JP2020104496A - Image formation apparatus and image formation method - Google Patents

Abstract

To allow an operator to perform printing on a printing medium of a type matching reception data without mistaking a printing medium type.SOLUTION: An image formation apparatus includes: reception means 110 which receives data to be printed on plural types of printing media 80 as reception data; printing start position information extraction means 140 which extracts printing start position information Dp of the printing media 80 from the reception data; printing region extraction means 150 which extracts printing region information Pa of the printing media 80; and storage means 160 which stores the printing start position information Dp in association with printing medium type information Np. The image formation apparatus reads the extracted printing start position information Dp and the printing medium type information Np from the storage means 160 to perform notification by notification means 170 in the second or subsequent printing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method for printing on a plurality of types of print media.

In an image forming apparatus that prints on a plurality of types of paper, print settings suitable for the paper types are set, and printing is performed according to the received data transmitted and received from the host device based on the set print settings.
In order to easily perform this print setting, a technique has been proposed in which a special code such as a bar code printed on a sheet is read and the print setting is performed based on the setting information extracted from the read result (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-242242) See Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-1526 (Patent Document 1)).

JP, 2018-1526, A

However, in the above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus, only the special code is read and the setting information extracted from the read result is set, and which setting is to be used must be selected by the operator, and the wrong selection is made. If this happens, there is a problem that desired printing that matches the received data cannot be performed. In particular, in a job in which paper of the same paper size but different formats is used, when print data is continuously received from the host device, the operator makes a mistake in selecting the paper type and the paper type that does not match the received data is not printed. There was a problem.

An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, to facilitate print setting, and to allow an operator to print on a print medium of a type that matches received data without making a mistake in the print medium type. And an image forming method.

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives data to be printed on a plurality of types of print media as received data, a print medium transport unit that transports the print medium, and the print medium transport. Printing means for printing an image on the print medium carried by the means based on the received data; print start position information extracting means for extracting the print start position of the print medium from the received data as print start position information; A storage unit that stores the print start position information extracted by the print start position information extraction unit and the print medium type information that identifies the print medium type in association with each other; a notification unit that notifies the print medium type information; At the time of printing by the printing unit, if the print start position information extracted by the print start position information extracting unit is not stored in the storage unit, the print start position information and the print medium type information are stored in the storage unit. When the print start position information is stored, the print medium type information that matches the print start position information extracted by the print start position information extraction unit is read from the storage unit, And a control unit for notifying the print medium type information by the notifying unit.

According to the present invention, because of the above configuration, it is possible to confirm the print medium type that matches the received data when setting the print medium in the second and subsequent printings of the same print medium type, and to receive without error. It can be printed on a print medium that matches the data.

FIG. 3 is an external view explanatory diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of sheets used in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a sheet printed by the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a format of received data of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. 3 is a functional block diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a printing operation of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. 9 is an example of a screen for notifying a paper type name to be set in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. 6 is an example of a screen for notifying a paper error in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. 6 is an operation flowchart of a print start position information extraction unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing changes in the storage state of print start position information, print area information, and a different block number relating to the first embodiment. 6 is an example of a screen for confirming a print result in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. 7 is an example of a screen for confirming a paper type name in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

(First embodiment)
The first embodiment, which is the best mode for carrying out the present invention, will be described below. Elements common to the drawings are given the same reference numerals. Note that, in the following description, for convenience, an example in which printing is performed using two types of paper, that is, paper A and paper B will be described, but three or more paper types may be used. Further, in the following description, the paper 80 is described as an example of the print medium, but carbonless paper, a card, a transparent film, or the like may be used.

First, the configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is an external view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 prints on the sheet 80 according to the received data 200 shown in FIG. 5 after receiving from the upper level apparatus 2 based on the set print setting. Hereinafter, the side from which the paper 80 is discharged is referred to as the “device front side”, and the side on which the paper 80 is set is referred to as the “device back side”. Here, the paper type as the print medium type is, for example, a material of the paper 80 such as plain paper or glossy paper, a paper size, a paper format, or a combination thereof, and the apparatus automatically Refers to the types that can be distinguished. In the first embodiment, types in which the formats preprinted on the paper 80 are different will be described as an example.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment includes a sheet setting unit 3 on the back side of the apparatus. The paper setting unit 3 as the print medium placement unit is for setting the paper 80 as the print medium, for example, the paper A (80A) or the paper B (80B). The sheet setting unit 3 includes a sheet setting port 3a for taking the sheet 80 into the apparatus in a direction indicated by an arrow E, and a sheet guide 3b for guiding the left and right sides of the sheet 80. The state on the back side of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 shows a state in which the sheet B (80B) is set in the sheet setting section 3 by the operator.

On this paper B (80B), a plurality of printing blocks 81, for example, a first printing block 81B1 and a second printing block 81B2 are formed by preprinted ruled lines. The sheet B (80B) is conveyed in the direction shown by the arrow E, and characters and the like are printed in the printing block 81 by the printing mechanism 7, but the first printing block 81B1 is printed first as described later. Therefore, when setting the sheet B (80B) in the sheet setting unit 3, the operator sets it in the upside down direction.
Similarly, the paper A (80A) has a first printing block 81A1 and a second printing block 81A2 formed by preprinted ruled lines, and characters corresponding to the printing data Gd are printed on the plurality of printing blocks 81. Has been done. The print data Gd is printed in these print blocks 81, the details of which will be shown in FIG. 4 later.

Further, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a discharge tray 5 and an operation display unit 6 on the front side of the apparatus.
The discharge tray 5 is provided with a table that can be pulled out, and the paper 80 that is printed and discharged in the direction indicated by arrow F is placed on the discharge tray 5. The state on the front side of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 shows a state in which printing according to the received data 200 is performed on the sheet A (80A) and the sheet A (80A) is ejected to the ejection tray 5. That is, the first printing block 81A1 is printed first on the sheet A (80A) and is discharged.

The operation display unit 6 includes a display unit that displays guidance to the operator and the like, and an operation unit that performs operations such as printing start by the operator. Therefore, the operation display unit 6 is configured by stacking a transparent touch panel that functions as an operation unit on an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) that functions as a display unit. Although not shown, buttons such as a ten-key pad consisting of “0” to “9”, a symbol key, and a cursor movement key may be provided in the vicinity of the operation display unit 6 as another operation unit.

Further, inside the image forming apparatus 1, a printing mechanism 7 for printing on the paper 80 and a paper feed motor 8 for feeding the paper 80 and carrying the paper 80 at the time of printing are provided. The printing mechanism 7 has a print head 7 a that is movable in the direction indicated by arrow H and that prints on the paper 80. An optical sensor 4 that moves together with the print head 7a is attached to the print head 7a. The optical sensor 4 reads the position of the ruled line preprinted on the paper 80, that is, the ruled line position 83 shown in FIG. 3 later. The optical sensor 4 can also read a special code such as a bar code and a sheet edge. The optical sensor 4 may be composed of, for example, a lightweight reflective photosensor or the like. Alternatively, the line sensor or the like may be fixed and arranged close to the conveyed paper 80.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a main control unit 70, a receiving unit 10, an editing unit 20, a print control unit 30, a paper conveyance control unit 40, an operation display control unit 50, and a storage unit 60. The part surrounded by the broken line corresponds to each unit of the functional block shown in FIG. 6 later.
The main control unit 70 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like, and controls each of the above units. The main control unit 70 includes a temporary storage unit 71, a print block number register 71b for storing a print block number Bk described later, an X coordinate register 71x for storing X coordinates, and a Y coordinate register 71y for storing Y coordinates. ..

The reception unit 10 has a reception buffer 10a and stores the reception data 200 transmitted and received from the higher-level device 2 such as a personal computer in the reception buffer 10a. The reception unit 10 is capable of hardware data transfer to the reception buffer 10a by DMA (Direct Memory Access) and storage in the reception buffer 10a by interrupt control. Therefore, the receiving unit 10 can perform the storing operation simultaneously with the control of the main control unit 70, the print control unit 30, the sheet conveyance control unit 40, and the operation display control unit 50. A reception data analysis unit 11, a print start position extraction unit 12, and a print block comparison unit 13 are connected to the reception unit 10.

