JP4680642B2 - Image forming apparatus, image forming method, and image forming program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and an image forming program, and more particularly to a preview function.

  Conventionally, image data scanned and digitized by an image forming apparatus is transmitted via a network, the image data is printed on a paper medium using a printing function, and stored in a main storage device or a secondary storage device. This is generally known as processing performed by the image forming apparatus. However, even if the read image data is transmitted or stored as electronic data or printed on a paper medium, it is not printed by the user's intended layout or the like. Satisfaction is not obtained. Therefore, if printing is performed according to the set printing conditions without confirming the printing result, there is a problem that a printed matter that is not intended by the user may be printed, resulting in waste of paper.

  In order to solve such a problem, an image forming apparatus having a function of previewing read image data or image data stored in a storage medium in an image drawing interface operated by a user is disclosed ( Patent Document 1). Such a technique can be confirmed by displaying an output layout of a plurality of originals or duplex copy mode on a preview screen before output.

JP 2003-244372 A

  However, with the technique described in Patent Document 1, the output layout when the image data is actually printed can be confirmed, but with such a technique, the image data such as color and gradation is attached. There is a problem that information cannot be confirmed, and a printed matter different from the output result intended by the user is printed when performing high-quality printing processing including color and gradation.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus capable of obtaining an output result intended by a user.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the invention according to claim 1 transmits the image information read from the document on a medium, or transmits the image information to a server connected by a network. In an image forming apparatus including a transmission unit, image information is read based on a document, and a reading unit that acquires image related information that is information related to the image information based on the read image information; A storage unit that stores the image information and the image-related information acquired by the reading unit in association with each other in units of a document that includes a plurality of pages , and a designation among a plurality of documents stored in the storage unit is a preview image a visual representation of the image information of the pages contained in the document, image-related information corresponding to the specified document If, page switching is accepted and image related information corresponding to the page to be displayed as a preview image, and the document change button receives an instruction to switch the document containing the page to be displayed as a preview image, an instruction of switching the page to be displayed as a preview image A generation unit that generates display data of a preview screen that includes a button in one screen, and a display unit that displays the preview screen based on the display data generated by the generation unit, wherein the generation unit includes: , wherein when said document switching button on the preview screen is operated, displays the document switching screen on the display means generates image data of the document screen switching receives designation of other documents, the document switching screen If another document is specified above, Bae contained in the specified other documents It generates display data of a new preview screen including the preview image di- to display the new preview screen on the display unit, when the page switching button is operated on the preview screen, the specification of other pages When the page switching screen is generated on the display unit and another page is specified on the page switching screen, a preview image of the specified other page is displayed. characterized Rukoto display the new preview screen on the display means generates display data of a new preview screen including.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the image related information includes color / gradation information of the image information for each page .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the image related information includes data amount information of the image information for each document .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the preview screen is displayed when a part of a page is enlarged and displayed as the preview image. It further includes information that clearly indicates the position of the enlarged portion.

The invention according to claim 5 is an image executed by an image forming apparatus including a printing unit that prints image information read from a document on a medium or a transmission unit that transmits the image information to a server connected via a network. In the forming method, the reading unit of the image forming apparatus reads image information based on a document, and acquires image related information that is information related to the image information based on the read image information; A storage unit of an image forming apparatus storing the image information read by the reading unit and the image related information acquired by the reading unit in association with each other in units of documents composed of a plurality of pages; page generation means forming apparatus, among a plurality of documents stored in the storage means, contained in the specified document A preview image of image information visually represents the, documents that contain the image related information corresponding to the specified document, and image related information corresponding to the page to be displayed as a preview image, a page to be displayed as a preview image switch Generating display data of a preview screen that includes a document switching button that accepts an instruction for switching and a page switching button that accepts an instruction for switching a page to be displayed as a preview image, and display of the image forming apparatus Means for displaying the preview screen based on the display data generated by the generating means, and the generating means designates another document when the document switching button is operated on the preview screen. and generating image data of the document screen switching is accepted, the display hand But displaying said document switching screen based on the display data generated by said generating means, said generating means, when the document switching other document on the screen is designated, the designated other documents Generating display data of a new preview screen including a preview image of a page included in the display, the display means displaying a new preview screen based on the display data generated by the generating means, and the generation Means for generating image data of a page switching screen for accepting designation of another page when the page switching button is operated on the preview screen; and the display means is generated by the generating means Displaying the page switching screen based on display data; and the generating means includes the page switching screen. When another page is specified on the screen, a step of generating display data of a new preview screen including a preview image of the specified other page, and the display means is a display generated by the generation means And a step of displaying a new preview screen based on the data .

