode” of “passport” to “monochrome”. Similarly, the second setting processing unit 75 sets the user setting value corresponding to “original size” of “passport” to “A6”, and further sets the user setting corresponding to “paper size” of “passport”. Set the value to “A4”. Note that the user setting value corresponding to “enlargement / reduction” of “passport” is not set at this time. At the time when the “passport” copy process is executed at the date and time T3, “200%” is continuously used twice as the date and time T2 and the date and time T3 as the setting contents of the “enlargement / reduction” of the “passport”. Therefore, the second setting processing unit 75 sets the user setting value corresponding to “enlargement / reduction” of “passport” to “200%”.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the “passport” copy process at the date and time T8, compared to the previous “passport” copy process (that is, the “passport” copy process at the date and time T4), the “color mode”, The settings for “paper size” and “enlarge / reduce” have changed. However, when the “passport” copy process is executed at the date and time T8, the setting content of the “color mode” of the “passport” has just changed to “full color”. Therefore, at this time, the user setting value corresponding to the “color mode” of the “passport” remains “monochrome”. Similarly, the user setting value corresponding to “paper size” of “passport” remains “A4”, and the user setting value corresponding to “enlargement / reduction” of “passport” remains “200%”. It is.

  At the time when the “passport” copy process is executed at the date and time T10, “full color” is continuously used twice as the date and time T8 and the date and time T10 as the setting contents of the “color mode” of the “passport”. Therefore, the second setting processing unit 75 sets the user setting value corresponding to the “color mode” of “passport” to “full color”. Similarly, the user setting value corresponding to “paper size” of “passport” is set to “A5”, and the user setting value corresponding to “enlargement / reduction” of “passport” is set to “141%”. The

  Next, focusing on the “receipt”, in FIG. 7, at the time when the “receipt” copy process is executed at the date and time T7, any of the setting items of the “receipt” is continuously executed twice or more. There are no settings being used. Therefore, at this time, the user setting value of any setting item of “receipt” is not set.

  At the time when the “receipt” copy process is executed at the date and time T9, “full color” is used continuously twice as the date and time T7 and the date and time T9 as the setting contents of the “color mode” of the “receipt”. Is known from the history information D3. Therefore, the second setting processing unit 75 sets the user setting value corresponding to the “color mode” of “receipt” to “full color”. Similarly, the second setting processing unit 75 sets the user setting value corresponding to “original size” of “receipt” to “A5” and the user setting corresponding to “paper size” of “receipt”. The value is set to “A4”, and the user setting value corresponding to “enlargement / reduction” of “receipt” is set to “100%”.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the “receipt” copy process at the date and time T11 is “color” compared to the previous “receipt” copy process (that is, the “receipt” copy process at the date and time T9). The settings for “Mode” and “Enlarge / Reduce” have changed. However, at the time when the “receipt” copy process is executed at the date and time T11, “black and white” is not used continuously twice or more as the “color mode” setting content of “receipt”. Therefore, at this time, the user setting value corresponding to the “color mode” of the “receipt” remains “full color”. Similarly, the user setting value corresponding to “enlargement / reduction” of “receipt” remains “100%”.

  At the time when the “receipt” copy process is executed at the date T13, “black and white” is used continuously twice as the date “T11” and the date “T13” as the “color mode” setting contents of the “receipt”. Therefore, the second setting processing unit 75 sets the user setting value corresponding to the “color mode” of “receipt” to “monochrome”. Similarly, the second setting processing unit 75 sets the user setting value corresponding to “enlargement / reduction” of “receipt” to “141%”.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the “receipt” copy process at date T14 is “paper” compared to the previous “receipt” copy process (that is, “receipt copy process at date T13)”. The settings of “Size” and “Enlarge / Reduce” have changed. However, at the time when the “receipt” copy process is executed at the date and time T14, “A5” is not yet used continuously twice or more as the setting contents of “paper size” of “receipt”. Therefore, at this time, the user setting value corresponding to “paper size” of “receipt” remains “A4”. Similarly, at this time point, “100%” is not yet used twice or more consecutively as the setting contents of “enlargement / reduction” of “receipt”. Therefore, at this time, the user setting value corresponding to “enlargement / reduction” of “receipt” remains “141%”.