The reception data analysis unit 11 searches the reception data 200 stored in the reception buffer 10a for a predetermined command, print data Gd, and the like. The print start position extraction unit 12 determines the print start position 82 (X coordinate and Y coordinate as the position coordinate) for each print block 81 shown in FIG. 3 later based on the search result by the received data analysis unit 11. Extract as Dp.

The print block comparison unit 13 outputs the print start position information Dp newly extracted by the print start position extraction unit 12 and the print start position information Dp already stored in the storage unit 60 for each paper type name Np as the print medium type information. To compare. By this comparison, the paper type name Np corresponding to the newly extracted print start position information Dp is determined.
The paper type name Np as the print medium type information is a name (for example, “paper A” or “cash on delivery slip”) for specifying the paper type as the print medium type, and the format is for each paper type name Np. Differently, they are identified and stored or read.

The editing unit 20 has a print buffer 20a, and after the received data 200 is stored in the receive buffer 10a of the receiving unit 10, the editing unit 20 reads the print data Gd shown in FIG. 5 and converts it into printable data. It is stored in the print buffer 20a. The editing unit 20 stores printable data in the print buffer 20a and then issues a print start request to the print control unit 30.
The print control unit 30 controls the printing mechanism 7 shown in FIG. 1 and causes the printing mechanism 7 to perform printing.

The paper conveyance control unit 40 controls the drive of the paper feed motor 8 shown in FIG. 1 to control the conveyance of the paper 80 when feeding and printing the paper 80. For this purpose, a paper feed unit 41 and a paper feed unit 42 are provided, and these are connected to the paper conveyance control unit 40. The paper feed unit 42 feeds the paper 80 set by the operator to a printable position. Further, the paper feeding unit 41 conveys or reversely conveys the paper 80.

The reading unit 43 optically reads an image using the optical sensor 4 shown in FIG. 1. The reading unit 43 reads the ruled line position 83 preprinted on the paper 80 shown in FIG. The printing area 84 is extracted by the means 150 and is acquired as the printing area information Pa. In addition, the reading unit 43 can also read a special code such as a barcode printed on the paper 80 and a paper edge for detecting the paper width. A ruled line position comparison unit 44 and a set sheet determination unit 45 are connected to the reading unit 43.
The ruled line position comparison unit 44 acquires the print area information Pa of the paper 80 acquired using the reading unit 43 and the print area information Pa already stored in the storage unit 60 together with the print start position information Dp in association with the paper type name Np. Compare with.

The set paper determination unit 45 determines whether the set paper 80 is the paper 80 that matches the received data 200, based on the comparison result of the ruled line position comparison unit 44.
The operation display control unit 50 uses the operation display unit 6 shown in FIG. 1 to control operations such as displaying guidance to the operator and starting printing by the operator.
The storage unit 60 includes a non-volatile memory 90, and stores the paper type name Np, the print start position information Dp, the print area information Pa, the different block number DBN, and the like. For this purpose, the non-volatile memory 90 has a position area information storage table 91 and a different block information storage unit 92, which will be described later with reference to FIG.

A print start position information registration unit 61, a print area information registration unit 62, and a difference block registration unit 63 are connected to the storage unit 60. The print start position information registration unit 61 stores the print start position 82 (X coordinate and Y coordinate) of each print block 81 extracted from the received data 200 by the print start position extraction unit 12 in the nonvolatile memory 90 as the print start position information Dp. Remember.
The print area information registration unit 62 stores the print area 84 extracted from the ruled line position 83 of each print block 81 read by the reading unit 43 in the nonvolatile memory 90 as the print area information Pa.
The different block registration unit 63 stores the printing block number Bk having a different ruled line position 83 in the non-volatile memory 90 as the different block number DBN.

Next, the configuration of the sheet 80 used in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of sheets used in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. It should be noted that FIG. 3 is a view in which the lower side of the paper 80 is cut away.
In the first embodiment, two types of paper 80, paper A (80A) and paper B (80B), are used as the paper 80. FIG. 3A is an explanatory diagram of the format of the sheet A (80A), and FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram of the format of the sheet B (80B). First, the configuration of the paper A (80A) will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the sheet A (80A) is composed of a first printing block 81A1 and a second printing block 81A2 formed of preprinted ruled lines. The print blocks 81A1 and 81A2 may be areas that are not surrounded by ruled lines. That is, the printing blocks 81A1 and 81A2 may be formed by the ruled line positions 83 formed vertically to the left and right, which will be described next, or further by left and right brackets or left and right symbols (not shown). Further, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 4, the paper A (80A) may be printed with the preprinted characters 73 required according to the application in addition to the ruled lines.

The ruled line positions 83 formed on the left and right in the horizontal direction of the sheet A (80A) are composed of a left ruled line position 83A1L, a right ruled line position 83A1R, a left ruled line position 83A2L and a right ruled line position 83A2R.
The left ruled line position 83A1L indicates the position of the ruled line on the left side of the paper of the first printing block 81A1, and the right ruled line position 83A1R indicates the position of the ruled line on the right side of the paper of the first printing block 81A1. Similarly, the left ruled line position 83A2L indicates the position of the ruled line on the left side of the paper of the second printing block 81A2, and the right ruled line position 83A2R indicates the position of the ruled line on the right side of the paper of the second printing block 81A2.

In the first print block 81A1, the left ruled line position 83A1L to the right ruled line position 83A1R are extracted as the print area 84A1 as indicated by the long chain line arrow K. Similarly, in the second printing block 81A2, the left ruled line position 83A2L to the right ruled line position 83A2R are extracted as the print area 84A2 as indicated by the long chain line arrow K.
The print range 85 of the paper A (80A) is composed of a print range 85A1 and a print range 85A2. The print range 85A1 is a range printed by the image forming apparatus 1 in the first print block 81A1 of the paper A (80A). The print range 85A2 is a range printed by the image forming apparatus 1 in the second print block 81A2.

The sheet A (80A) is conveyed in the direction indicated by the arrow E, printed by the printing mechanism 7, and printed from the first printing block 81A1 first. Specifically, in the first printing block 81A1, printing is performed from the printing start position 82A1 of the printing range 85A1, and in the second printing block 81A2, printing is performed from the printing start position 82A2 of the printing range 85A2. ..

Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the paper B (80B) is composed of a first printing block 81B1 and a second printing block 81B2 that are formed by being surrounded by preprinted ruled lines. The ruled line position 83 of the paper B (80B) is composed of a left ruled line position 83B1L, a right ruled line position 83B1R, a left ruled line position 83B2L and a right ruled line position 83B2R.
On the paper B (80B), the left ruled line position 83B2L is different from the left ruled line position 83A2L of the paper A (80A) in the second print block 81B2. That is, the left ruled line position 83B2L is located at a position approximately half the width direction of the sheet B.

The print range 85 of the paper B (80B) includes a print range 85B1 and a print range 85B2. On the paper B (80B), the printing range 85B2 is different from the printing range 85A2 of the paper A (80A) in the second printing block 81B2, similarly to the ruled line position 83. That is, the print range 85A2 extends over the entire width direction of the paper A, whereas the print range 85B2 is substantially the right half of the paper B in the width direction.

The paper B (80B) is also conveyed in the direction shown by the arrow E, printed by the printing mechanism 7, and printed from the first printing block 81B1 first. Specifically, in the first print block 81B1, printing is performed from the print start position 82B1 of the print range 85B1, and in the second print block 81B2, printing is performed from the print start position 82B2 of the print range 85B2. ..
In the above description, an example in which there are two printing blocks 81 surrounded by ruled lines has been described, but the number may be one, or three or more.

Next, the configuration of the paper 80 printed by the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of sheets printed by the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. Note that FIG. 4 is a view in which the lower side of the paper surface of the paper 80 is cut out as in FIG. 3. FIG. 4A shows an example of a cash on delivery slip used as a paper A (80A) for home delivery and the like, and FIG. 4B shows an example of a prepaid slip as a paper B (80B).