The invention according to claim 6 is an image forming program for causing an image forming apparatus to execute the image forming method according to claim 5 .

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the reading unit reads the image information based on the original, acquires the image related information that is information related to the image information based on the read image information, and the storage unit reads the reading unit. associates the acquired image related information by the image information reading means read by, and stored in each document including a plurality of pages, the generation unit, among the plurality of documents stored in the storage means, designated Preview image information visually representing image information of a page included in the specified document , image related information corresponding to the designated document , image related information corresponding to the page displayed as the preview image , and preview image and a button to switch document receives an instruction of the switching of the document that contains the page to be displayed, page to be displayed as a preview image Switching instruction and page switching button accepting of the generated display data of the preview screen including the one in the screen of the display means to display a preview screen based on the display data generated by the generating means, the preview screen When the document switching button is operated in step 2, the generation unit generates image data of a document switching screen that accepts designation of another document , causes the display unit to display the document switching screen, and displays another document on the document switching screen. Is specified, the generation unit generates display data of a new preview screen including a preview image of a page included in the specified other document and causes the display unit to display the new preview screen, and the preview screen When the page switching button is operated above, the generation unit accepts the page switching image that accepts the designation of other pages. When a page switching screen is displayed on the display means and another page is specified on the page switching screen, the generating means generates a new preview including a preview image of the specified other page. the Rukoto display the new preview screen generated by the display means to display data on the screen, the user, the image-related information preview screen corresponding to the page to be displayed as an image-related information and the preview image corresponding to the specified document In addition to confirming the above, it is possible to instruct switching of a document including a page to be displayed as a preview image and switching of a page to be displayed as a preview image by an operation on the preview screen. The image information intended by the user can be simplified while checking the image related information corresponding to the page. There is an effect that it is possible to print a printed matter intended by the user by making a selection with no mistake by a simple operation. In addition, the image information intended by the user can be transmitted to another server on the network.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the image-related information includes the color / gradation information of the image information for each page, so that the color / gradation information of the page image information displayed as the preview image is displayed on the preview screen. Since the upper character information is displayed on the display unit, the user can check the color and gradation of the page displayed as the preview image on the preview screen even if the display unit is not a color display device. There is an effect. Even if the display means is a color display device, the color and gradation of the page displayed as a preview image can be captured not only as a preview image but also as character information. In addition, since it can be determined whether or not a black-and-white original is read with full-color reading conditions set, it is possible to prevent useless data enlargement. Further, since the color / gradation information is displayed as character information, the color / gradation information can be recognized even if the user is color blind.

According to the invention of claim 3, the image related information includes the data amount information of the image information for each document, so that the data amount information of the image information of the document including the page to be displayed as the preview image is displayed on the preview screen. Therefore, the user can grasp the data amount of the image information of the document including the page displayed as the preview image on the preview screen, and the network information in the transmission by the network can be obtained. There is an effect that it is possible to confirm the load and the occupied amount of the storage resource of the destination server.

Further, according to the invention according to claim 4, preview screen, when as a preview image some pages are enlarged by further including information specifying the position of a portion which is enlarged The user can easily confirm which position on the page is enlarged and displayed as a preview image.