  The second setting processing unit 75 sets the user setting value corresponding to a certain document type, and then executes the image processing for another document type a predetermined number of times (for example, 15 times). In this case, the user setting value may be reset to a predetermined initial value (for example, Null or the reference setting value). For example, focusing on “letter” in FIGS. 6 and 7, the user setting value of each setting item of “letter” is set when the copy process of “letter” is executed at the date and time T6. However, after that, copy processing of document types other than “letter” (here, “receipt” and “passport”) has been executed 15 times or more. Therefore, the second setting processing unit 75 performs “letter” at the time when the copy processing of the document type other than “letter” is executed 15 times (that is, when the “passport” copy processing at the date T21 is executed). The user setting value of each setting item is set to Null. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent each setting item from being automatically set based on the old user setting value for a document type that is not frequently copied.

  The identification processing unit 76 performs a login process that identifies a user who uses the image forming apparatus 10. For example, the identification processing unit 76 identifies a user by executing a user login authentication process in response to a user ID and password input operation on the operation display unit 1. The content of the user login authentication is not limited to this, and for example, the image forming apparatus 10 may be provided with a card reader, and the user may be specified based on card information read by the card reader. The storage processing unit 74 may store history information D <b> 3 in the storage unit 6 for each user specified by the specifying processing unit 76. The second setting processing unit 75 may set the user setting value for each user.

  The notification processing unit 77 notifies the document type when the user setting value corresponding to the document type determined by the determination processing unit 71 is set, and notifies the document type according to the document type. Informs that the content of the setting item has been set. For example, when the contents of each setting item are automatically set according to the operation of the operation key K5 (see FIG. 2) included in the setting screen P1, the notification processing unit 77 displays a message as shown in FIG. M1 may be displayed on the setting screen P1.

  Hereinafter, an example of a procedure of setting control processing executed by the control unit 7 in the image forming apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, steps S1, S2,... Represent processing procedure (step) numbers executed by the control unit 7.

<Step S1>
In step S1, the control unit 7 displays on the operation display unit 1 a setting screen P1 corresponding to the image processing to be executed. For example, when the image processing is the copy processing, the control unit 7 displays a setting screen P1 as shown in FIG. On the operation keys K1 to K4 on the setting screen P1, the reference set values (see FIG. 3) corresponding to the corresponding setting items are initially displayed.

<Step S2>
In step S2, the control unit 7 determines whether or not automatic setting based on the history information D3 should be performed. For example, the control unit 7 determines that the automatic setting should be performed when the operation key K5 included in the setting screen P1 is operated. If it is determined that the automatic setting should be performed (S2: Yes), the process proceeds to step S3. On the other hand, if it is determined that the automatic setting should not be performed (S2: No), the process proceeds to step S5.

<Step S3>
In step S3, the control unit 7 (discrimination processing unit 71) discriminates the document type based on the image data of the document to be processed by the image processing. For example, when the image process is the copy process, the scan process, or the facsimile communication process, the control unit 7 controls the ADF 2 and the image reading unit 3 to convert the image of the document set in the ADF 2 into an image. The image data of the original is acquired from the image reading unit 3. Then, the document type is determined based on the acquired image data. When the image processing is the print processing, the control unit 7 reads the image data of the document stored in the storage unit 6 or the external memory. Then, the document type is determined based on the read image data. Step S3 is an example of the “discrimination processing step” in the present invention.

<Step S4>
In step S4, the control unit 7 (first setting processing unit 73) acquires the user setting value corresponding to the document type determined in step S3 from the second setting information D2 stored in the storage unit 6. Then, the contents of each setting item are automatically set based on the user setting value. As a result, for example, the setting screen P1 shown in FIG. 2 is updated like the setting screen P1 shown in FIG. Note that the reference setting value corresponding to the setting item is applied to the setting item corresponding to the document type and having the user setting value not set (that is, NULL). Then, the process proceeds to step S5. Step S4 is an example of the “first setting process step” in the present invention.

<Step S5>
In step S5, the control unit 7 determines whether or not the image processing should be started. For example, the control unit 7 determines that the image processing should be started when the start button included in the operation display unit 1 is operated. If it is determined that the image processing should be started (S5: Yes), the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if it is determined that the image processing should not be started (S5: No), the process of step S5 is repeated until it is determined that the image processing should be started. Until it is determined in step 5 that the image processing should be started, the contents of each setting item can be changed according to a user operation on the operation display unit 1.

  In another embodiment, after the contents of the setting items are automatically set in step S4, the image processing in step S6 may be automatically started according to the contents of the setting items that are automatically set. In this case, the contents of the setting items may be notified by the control unit 7 (notification processing unit 77) during or after the execution of the image processing.

<Step S6>
In step S6, the control unit 7 (image processing unit 72) executes the image processing using the image data in accordance with the contents of each setting item. For example, when the image processing is the copy processing, the control unit 7 controls the image forming unit 4 to print an image corresponding to the image data on a sheet. Step S6 is an example of the “image processing step” in the present invention.