In FIG. 4(a), the characters "cash on delivery slip", "delivery address", "zip code", "phone number", "address", "name", and "sama" are preprinted characters 73 which are printed in advance. is there. Similarly, the characters “prepayment slip”, “delivery address”, “zip code”, “phone number”, “address/name” and “sama” in FIG. 4B are preprinted characters 73 which are printed in advance. Is. Further, the print blocks 81A1, 81A2, 81B1 and 81B2 are surrounded by a plurality of preprinted ruled lines 74 which are printed in advance.

The following printing is performed on the above-described paper A (80A) and paper B (80B) by the image forming apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. 4A, in the paper A (80A), the first print block 81A1 has "123-4567" as the print character 75 corresponding to the print data Gd on the lower side of the postal code space. Is printed, and "01-2345-6789" as the print character 75 is printed on the lower side of the telephone number. In the second printing block 81A2, "Kasumigaseki 1-chome 2-3, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo" is printed as the printing character 75 on the lower side of the address, and the "patent" is printed as the printing character 75 on the lower side of the name. "Taro" is printed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, in the paper B (80B), the first print block 81B1 corresponds to the print data Gd on the lower side of the postal code as in the paper A (80A). "123-4567" as the print character 75 is printed, and "01-2345-6789" as the print character 75 is printed below the paper surface of the telephone number. In the second print block 81B2, "Kasumigaseki 1-2-2 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo" is printed on the right side of the address/name as a print character 75.
In this way, the desired contents are printed on the paper A (80A) and the paper B (80B) by the image forming apparatus 1, and are used by being attached to the parcel such as parcel delivery service.

Next, the format of the reception data 200 transmitted from the higher-level device 2 and received by the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a format of received data of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, for convenience, the print block numbers 201A and 201B are collectively referred to as the print block number 201, and the print block data 202A1, 202A2, 202B1 and 202B2 are collectively referred to as the print block data 202.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the received data 200 of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the number of print blocks 201 is the head, and next, the print block data 202 is arranged by the number of parameters Bn of the number of print blocks 201. It has been configured. For example, when the parameter Bn of the print block number 201A is "2", the first print block data 202A1 and the second print block data 202A2 are arranged.
The print block data 202 includes a horizontal positioning command HxCmd, print data Gd, a print block delimiter command BkCmd, and a paper feed command PcCmd.

The horizontal positioning command HxCmd is a command having the X coordinate as the print start position 82 in the print block 81 as a parameter, and the print head 7a of the print mechanism 7 shown in FIG. It is a command to move in the direction shown.
The print data Gd is composed of text data for forming characters and images, graphic data, image data, etc., and characters and images based on the print data Gd are printed by the printing mechanism 7.

The print block delimiter command BkCmd is a command for advancing to the next print block 81.
The paper feed command PcCmd is a command to convey the paper 80 in the direction indicated by arrow E or arrow F in FIG. 1, and executes paper feed using the paper feed amount Cy as a parameter.
The print block number 201 and the print block data 202 for the number of parameters Bn of the print block number 201 are repeated for each sheet 80 to form the received data 200.

Next, the function of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment includes a control unit 100, a receiving unit 110, a printing unit 120, a sheet conveying unit 130, a print start position information extracting unit 140, and a print area extracting unit 150. The storage means 160 and the notification means 170 are provided.
The control unit 100 stores the paper type name Np that matches the print start position information Dp extracted by the print start position information extraction unit 140 during the second and subsequent printing of the same paper type by the printing unit 120, and the storage unit 160. The paper type name Np acquired from the above is notified by the notification means 170.

Further, the control unit 100 prints the print start position information Dp extracted by the print start position information extraction unit 140 and the print region extracted by the print region extraction unit 150 during the second and subsequent printing of the same paper type by the printing unit 120. When the combination with the information Pa is not stored in the storage unit 160, the notification unit 170 gives a warning that the paper 80 is wrong or that the direction in which the paper 80 is set is wrong.

Further, the control unit 100 prints the print start position information Dp extracted by the print start position information extraction unit 140 when the printing unit 120 prints the same paper type for the second time or later and when the notification unit 170 issues a warning. The paper type name Np that matches with is acquired from the storage unit 160, and the notification unit 170 notifies the paper type name Np.

Further, the control unit 100 stops the printing by the printing unit 120 when the combination of the print start position information Dp and the print area information Pa is not stored in the storage unit 160. Further, the control unit 100, when the difference block number DBN is stored in the difference block information storage unit 92, the print region 84 extracted by the print region extraction unit 150 and the print region of the corresponding print block 81 in the storage unit 160. 84 is compared, and when they do not match, the notification means 170 gives a warning. The control unit 100 functions not only by the main control unit 70 shown in FIG. 2, but also by the print block comparison unit 13, the ruled line position comparison unit 44, and the set sheet determination unit 45.

The receiving unit 110 receives, as the reception data 200, data to be printed on the paper 80 having the plurality of printing blocks 81. The receiving means 110 functions by the receiving unit 10 shown in FIG.
The printing unit 120 conveys the sheet 80 by the sheet conveying unit 130 and prints on the sheet 80 based on the received data 200. The printing unit 120 functions by the printing mechanism 7 shown in FIG. 1, the editing unit 20 and the print control unit 30 shown in FIG.
The paper carrying unit 130 as a print medium carrying unit carries the paper 80. The sheet conveying means 130 functions by the sheet feeding motor 8 shown in FIG. 1, the sheet conveying control section 40, the sheet feeding section 41, and the sheet feeding section 42 shown in FIG.

The print start position information extraction means 140 extracts the print start position 82 for each print block 81 from the received data 200 and sets it as the print start position information Dp. The extracted print start position information Dp is compared with the print start position information Dp (see FIG. 11) already stored in the storage unit 60 by the print block comparison unit 13 as described above. The print start position information extraction means 140 functions by the received data analysis unit 11 and the print start position extraction unit 12 shown in FIG.

The print area extraction unit 150 extracts the print area 84 of the paper 80 by the reading unit 43 and sets it as the print area information Pa. Further, when the difference block number DBN is stored in the difference block information storage unit 92, the print area extracting unit 150 causes the reading unit 43 to extract the print area 84 of the corresponding print block 81.
The print area extracting unit 150 functions by the optical sensor 4 shown in FIG. 1 and the reading unit 43 shown in FIG.

The storage unit 160 associates the paper type name Np with the print start position information Dp and the print area information Pa after the paper type is changed, that is, when the printing unit 120 first prints the same paper type. It is something to remember. Alternatively, the storage unit 160 stores at least the print start position information Dp and the paper type name Np in association with each other during the first printing of the same paper type.

Further, the storage unit 160 includes a different block information storage unit 92 that stores the print block number Bk as the different block number DBN when the print area information Pa changes during the first printing of the same paper type. Further, in this case, the print start position information Dp of the print block 81 may be changed.
The storage unit 160 functions by the storage unit 60, the print start position information registration unit 61, the print area information registration unit 62, and the difference block registration unit 63 shown in FIG.
The notification unit 170 is for notifying the paper type name Np. The notification unit 170 functions by the operation display unit 6 shown in FIG. 1 and the operation display control unit 50 shown in FIG.

With the above configuration, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment operates as follows. First, a printing operation for printing on the paper 80 by the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the printing operation of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the printing operation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the operator selects the content to be printed, and the data to be printed is transmitted from the upper level device 2 to the image forming apparatus 1 as transmission data via a USB cable or the like.
Step S1: The control means 100 receives the data to be printed as the reception data 200. In other words, the control unit 100 receives the data to be printed by the reception unit 110 as the reception data 200 and stores it in the reception buffer 10a.

Step S2: The control unit 100 causes the print start position information extraction unit 140 to extract the print start position 82 for each print block 81 from the received data 200, and sets it as the print start position information Dp. In other words, the control unit 100 searches the reception buffer 10a by the print start position information extraction unit 140, sequentially extracts the print start position 82 for each print block 81, and acquires all the print start position information Dp.
Specifically, the main control unit 70 shown in FIG. 2 searches the reception buffer 10a by the reception data analysis unit 11, extracts the print start position 82 of each print block 81 by the print start position extraction unit 12, and starts printing. The position information is Dp. The operation of acquiring the print start position information Dp will be described later in detail with reference to FIG.