According to the invention of claim 5 , the image information is read based on the original by the reading unit of the image forming apparatus, and the image related information that is information related to the image information is acquired based on the read image information. The storage unit of the image forming apparatus stores the image information read by the reading unit and the image-related information acquired by the reading unit in association with each other in units of documents composed of a plurality of pages . Among a plurality of documents stored in the storage means, preview image information that visually represents image information of pages included in the designated document , image-related information corresponding to the designated document , and a preview image switching document receives the image related information corresponding to the page to be displayed, an instruction of switching the document containing the page to be displayed as a preview image Generating a tongue, and a page switching button receives an instruction to switch the page to be displayed as a preview image, the display data of the preview screen including the one in the screen, the display unit of the image forming apparatus, generated by the generating means a preview screen based on the display data, when the button switch document on the preview screen is operated, the generator, the document switch to the document display switching means to generate the image data of the screen accepts the specification of other documents When a screen is displayed and another document is specified on the document switching screen, the generation means generates display data for a new preview screen including a preview image of a page included in the specified other document. to display a new preview screen on the display means, a button to switch pages on the preview screen has been operated field When the generation unit generates image data of a page switching screen that accepts designation of another page and causes the display unit to display the page switching screen, and when another page is designated on the page switching screen, the generating unit Accordingly, the Rukoto display the new preview screen on the display means generates display data of a new preview screen including the preview image of another page that is specified, the user, the image related information corresponding to the specified document The image-related information corresponding to the page to be displayed as the preview image can be confirmed on the preview screen, the document including the page to be displayed as the preview image can be switched by the operation on the preview screen, and the preview image is displayed. Since page switching can be instructed , a document or page can be displayed on the preview screen. While confirming the image related information corresponding to the page, it is possible to select the image information intended by the user with a simple operation without error and print the printed matter intended by the user. In addition, the image information intended by the user can be transmitted to another server on the network.

According to the invention of claim 6 , by causing the image forming apparatus to execute the image forming method according to claim 5 , the user displays the image related information and the preview image corresponding to the designated document. The image related information corresponding to the page can be confirmed on the preview screen, and an instruction on switching of a document including a page to be displayed as a preview image and switching of a page to be displayed as a preview image is given by an operation on the preview screen. Therefore, while confirming image related information corresponding to a document or page on the preview screen , the user can select the image information intended by the user without any error and print the printed matter intended by the user. There is an effect. In addition, the image information intended by the user can be transmitted to another server on the network.

  Exemplary embodiments of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  The present embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The multi-function peripheral having a scanner function, a copying function, and the like according to the present embodiment has image data and information related to the image data (hereinafter referred to as image-related data) before printing the image data or transmitting it to the server. Is displayed on the operation panel.

  First, a configuration example of a multifunction machine to which the present invention is applied will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multifunction machine according to the present embodiment. The multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment constitutes an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and includes an operation panel 101, a reading unit 102, a preview screen generation unit 103, a transmission unit 104, and a printing unit 105. ing. The image forming apparatus 100 is connected to the server 200 via the network 300.

  The reading unit 102 optically reads image data from a document, and acquires image related data regarding the read image data. The read image data and the acquired image related data are stored in the document database 1000 described later in document units. Here, the document refers to a management unit of the image data group.

  The operation panel 101 further includes a display unit 1011 and an input unit 1012. The display unit 1011 displays a basic screen indicating that reading by a reading unit 102 described later is possible. In addition, a preview screen generated by a preview screen generation unit 103 described later is displayed.

  The input unit 1012 receives an input such as “Preview” or “Search” on the basic screen. Here, the preview is a mode for displaying a preview screen composed of a preview image obtained by editing image data according to printing conditions and image-related data before printing or transmitting the image data read by the reading unit 102 to the server 200. Say. “Search” refers to a mode in which after a document stored in the document database 1000 is searched, a preview screen including a preview image and image-related data for each document is displayed. Here, the preview image refers to an image obtained by editing image data based on a set printing condition.

  The input unit 1012 receives input such as “page switching” or “document switching” on the preview screen. Here, the page switching is an instruction to switch the page to be displayed as a preview image when one document is composed of a plurality of pages. The document switching is an instruction to switch the document information to be displayed as a preview image when a plurality of document information is stored in the document database 1000 in the search mode.

  The preview screen generation unit 103 generates preview screen data based on the image data read by the reading unit 102 and image-related data acquired from the image data in the reading unit 102. In addition, when “search” is input in the input unit 1012, preview screen data is generated based on image data and image related data stored in the document database 1000 described later and corresponding to the selected document. is there. The preview screen generating unit 103 constitutes a generating unit according to the present invention.