<Step S7>
In step S7, the control unit 7 (storage processing unit 74) registers the contents of the setting items used in the image processing executed in step S6 in the history information D3 in association with the document type. When the process of step S3 is not executed (that is, when the image process is started without operating the operation key K5 on the setting screen P1), the control unit 7 starts the image process. Then, the document type may be determined. Step S7 is an example of the “storage processing step” in the present invention.

<Step S8>
In step S8, the control unit 7 (second setting processing unit 75) updates the user setting value in the second setting information D2 based on the history information D3. Specifically, the control unit 7 updates the user setting value of the corresponding document type based on the setting content newly registered in the history information D3 in step S7. Further, as described above, the control unit 7 resets the old user setting value included in the second setting information D2 to the initial value (for example, NULL or the reference setting value) as necessary. Step S8 is an example of the “second setting process step” in the present invention.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 9, the user setting value is updated in step S8, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the user setting value may be updated immediately after step S3. In this case, only the user setting value corresponding to the document type determined in step S3 may be updated.

  As described above, in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, each time the image processing is executed, the contents of each setting item are stored in the storage unit 6 as history information D3 in association with the document type. Then, the initial setting contents of each setting item are set for each document type based on the contents of each setting item for each document type in the history information D3. As a result, it is possible to set the initial setting contents according to the document type based on the history information D3, thereby reducing the user's trouble of setting operation.

[Modification]
In the present embodiment, the second setting processing unit 75 individually sets the user setting value for each setting item based on the history information D3, but the present invention is not limited to this. In another embodiment, the second setting processing unit 75 has the same contents of all setting items and the image processing is executed more than a predetermined number of times (or continuously more than a predetermined number of times). The user setting value may be set based on the content of the user setting value only when the command is executed.

  In other embodiments, the old information included in the history information D3 may be appropriately deleted according to a predetermined rule. For example, the history information D3 may always hold only the latest information for a predetermined number of times.

1 Operation display section 2 ADF
3 Image reading unit 4 Image forming unit 5 Communication I / F
6 storage unit 7 control unit 71 information processing unit 72 first setting processing unit 73 storage processing unit 74 count processing unit 75 second setting processing unit 76 specific processing unit 77 notification processing unit 10 image forming apparatus

Claims (9)

A discrimination processing unit for discriminating a document type based on image data of the document;
An image processing unit that executes image processing using the image data according to the content of one or more setting items set in advance;
A first setting processing unit configured to set the content of the setting item with preset initial setting content and change the content of the setting item according to a user operation;
A storage processor that associates the content of the setting item with the document type and stores it as history information each time the image processing is executed;
A second setting processing unit for setting the initial setting content for each document type based on the content of the setting item for each document type in the history information;
An image processing apparatus comprising: The second setting processing unit determines the content of the setting item when the content of a certain setting item is the same for a certain document type and the image processing has been executed a predetermined number of times or more. Set as the initial setting content corresponding to the setting item
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. The second setting processing unit, when a certain setting item of a certain document type is executed with the predetermined number of times for each of the image processing with a plurality of different contents from each other, Set as the initial setting content corresponding to the document type.
The image processing apparatus according to claim 2. The second setting processing unit, when the content of a certain setting item is the same for a certain document type and the image processing is continuously executed for a predetermined number of times or more, Set as the initial setting content corresponding to the setting item of the document type,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. The second setting processing unit sets the initial setting content in advance when the image processing for another document type is executed a predetermined number of times after setting the initial setting content corresponding to a certain document type. Reset to the default value,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. A specific processing unit for specifying a user who uses the image processing apparatus;
The storage processing unit stores the history information in the storage unit for each user,
The second setting processing unit sets the initial setting content for each user.
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. When the content of the setting item is set with the initial setting content corresponding to the document type determined by the determination processing unit, the document type is notified and the content of the setting item is set according to the document type. A notification processing unit for notifying that it has been performed;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. The manuscript type includes at least one of a passport, a letter, a receipt, a license, an employee card, an identification card, a form, and a document.
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. A discrimination processing step for discriminating a document type based on image data of the document;
An image processing step of executing image processing using the image data in accordance with the contents of one or more setting items set in advance;
A first setting processing step of setting the contents of the setting items with preset initial setting contents and changing the contents of the setting items according to a user operation;
A storage process step of associating the content of the setting item with the document type and storing it as history information each time the image processing is executed;
A second setting process step of setting the initial setting content for each document type based on the content of the setting item for each document type in the history information;
An image processing method comprising:

Images