Step S3: The control unit 100 determines whether or not it is the first printing of the same paper type. In other words, the control unit 100 determines whether or not there is the print start position information Dp already stored in the storage unit 160. Specifically, the main control unit 70 shown in FIG. 2 determines whether or not there is the print start position information Dp stored in the storage unit 60.
After that, when the control unit 100 determines that there is no stored print start position information Dp by the above determination, it is determined that it is the first printing for the same paper type, and the process proceeds to step S4 described below. On the other hand, when it is determined that there is the stored print start position information Dp, the process proceeds to step S8, which will be described later, because it is the second and subsequent printing for the same paper type.

Step S4: When the control unit 100 determines that there is no print start position information Dp that has already been stored, that is, when it is determined that it is the first print of the same paper type, the print start position information Dp and the paper 80. Is stored in association with the paper type name Np that specifies In other words, when it is determined that the same paper type is the first print, the control unit 100 stores the print start position information Dp and the paper type name Np in the storage unit 160 in association with each other. A specific example of this storage operation will be described later in detail with reference to FIG.

At this time, the control unit 100 sequentially stores the paper type name Np as "paper A", "paper B",... "Paper n". Specific paper types such as "cash on delivery slip" and "prepayment slip" may be stored in order as the paper type name Np. Alternatively, the sheet type name Np may be printed at a specific position on the sheet 80 with a special code, and the reading section 43 of the print area extracting unit 150 may read the special code and store the sheet type name Np. .. As shown in FIG. 11, the sheet type name Np is stored in the position area information storage table 91 of the storage unit 60 by the storage unit 160, and the sheet type name Np is set.

Step S5: The control unit 100 performs printing when it is determined that the printing is the first printing of the same paper type, and the printing region extracting unit 150 extracts the printing region 84 of the printing block 81 during the printing. The print area information Pa.
In other words, the control unit 100 causes the sheet conveying unit 130 to feed and convey the sheet 80, and the printing unit 120 prints on the sheet 80. Then, the printed paper 80 is discharged to the discharge tray 5 shown in FIG. 1 in the direction indicated by the arrow F. Specifically, the main control unit 70 shown in FIG. 2 drives the paper feeding motor 8 shown in FIG. 1 by the paper feeding unit 42 to feed the paper to the printing mechanism 7 in the direction indicated by the arrow E. Further, the paper 80 is conveyed by the paper feeding unit 41, printing is performed by the printing mechanism 7, and the paper 80 is discharged to the discharge tray 5.

During this printing, the control unit 100 reads the ruled line position 83 preprinted on the paper 80 by the print region extraction unit 150, extracts the print region 84, and sets it as the print region information Pa. Specifically, the main control unit 70 shown in FIG. 2 reads the ruled line position 83 by the reading unit 43 using the optical sensor 4 shown in FIG. 1 and extracts the print area 84 to obtain the print area information Pa. ..
Step S6: The control unit 100 stores the print start position information Dp, the print area information Pa, and the paper type name Np in association with each other when it is determined that the printing is the first time for the same paper type. A specific example of this storage operation will be described later in detail with reference to FIG.

Step S7: When the print area information Pa is stored, the control unit 100 compares the print area numbers Pa with the print area information Pa of other paper type name Np, and if there is print area information Pa different from the print area information Pa. The block number Bk is stored as the difference block number DBN. In other words, when the control unit 100 determines that the print area information Pa of another sheet type name Np is already stored, the print block number Bk having different print area information Pa is stored as the different block number DBN. The difference block information storage unit 92 stores the difference block information. Then, the printing operation is finished. A specific example of this storage operation will be described later in detail with reference to FIG.

Step S8: On the other hand, when the control means 100 determines in step S3 that there is already stored print start position information Dp, that is, when the control unit 100 determines that the printing is the second or subsequent printing of the same paper type. Informs the paper type name Np with which the print start position information Dp matches by the notifying means 170. Specifically, the main control unit 70 shown in FIG. 2 notifies the operation display control unit 50 of the paper type name Np with which the print start position information Dp matches, by the operation display control unit 50.

FIG. 8 is an example of a screen for informing the paper type name to be set in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. For example, when the paper type name Np with which the print start position information Dp matches is “paper B”, as shown in FIG. 8, a guidance 301 prompting the user to set paper B (80B) is displayed on the screen G10. To do. Further, a guidance 302 indicating that the print button 303 is pressed after setting the paper 80 and that the print cancel button 304 is pressed when printing is stopped is displayed. A print button 303 and a print cancel button 304 are displayed near this.

Step S9: When the print button 303 is pressed by the operator, the control means 100 refers to the different block number DBN stored in the storage means 160 in step S7. After that, the control means 100 conveys the set paper 80 by the paper conveyance means 130 to the printing block 81 of the number stored in the difference block number DBN. After that, the control unit 100 reads the ruled line position 83 by the print region extraction unit 150 and extracts the print region 84.

Step S10: The control unit 100 matches the extracted print area 84 with the print area 84 of the same print block number Bk in the print area information Pa with the matching print start position information Dp, which is already stored by the storage unit 160. It is determined whether to do. Specifically, the ruled line position comparison unit 44 compares the print area information Pa of the sheet 80 acquired using the reading unit 43 with the print area information Pa already stored in the storage unit 60. After that, the set paper determination unit 45 determines whether or not the paper that has passed through the reading unit 43, that is, the set paper 80 is the paper 80 that matches the received data 200, based on the comparison result of the ruled line position comparison unit 44. To do.
When the print areas 84 match, the control unit 100 determines that the set paper 80 is the paper type that matches the received data 200, and proceeds to step S11. On the other hand, when the print areas 84 do not match, the control unit 100 determines that the set paper 80 does not match the received data 200, and proceeds to step S13.

In this way, the paper 80 is conveyed to the printing block 81 of the number stored as the difference block number DBN, and the matching of the printing areas 84 is determined based on the printing areas 84 extracted by reading the ruled line positions 83. It has the following effects. That is, it is not necessary to read the ruled line positions 83 of all the printing blocks 81 to extract the printing area 84, and the processing speed can be improved. Further, since the judgment is made only by the print area 84 of the print block 81 of the number stored in the difference block number DBN, the judgment accuracy can be improved.
Of course, the print area extracting unit 150 reads the ruled line positions 83 of all the print blocks 81, extracts the print area 84 and sets it as the print area information Pa, and the combination of the print start position information Dp and the print area information Pa is You may make it determine whether it is memorize|stored in the memory|storage means 160.

Step S11: When the control unit 100 determines that the set paper 80 is a paper type that matches the received data 200, the paper conveyance unit 130 reversely conveys the paper 80 back to the position before the conveyance. Specifically, the main control unit 70 shown in FIG. 2 rotates the paper feed motor 8 shown in FIG. 1 in the reverse direction by the paper feeding unit 42 and conveys it in the direction opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow E to the position before the conveyance in step S9. The paper 80 is returned.

Step S12: After that, the control unit 100 conveys the sheet 80 by the sheet conveying unit 130, performs printing by the printing unit 120, and ejects the sheet 80 to the ejection tray 5 in the direction indicated by the arrow F in FIG. Specifically, the main control unit 70 shown in FIG. 2 conveys the paper 80 by the paper feeding unit 41 shown in FIG. 1, performs printing by the printing mechanism 7, and ejects the paper 80 to the ejection tray 5.

Step S13: On the other hand, when it is determined in step S10 that the paper 80 set in the paper setting unit 3 does not match the received data 200, the control unit 100 determines that the set paper 80 is wrong or is set. The notification unit 170 notifies that the orientation of the sheet 80 is wrong. Specifically, the main control unit 70 shown in FIG. 2 indicates that the operation display control unit 50 has set the wrong paper type on the operation display unit 6 shown in FIG. 1 or the direction of the set paper 80 is wrong. Is displayed to inform the user. The notification may be given by sound such as voice or buzzer instead of or in addition to the display on the operation display unit 6.