  The transmission unit 104 transmits image data of a document being previewed to the server 200 when an input of “start transmission” is received on the preview screen. The printing unit 105 prints image data of a document being previewed when an input of “print start” is received on the preview screen.

  The document database 1000 stores image data read by the reading unit 102 and image-related data acquired from the image data. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of the document database. The document database 1000 constitutes a storage unit according to the present invention, and stores image-related data and image data in association with each other. Here, the image-related data refers to information that can be acquired from the read image data, reading condition information that is set in the reading unit 102 when reading a document, and the like. The image-related data includes, for example, a document name (name of image data), file size (data amount of image data), number of pages (number of pages of image data), size (paper size of document), color mode (color / color of document) Color tone). The document database 1000 stores such image-related data, and image data is stored in association with the information.

  Next, a preview screen display process performed by the MFP 100 configured as described above will be described. FIGS. 3A and 3B are flowcharts illustrating a preview screen display processing procedure performed by the reading unit, the preview screen generation unit, the display unit, and the transmission unit.

  First, the display unit 1011 displays a basic screen (step S301). FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a basic screen displayed on the operation panel. The basic screen shown in FIG. 7 is a screen of a scanner distribution function as an example, and sets reading conditions when reading a document. Here, by setting the type of document to be read in “reading conditions”, the characteristics of the electronic image data obtained as a result of reading the document change.

  As the color / gradation characterizing the image data, “monochrome binary”, “grayscale (monochrome multi-gradation)”, and “full color (RGB multi-gradation)” are selected according to the type of document to be designated. That is, by setting “reading” after setting the reading conditions as will be described later, reading is performed under the reading conditions set by the user, and the read image data is previewed.

  The input unit 1012 determines whether or not the “preview” button has been pressed (step S302). FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example when a preview is pressed on the basic screen displayed on the operation panel. On this screen, a destination for transmitting image data can be designated. If it is determined that the “preview” button has been pressed (step S302: Yes), the reading unit 102 determines whether or not a document has been set (step S303). If it is determined that the document is not set (step S303: No), the process returns to step S303.

  When it is determined that the document is set (step S303: Yes), the reading unit 102 optically reads the document under the set reading conditions (step S304). The reading condition may be input as described above or may use a preset specified value. The reading unit 102 stores the image data read from the document and the image related data in the document database 1000 (step S305). Note that image data and image-related data may be stored in the document database 1000 only when there is a special designation.

  The preview screen generation unit 103 generates preview screen data from the image data and the image related data (step S306). The display unit 1011 displays a message “Preview is being displayed” (step S307). FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a preview display screen displayed on the operation panel. The input unit 1012 determines whether or not the “stop” button has been pressed (step S308). When it is determined that the “Cancel” button has not been pressed (step S308: No), that is, when the “Cancel” button has not been pressed until the display of the preview screen is completed, the preview screen is displayed. (Step S309).

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a preview screen displayed on the operation panel. On the preview screen, the read image data and image-related data are displayed. Here, the file size and color mode are displayed together with the document name and document size. This file size is the total amount of image data read, and the color mode indicates color / gradation.

  If it is determined that the “Cancel” button has been pressed (step S308: Yes), the display unit 1011 displays the previous preview screen or gray image (step S310). FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a preview screen in which image data displayed on the operation panel is displayed as a gray image.

  Next, page switching processing 1 is executed (step S311). Details will be described later with reference to FIG. If it is determined in step S302 that the preview button has not been pressed (step S302: No), the input unit 1012 determines whether the search button has been pressed (step S312). If it is determined that the search button has been pressed (step S312: Yes), search processing is executed (step S313). Details will be described later with reference to FIGS. If it is determined that the search button has not been pressed (step S312: No), the process returns to step S302.

  The input unit 1012 determines whether “start transmission” has been pressed (step S314). If it is determined that “start transmission” is pressed (step S314: Yes), the transmission unit 104 transmits the image data to the server 300 (step S315). When it is determined that “start transmission” has not been pressed (step S314: No), that is, when “stop transmission” has been pressed, the input unit 1012 determines whether or not “start printing” has been pressed. Judgment is made (step S316).