FIG. 9 is an example of a screen for notifying a wrong sheet in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. When it is determined in step S13 that the paper 80 set in the paper setting unit 3 does not match the received data 200, the paper 80 that does not match the received data 200 is set as shown in the screen G11 of FIG. Alternatively, the warning guidance 311 indicating that the orientation of the set paper 80 is wrong is displayed. Further, the warning guidance 311 may display the paper type name Np that matches the received data 200.

Further, on the screen G11, a guidance 312 is displayed to the effect that the print button 313 is pressed after the paper 80 is set again and that the print cancel button 314 is pressed when printing is stopped. A print button 313 and a print stop button 314 are displayed near this.
When the operator presses the print button 313 based on the display of the screen G11 shown in FIG. 9, the control means 100 restarts the printing operation, similarly executes the processing from step S1 onward, and resets the print operation. Printing is performed on the paper 80. On the other hand, when the print stop button 314 is pressed, the printing operation is finished without printing.

In the above description, in steps S8 and S13 shown in FIG. 7, both the notification and the warning are described, but only one of the notifications may be performed. That is, in step S8 shown in FIG. 7, notification of the paper type to be set in the second and subsequent printing of the same paper type, and in step S13 paper to be set in the second and subsequent printing of the same paper type It is also possible to perform only one of the notifications of the warnings such as that the type is wrong.

Next, an operation in which the print start position information extracting unit 140 extracts the print start position 82 for each print block 81 from the received data 200 and sets it as the print start position information Dp will be described. FIG. 10 is an operation flowchart of the print start position information extraction unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the operation of acquiring the print start position information Dp by the print start position information extraction unit 140 will be described with reference to FIG. 10 in the case where the paper type is the paper B (80B) as an example.

First, the control unit 100 initializes the print block number register 71b, the X coordinate register 71x, and the Y coordinate register 71y of the temporary storage unit 71 of the main control unit 70 shown in FIG. That is, the values of the print block number register 71b, the X coordinate register 71x, and the Y coordinate register 71y are set to "0".
Step S21: Next, the control means 100 sequentially reads the reception data 200 received by the reception means 110. Specifically, the main control unit 70 causes the reception data analysis unit 11 to sequentially read the reception data 200 from the reception buffer 10 a of the reception unit 10.

Step S22: The control unit 100 determines whether the read reception data 200 is the “horizontal positioning command HxCmd” by the print start position information extraction unit 140. Specifically, the main control unit 70 determines whether or not the received data analysis unit 11 is the “horizontal positioning command HxCmd”.

Step S23: When the control unit 100 determines that the read received data 200 is the “horizontal positioning command HxCmd”, the print start position information extraction unit 140 extracts the X coordinate of the print start position 82 and temporarily stores it. The value of the X coordinate register 71x of the unit 71 is updated. Specifically, when the X-coordinate of the parameter of the “horizontal positioning command HxCmd” is “4” by the print start position extracting section 12, the main control unit 70 sets the value of the X-coordinate register 71x to “4”. Update to.
On the other hand, when the control unit 100 determines that the read received data 200 is not the “horizontal positioning command HxCmd”, the control unit 100 proceeds to step S24 without updating the value of the X coordinate register 71x of the print block.

Step S24: When the print start position information extracting unit 140 determines that the read reception data 200 is “print data Gd”, the control unit 100 returns to Step S21, and the read reception data 200 is “print data Gd”. When it is not "Gd", the process proceeds to step S25.
Step S25: The control unit 100 causes the print start position information extraction unit 140 to determine whether the read reception data 200 is a “print block delimiter command BkCmd”.
The control means 100 proceeds to step S26 when it determines that the read received data 200 is not the “print block delimiter command BkCmd”, and proceeds to step S27 when it determines that it is the “print block delimiter command BkCmd”.

Step S26: When the control unit 100 determines that the received data 200 read in Step S25 is not the “print block delimiter command BkCmd”, the received data analysis unit 11 causes the received data analysis unit 11 to receive the next received data from the receive buffer 10a of the receiving unit 110. 200 is read, and the process returns to step S25. In this way, the control unit 100 sequentially reads the received data 200 until the read received data 200 becomes the “print block delimiter command BkCmd”.

Step S27: When the control means 100 determines that the received data 200 read in step S25 is the “print block delimiter command BkCmd”, it adds “1” to the value of the print block number register 71b of the temporary storage unit 71. .. That is, the value "0" of the print block number register 71b is updated to "1".

Step S28: The control unit 100 causes the print start position information extraction unit 140 to determine whether the read reception data 200 is the “paper feed command PcCmd”.
When the control means 100 determines that the read received data 200 is not the "paper feed command PcCmd", the process proceeds to step S31, and when the read data 200 is the "paper feed command PcCmd", the process proceeds to step S29.

Step S29: When the control unit 100 determines that the read received data 200 is the “paper feed command PcCmd”, the paper feed amount Cy specified by the parameter of the paper feed command PcCmd is stored in the Y coordinate register 71y of the temporary storage unit 71. It is added to the value and the value of the Y coordinate register 71y is updated.

For example, when the paper feed amount Cy of the paper feed command PcCmd is “3” before the first print block 81B1, the value of the Y coordinate register 71y in the first print block 81B1 becomes “3”. Will be updated. After that, when the paper feed amount Cy of the paper feed command PcCmd between the first printing block 81B1 and the second printing block 81B2 is “3”, the cumulative addition is performed, and the Y coordinate register 71y in the second printing block 81B2 is added. The value is updated to "6".

Step S30: The control unit 100 causes the print start position information extraction unit 140 to read the next reception data 200 from the reception buffer 10a of the reception unit 110, and returns to step S28, where the read reception data 200 is the "paper feed command PcCmd". Determine whether there is. In this way, the control unit 100 sequentially reads the reception data 200 while cumulatively adding the value of the Y coordinate register 71y by the paper feed amount Cy until the read reception data 200 is not the "paper feed command PcCmd".

Step S31: The control means 100 sets the value of the print block number register 71b as the print block number Bk, the value of the X coordinate register 71x as the X coordinate, and the value of the Y coordinate register 71y as the Y coordinate, and stores the value in the storage means 160. This is stored in the position area information storage table 91. This specific example will be described later in detail with reference to FIG.

Step S32: When the read received data 200 is not the “paper feed command PcCmd”, the control means 100 determines whether or not the analysis of the received data 200 of all the printing blocks 81 is completed, and determines that it is not completed. If so, the process returns to step S21. In this case, since the analysis of the second print block 81B2 has not been completed, the process returns to step S21, and the analysis and storage operation of the second print block 81B2 is performed in the same manner. On the other hand, when the control unit 100 determines that the analysis of all the print blocks 81 of the received data 200 is completed, the control unit 100 ends the present process.
By the above-described analysis operation, the print start positions 82 (X coordinate and Y coordinate) of all the print blocks 81 that become the print start position information Dp are determined and stored in the position area information storage table 91.

Next, the operation of storing the print start position information Dp, the print area information Pa, and the different block number DBN in the position area information storage table 91 and the different block information storage unit 92 will be described. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing changes in the storage state of the print start position information, the print area information, and the different block number according to the first embodiment. Note that FIG. 11A shows the storage state of the position area information storage table 91 and the difference block information storage unit 92 when the sheet A (80A) is printed as the first print. FIG. 11B shows the storage state of the position area information storage table 91 and the difference block information storage unit 92 when the sheet B (80B) is printed as the first printing thereafter.

The print start position information Dp and the print area information Pa are stored in the position area information storage table 91 by the storage unit 160. The storage block 160 stores the difference block number DBN in the difference block information storage unit 92.
Specifically, in the position area information storage table 91, print start position information Dp and print area information Pa are stored by the print area information registration unit 62 shown in FIG. The difference block number DBN is stored in the difference block information storage unit 92 by the difference block registration unit 63.
First, as a specific example of steps S1 to S7 described with reference to FIG. 7, the print start position information Dp and the print area information Pa when the paper A (80A) and the paper B (80B) are sequentially printed in the first printing. And the storage operation of the difference block number DBN will be described.

First, when the receiving unit 110 receives the reception data 200 of the sheet A (80A), the control unit 100 causes the printing start position information extracting unit 140 to print the X coordinate of the printing start position 82 of each printing block 81 on the sheet A (80A). And Y coordinates are extracted (steps S1 and S2 shown in FIG. 7). The extraction of the X and Y coordinates of the print start position 82 is performed by the operation of acquiring the print start position information Dp described with reference to FIG.

Specifically, the main control unit 70 searches the reception buffer 10a by the reception data analysis unit 11. Further, the print start position extraction unit 12 extracts the X coordinate and the Y coordinate (for example, X=4, Y=3) of the print start position 82A1 of the first print block 81A1 for the paper A (80A). At the same time, the X coordinate and the Y coordinate (for example, X=4, Y=6) of the print start position 82A2 of the second print block 81A2 are extracted, and these coordinates are set as the print start position information Dp of the paper A (80A). To do.

Next, when the control unit 100 determines that the same print start position information Dp is not stored in the position area information storage table 91, that is, when the control unit 100 determines that it is the first printing of the same paper type, the storage unit The sheet type name Np and the print start position information Dp are associated with each other and stored in the position area information storage table 91 by 160 (steps S3 and S4 shown in FIG. 7).
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11A, the main control unit 70 shown in FIG. 2 stores in the position area information storage table 91 as follows by the print start position information registration unit 61. That is, as the print start position 82A1, “4” is stored in the X coordinate field and “3” is stored in the Y coordinate field of the print block number Bk=1 with the paper type name Np of “paper A”. Further, as the print start position 82A2, "4" is stored in the X coordinate column and "6" is stored in the Y coordinate column of the print block number Bk=2 of the paper A (80A).

After that, when printing the first print block 81A1, the control unit 100 causes the print region extraction unit 150 to extract the print region 84A1 of the first print block 81A1 of the paper A (80A) and print region information Pa. (Step S5 shown in FIG. 7). Specifically, the main control unit 70 illustrated in FIG. 2 performs the printing of the first printing block 81A1 by the reading unit 43 when the first printing block 81A1 is printed. The ruled line position 83 is read using the optical sensor 4 shown in FIG. That is, the ruled line position 83 (for example, the left ruled line position 83A1L:X=3, the right ruled line position 83A1R:X=33) is read by the reading unit 43, and the print area 84A1 is extracted and set as the print area information Pa.

Similarly, when printing the second print block 81A2, the control means 100 extracts the print area 84A2 of the second print block 81A2 of the paper A (80A) by the print area extraction means 150 and print area information. Pa. Specifically, the main control unit 70 shown in FIG. 2 performs the printing of the second printing block 81A2 by the reading unit 43 when the second printing block 81A2 is printed. The ruled line position 83 is read using the optical sensor 4 shown in FIG.

That is, the ruled line position 83 (for example, the left ruled line position 83A2L:X=3, the right ruled line position 83A2R:X=33) is read by the reading unit 43, and the print area 84A2 is extracted and set as the print area information Pa. In this way, the printing area information Pa of the first printing block 81A1 is set to the left ruled line position 83A1L:X=3 and the right ruled line position 83A1R to X=33. Further, the printing area information Pa of the second printing block 81A2 is left ruled line position 83A2L:X=3 and right ruled line position 83A2R:X=33.

The control unit 100 stores the acquired print area information Pa in the Pa column of the position area information storage table 91 for each print block 81 by the storage unit 160 (step S6 shown in FIG. 7). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11A, the main control unit 70 shown in FIG. 2 is stored by the print area information registration unit 62 as follows.

That is, the left ruled line position 83A1L:X=3 and the right ruled line position 83A1R:X=33 are represented as "3,33" in the X coordinate column of the print block number Bk=1 for the paper type name Np of "paper A" The print area 84A1 is stored in the Pa column of the area information storage table 91. At the same time, the left ruled line position 83A2L:X=3 and the right ruled line position 83A2R:X=33 are represented as "3,33" in the X coordinate column of the print block number Bk=2 for the paper type name Np of "paper A" The print area 84A2 is stored in the Pa column of the paper A (80A) in the area information storage table 91.

After that, when the receiving unit 110 receives the reception data 200 of the sheet B (80B), the control unit 100 causes the print start position information extracting unit 140 to perform the operation on each sheet B (80B) as in the case of the sheet A (80A). The X and Y coordinates of the print start position 82 of the print block 81 are extracted (steps S1 and S2 shown in FIG. 7).

Specifically, the main control unit 70 shown in FIG. 2 searches the reception buffer 10a by the reception data analysis unit 11 and causes the print start position extraction unit 12 to print the first print block 81B1 on the paper B (80B). The X coordinate and the Y coordinate (for example, X=4, Y=3) of the start position 82B1 are extracted. At the same time, the X coordinate and the Y coordinate (for example, X=19, Y=6) of the print start position 82B2 of the second print block 81B2 are extracted, and these coordinates are set as the print start position information Dp of the paper B (80B). To do.

Next, the control unit 100 determines that the same print start position information Dp is not stored in the position area information storage table 91, and the storage unit 160 stores the print start position information Dp in the position area information storage table 91. It is stored (steps S3 and S4 shown in FIG. 7).
Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 11B, the main control unit 70 illustrated in FIG. 2 causes the print start position information registration unit 61 to store the position area information storage table 91 as follows. That is, as the print start position 82B1, “4” is stored in the X coordinate field and the “3” is stored in the Y coordinate field of the print block number Bk=1 with the paper type name Np of “paper B”. Further, as the print start position 82B2, "19" is stored in the X coordinate field and "6" is stored in the Y coordinate field of the print block number Bk=2 with the paper type name Np of "paper B".

After that, the control unit 100 reads the ruled line position 83 of the first print block 81B1 preprinted on the paper B (80B) by the print area extraction unit 150 when printing the first print block 81B1. The print area 84B1 is extracted and used as print area information Pa. Specifically, the main control unit 70 illustrated in FIG. 2 uses the optical sensor 4 illustrated in FIG. 1 by the reading unit 43 to generate a ruled line position 83 (for example, left ruled line position 83B1L:X=3, right ruled line position 83B1R: X=33) is read and the print area 84B1 is extracted and used as print area information Pa.

Similarly, when printing the second printing block 81B2, the printing area extracting unit 150 reads the ruled line position 83 of the second printing block 81B2 preprinted on the paper B (80B) to open the printing area 84B2. It is extracted and set as the print area information Pa (step S5 shown in FIG. 7). Specifically, the main control unit 70 shown in FIG. 2 uses the optical sensor 4 shown in FIG. 1 by the reading unit 43 to generate a ruled line position 83 (for example, left ruled line position 83B2L: X=18, right ruled line position 83B2R: X=33) is read to extract the print area 84B2, which is used as print area information Pa.

In this way, the printing area information Pa of the first printing block 81B1 is set to left ruled line position 83B1L:X=3 and right ruled line position 83B1R X=33. Further, the printing area information Pa of the second printing block 81B2 is left ruled line position 83B2L:X=3 and right ruled line position 83B2R:X=33.

The control unit 100 causes the storage unit 160 to store the extracted print area information Pa in the Pa column of the position area information storage table 91 for each print block 81 (step S6 shown in FIG. 7). Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 11B, the main control unit 70 illustrated in FIG. 2 causes the print area information registration unit 62 to set the print block number Bk=1 for the paper type name Np of “paper B”. The left ruled line position 83B1L:X=3 and the right ruled line position 83B1R:X=33 are represented as "3, 33" in the X coordinate column, and are stored as the print region 84B1 in the Pa column of the position region information storage table 91. Further, the left ruled line position 83B2L:X=18 and the right ruled line position 83B2R:X=33 are represented as "18,33" in the X coordinate column of the print block number Bk=2 of the paper type name Np of "paper B" The paper type name Np of the area information storage table 91 is stored as the print area 84B2 in the Pa column of “paper B”.

At this time, the print area information Pa of “paper B” is different from that of “paper A”. That is, in the second printing blocks 81A2 and 81B2, the left ruled line position 83A2L of the paper A (80A) is "3" and the left ruled line position 83B2L of the paper B (80B) is "18", so the print area information Pa is different. Therefore, the printing block number Bk=“2” having a difference is stored as the difference block number DBN=“2”. That is, the control unit 100 causes the difference block registration unit 63 to store the difference print block number Bk “2” in the difference block information storage unit 92 as the difference block number DBN as illustrated in FIG. 11B. (Step S7 shown in FIG. 7).

Next, a specific example of steps S8 to S13 described with reference to FIG. 7, that is, the printing of the paper A (80A) and the paper B (80B) is performed, and then the second and subsequent printing of the paper B (80B) is performed. The case will be described. In this case, the image forming apparatus 1 operates based on the print start position information Dp, the print area information Pa, and the different block number DBN of the paper A (80A) and the paper B (80B) that are already stored.
First, when the receiving unit 110 receives the reception data 200 of the paper B (80B), the control unit 100 causes the print start position extracting unit 12 to determine the X coordinate of the print start position 82 of each print block 81 for the paper B (80B). And Y coordinates are extracted (steps S1 and S2 shown in FIG. 7).

Specifically, the main control unit 70 shown in FIG. 2 searches the reception buffer 10a by the reception data analysis unit 11 and causes the print start position extraction unit 12 to print the first print block 81B1 on the paper B (80B). The X coordinate and the Y coordinate (for example, X=4, Y=3) of the start position 82B1 are extracted. Further, the X coordinate and the Y coordinate (for example, X=19, Y=6) of the print start position 82B2 of the second print block 81B2 are extracted, and these coordinates are set as the print start position information Dp of the paper B (80B). To do.

After that, the control unit 100 causes the print block comparison unit 13 to determine whether or not the extracted print start position information Dp has been stored in the position area information storage table 91. When the control unit 100 determines that the sheet B (80B) with the sheet type name Np has been stored, it receives the reception data 200 for printing on the sheet B (80B) with the stored sheet type name Np. It is judged that it did. Therefore, the notification unit 170 notifies that the paper B (80B) is the paper 80 to be set (step S8 shown in FIG. 7).

Specifically, the main control unit 70 illustrated in FIG. 2 causes the print block comparison unit 13 to set X=4, Y=3 as the print start position information Dp of the first print block 81B1 of the paper B, and the second It is determined whether or not X=19 and Y=6 have been stored in the position area information storage table 91 as the print start position information Dp of the print block 81B2. Then, the print start position 82 of “paper B” in the paper type name Np column of the position area information storage table 91 is already stored in the print start position information Dp column. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the main control unit 70 causes the operation display control unit 50 to display on the operation display unit 6 a screen G10 as guidance for prompting to set the paper type name Np, that is, “paper B”. ..

When the operator seeing the notification on the screen G10 sets the sheet B (80B) in the sheet setting unit 3 and presses the print button 303, the control unit 100 stores the difference block information storage unit 92 in the storage unit 160. The difference block number DBN is referred to. Further, the control unit 100 conveys the sheet B (80B) by the sheet conveyance unit 130 to the printing block 81 having the number stored as the difference block number DBN. After that, the control unit 100 reads the ruled line position 83 by the print region extraction unit 150 and extracts the print region 84 (step S9 shown in FIG. 7).

Specifically, the main control unit 70 feeds the sheet B (80B) by the sheet feeding unit 42 and then conveys the sheet B (80B) by the sheet conveyance control unit 40 as described below before starting printing. To do. That is, as shown in FIG. 11B, since “2” is stored as the difference block number DBN in the difference block information storage unit 92, the Y coordinate of the second print block 81B2 of the paper B (80B)= The sheet B (80B) is conveyed up to 6 using the sheet feeding unit 41. Further, the reading section 43 reads the ruled line position 83 preprinted on the paper B (80B) to extract the printing area 84.

After that, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the extracted print area 84 matches the print area 84 of the print area information Pa already stored (step S10 shown in FIG. 7).
Specifically, the main control unit 70 stores the extracted print area 84 by the ruled line position comparison section 44 and the print block number Bk=2 of the paper B (80B) in the already stored position area information storage table 91. It is determined whether or not the print area 84B2 of the printed print area information Pa matches.
When it matches the already stored print area information Pa, the control means 100 determines that the set paper 80 is the paper B (80B) of the paper type name Np that matches the received data 200, and the paper transport means. By 130, it is reversely conveyed and returned to the position before the conveyance (step S11 shown in FIG. 7).

Specifically, in this example, the printing area 84 of the second printing block 81B2 of the read paper B (80B) has the left ruled line position 83B2L:X=18 and the right ruled line position 83B2R:X=33. The print areas 84B2 of the already stored position area information storage table 91 match. Therefore, the main control unit 70 causes the paper feed unit 42 to rotate the paper feed motor 8 in the reverse direction, conveys the paper 80 in the direction opposite to the direction shown by the arrow E in FIG. 1, and returns the paper 80 to the position before the conveyance.

After that, the control unit 100 performs printing by the printing unit 120 while conveying the sheet B (80B) by the sheet conveying unit 130, and ejects the sheet B (80B) to the ejection tray 5 in the direction indicated by the arrow F (FIG. 7). Step S12).
On the other hand, when it does not match the print area 84 of the already stored print area information Pa, the control unit 100 determines that the paper 80 that does not match the received data 200 is set. Therefore, the control means 100 uses the notification means 170 to notify that the wrong paper 80 has been set or the direction of the set paper 80 is wrong, as in the screen G11 shown in FIG. 9 (FIG. 7). Step S13).

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, it is possible to set the paper 80 that matches the received data 200 and prevent misprinting. In particular, in the image forming apparatus 1 having only one sheet setting port 3a of the sheet setting unit 3 for setting the sheet 80, a job using sheets 80 having the same size but different formats, for example, a courier cash on delivery slip The above effect can be obtained in the work using the advance payment slip.
Further, when the data of a plurality of paper types are continuously transmitted from the higher-level device 2, the image forming apparatus 1 cannot determine which paper type the received data 200 matches. Therefore, although the wrong type of paper should be set and misprinting is likely to occur, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment can solve this problem.

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, in the image forming apparatus 1 that prints on a plurality of paper types, the print start position information extracting unit 140 is provided, and the first paper of the same paper type is printed. At the time of printing, the print start position 82 of the print block 81 is extracted from the received data 200 as print start position information Dp, and the print start position information Dp and the paper type name Np for identifying the paper type are stored in association with each other. Since the same paper type is printed the second time and thereafter, the paper type name Np in which the extracted print start position information Dp matches the stored print start position information Dp is notified. It is possible to confirm the paper type that matches the received data 200 when setting the paper 80 in the second and subsequent printing of the paper type, and to print on the paper 80 that matches the received data 200 without mistake.

Further, the print area extraction unit 150 is provided, and the print area 84 of the paper 80 is extracted and set as the print area information Pa at the time of the first printing of the same paper type, the print start position information Dp and the print area information Pa, If the combination of the extracted print start position information Dp and the print area information Pa is not stored during the second and subsequent printing of the same paper type, the paper type name Np is stored in association with each other. Since the fact that the paper type name Np is wrong or the direction in which the paper 80 is set is wrong is notified, it matches the received data 200 when the same paper type is printed in the second and subsequent printings. It is possible to confirm the paper type name Np to be printed and to print on the paper 80 that matches the received data 200 without making a mistake.

(Modification 1)
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be modified based on the gist of the present invention, and they are not excluded from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above description of the embodiment, the printer has been described as an example of the image forming apparatus 1, but the image forming apparatus 1 may be a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine.

(Modification 2)
Further, in the above description of the embodiment, the printing operation shown in FIG. 7 has been described. However, when the first printing of the same paper type is performed, an operation for allowing the operator to confirm the printing result is provided. You may do it. For example, after the difference block number DBN in step S7 shown in FIG. 7 is stored, the following print result confirmation operation is added.
That is, when the first printing of the same paper type is performed, the operation display unit 6 displays the screen G12 that allows the operator to confirm the print result. By this display, the operator confirms the print result, and as a result, when the print is made on the wrong sheet 80 or the print direction is wrong, the operator can reprint.

FIG. 12 is an example of a screen for confirming the print result in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, a guidance 321 prompting confirmation of the print result is displayed on the screen G12. Further, when the wrong paper 80 is printed, or when the paper is printed in the wrong direction, a guidance 322 that prompts the user to set the paper 80 again and reprint it is displayed. Further, when reprinting, a guidance 322 is displayed to the effect that the reprint button 323 is pressed after resetting and that the print OK button 324 is pressed when the print result is satisfactory. A reprint button 323 to be pressed when reprinting and a print OK button 324 to be pressed when there is no problem in the print result are displayed in the vicinity thereof.

Thereafter, when the operator sees the screen G12 and the operator resets the paper 80 and presses the reprint button 323, the control unit 100 causes the print area information stored in steps S4 to S7 immediately before shown in FIG. Pa and the difference block number DBN are deleted, and the process is executed from step S5 shown in FIG. On the other hand, when the operator presses the print OK button 324, the printing operation is terminated without deleting the stored data.

(Modification 3)
Further, when the operator presses the print OK button 324, a screen for confirming or selecting the paper type name Np such as “Cash on delivery slip” and “Advance payment slip” is displayed on the operation display unit 6, and the paper type name Np The printing operation may be ended after confirmation or selection is made.

FIG. 13 is an example of a screen for confirming the paper type name in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. The broken line in FIG. 13 indicates the display state when the pull-down button 332a is pressed. As shown in FIG. 13, the screen G13 displays a guidance 331 for prompting confirmation of the paper type name Np and the paper type name Np set in step S4 shown in FIG. 7 in the display list 332. Further, a pull-down button 332a for changing the paper type name Np is displayed. Also, an OK button 333 to be pressed after the confirmation of the paper type name Np is completed or after resetting by the pull-down button 332a is displayed.
When the operator presses the OK button 333 after displaying the screen G13 shown in FIG. 13, the control unit 100 causes the storage unit 160 to store the paper type name Np of the display list 332 in the position area information storage table 91. Then, the printing operation ends.

(Modification 4)
Further, in the above description of the embodiments, the control unit 100 has been described so that the print region extracting unit 150 reads the ruled line positions 83 on the left and right sides to extract the print region 84, and sets the print region information Pa. Alternatively, the following may be performed.
That is, the print area extracting unit 150 may read the upper and lower ruled line positions 83 and extract the print area 84 to obtain the print area information Pa. Alternatively, the print area 84 may be extracted by reading the left and right and upper and lower ruled line positions 83 and used as the print area information Pa.

(Modification 5)
Further, in the above description of the embodiment, the operation display unit 6 is described as being provided in the image forming apparatus 1, but it may be provided outside the image forming apparatus 1 or may be provided in the display device of the upper level apparatus 2 or the like. May be used.

1 Image Forming Apparatus 4 Optical Sensor 6 Operation Display 7 Printing Mechanism 80 Printing Medium 81 Printing Block 82 Printing Start Position 83 Ruled Line Position 84 Printing Area 100 Control Means 110 Receiving Means 120 Printing Means 130 Paper Conveying Means 140 Printing Start Position Information Extraction Means 150 print area extraction means 160 storage means 170 notification means 200 received data Dp print start position information Pa print area information Np paper type name (print medium type information) Bk print block number DBN difference block number

Claims (13)

Receiving means for receiving data to be printed on a plurality of types of print media as received data,
A print medium carrying means for carrying the print medium,
Printing means for printing an image on the print medium conveyed by the print medium conveying means based on the received data;
Print start position information extracting means for extracting a print start position of the print medium from the received data as print start position information;
A storage unit that stores the print start position information extracted by the print start position information extraction unit and the print medium type information for identifying the print medium type in association with each other.
An informing means for informing the print medium type information,
When printing by the printing unit, if the print start position information extracted by the print start position information extracting unit is not stored in the storage unit, the print start position information and the print medium type information are stored in the storage unit. Memorize by associating with
When the print start position information is stored, the print medium type information that matches the print start position information extracted by the print start position information extraction unit is read from the storage unit, and the print medium type information is read out. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit configured to notify by the notification unit. Receiving means for receiving data to be printed on a plurality of types of print media as received data,
A print medium carrying means for carrying the print medium,
Printing means for printing an image on the print medium conveyed by the print medium conveying means based on the received data;
Print start position information extracting means for extracting a print start position of the print medium from the received data as print start position information;
Print area extracting means for extracting a print area of the print medium as print area information,
A storage unit that stores the print start position information extracted by the print start position information extraction unit, the print region information extracted by the print region extraction unit, and the print medium type information for identifying the print medium type in association with each other,
An informing unit for informing the print medium type information,
At the time of printing by the printing means, if the print start position information extracted by the print start position information extracting means is not stored in the storage means, the print start position information, the print area information, and Stored in association with the print medium type information,
When the print start position information is stored, the print start position information extracted by the print start position information extracting unit and the print medium type information matching the print region information extracted by the print region extracting unit are stored. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that reads out from the storage unit and notifies the print medium type information by the notification unit. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the control unit does not match the print medium type information stored in the storage unit, the notification unit notifies that the print medium does not match. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit prints an image by the printing unit when the control unit matches the print medium type information stored in the storage unit. When the control unit matches the print medium type information stored in the storage unit, the print unit type information is read from the storage unit and notified by the notification unit before the image is printed by the printing unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus comprises: A print medium mounting portion for setting the print medium is provided,
Further, the print medium conveying means is provided with a reading unit for reading the print medium,
The image according to claim 5, wherein the control unit further determines whether the print medium placed on the print medium placement unit by the reading unit matches the print medium type information. Forming equipment. The print medium has a plurality of print blocks formed by preprinted ruled lines,
7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the print start position information extracted by the print start position information extracting unit specifies a print start position in the print block by position coordinates. The print medium has a plurality of print blocks formed by preprinted ruled lines,
7. The print area extracting means optically reads the ruled line of the print block printed on the print medium to extract the print area and set the print area information as the print area information. The image forming apparatus described in 1. The storage means is
A difference block information storage unit that stores, as a difference block number, the numbers of the print blocks having different print area information at the time of the first printing for the same print medium type by the printing unit,
In the second and subsequent printings of the same print medium type by the printing unit, the printing region extracting unit extracts the printing region from the printing block of the number stored in the difference block information storage unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein A receiving step of receiving data to be printed on a plurality of types of print media as received data,
A printing step of printing an image on the print medium based on the received data by a printing means;
A print start position information extracting step of extracting print start position information indicating a print start position of the print medium from the received data,
A storage step of storing the print start position information and the print medium type information for identifying the print medium type in the storage means in association with each other in the first printing step for the same print medium type by the printing means;
During the second and subsequent printing steps for the same print medium type by the printing step, the print medium type information that matches the print start position information extracted by the print start position information extracting step is stored in the storage unit. And a notification step of notifying the print medium type information by a notification means. A receiving step of receiving data to be printed on a plurality of types of print media as received data,
A printing step of printing an image on the print medium based on the received data by a printing means;
A print start position information extracting step of extracting print start position information indicating a print start position of the print medium from the received data,
A print area extracting step of extracting a print area of the print medium to obtain print area information;
Storage for storing the print start position information and the print area information in association with the print medium type information for identifying the print medium type in the storage unit at the time of the first printing step for the same print medium type by the printing unit Process,
The print start position information extracted by the print start position information extracting step and the print area information extracted by the print area extracting step during the second and subsequent printing steps for the same print medium type by the printing step And an informing step of informing the informing section of the printing medium type information by reading out the printing medium type information matching the above from the storage section. The print medium has a plurality of print blocks formed by preprinted ruled lines,
The image forming method according to claim 11, wherein the print start position information extracted in the print start position information extracting step specifies a print start position in the print block by position coordinates. The print medium has a plurality of print blocks formed by preprinted ruled lines,
12. The image forming according to claim 11, wherein in the print area extracting step, the ruled line of the print block printed on the print medium is optically read to extract the print area and use the print area information. Method.

Images