  If it is determined that “start printing” has been pressed (step S316: Yes), the printing unit 105 prints the image data of the target document (step S317). If it is determined that “print start” has not been pressed (step S316: No), that is, if it is determined that “print stop” has been pressed, the process ends.

  Next, a page switching process by the multifunction machine 100 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a page switching procedure performed by the input unit, the display unit, the preview screen generation unit, and the transmission unit.

  First, the input unit 1012 determines whether “page switching” is input (step S401). When it is determined that “page switching” has been input (step S401: Yes), the input of the number of pages is accepted (step S402). FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a page switching screen displayed on the operation panel. The preview screen generation unit 103 acquires image data for the number of pages input from the document database 1000 (step S403).

  The preview screen generation unit 103 generates a preview screen from the acquired image data (step S404). The display unit 1011 displays a message “Preview is being displayed” (step S405). FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a preview display screen displayed on the operation panel. The input unit 1012 determines whether or not the “stop” button has been pressed (step S406). If it is determined that the “Cancel” button has not been pressed (step S406: No), that is, if the “Cancel” button has not been pressed until the display of the preview screen is completed, the preview screen is displayed. (Step S407), the process returns to Step S401. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a preview screen displayed on the operation panel.

  If it is determined that the “Cancel” button has been pressed (step S406: Yes), the display unit 1011 displays the previous preview screen or gray image (step S408), and the process returns to step S401.

  If it is determined in step S401 that “page switching” is not input (step S401: No), it is determined whether the “transmission start” button is pressed (step S409). If it is determined that the “transmission start” button has been pressed (step S409: Yes), the transmission unit 104 transmits the image data to the set destination (step S410).

  If it is determined that the “transmission start” button has not been pressed (step S409: No), the input unit 1012 determines whether the “transmission stop” button has been pressed (step S411). If it is determined that the “transmission stop” button has been pressed (step S411: Yes), the process ends without performing any processing. If it is determined that the “transmission stop” button has not been pressed (step S411: No), the process returns to step S401. Although the image data transmission process has been described with reference to FIG. 4, the same process is performed in the image data printing process by the printing unit 105 instead of the image data transmission process.

  Next, document search processing by the multifunction peripheral 100 will be described. FIGS. 5A and 5B are flowcharts illustrating document search processing procedures performed by the input unit, the display unit, the preview screen generation unit, and the transmission unit.

  First, the preview screen generation unit 103 acquires information on all documents stored in the document database 1000 (step S501). Here, the document information refers to information capable of recognizing individual documents such as the document name and image data of the first page. The preview screen generation unit 103 generates a document designation screen for designating a target document from the acquired document information (step S502). The display unit 1011 displays the generated document designation screen (step S503). FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a stored document designation screen displayed on the operation panel. This is a screen for browsing and managing documents stored in the document database 1000. Here, one or a plurality of stored documents can be selected.

  The input unit 1012 determines whether the specification of the document has been accepted (step S504). If it is determined that the specification of the document is not accepted (step S504: No), the process returns to step S504. When it is determined that the specification of the document is accepted (step S504: Yes), the preview screen generation unit 103 acquires the image data and image related data of the specified document from the document database 1000 (step S505).

  The preview screen generation unit 103 generates a preview screen from the acquired image data and image-related data (step S506). The display unit 1011 displays the generated preview screen (step S507). FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a preview screen displayed on the operation panel. The input unit 1012 determines whether “OK” has been pressed (step S508). If it is determined that “OK” has been pressed (step S508: Yes), the process is exited. If it is determined that “OK” has not been pressed (step S508: No), the input unit 1012 determines whether the “document switching” button has been pressed (step S509).

  If it is determined that the “document switching” button has been pressed (step S509: Yes), the input unit 1012 receives the input of the document number (step S510). FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a document switching screen displayed on the operation panel. The preview screen generation unit 103 acquires the image data and image related data of the document input from the document database 1000 (step S511). The preview screen generation unit 103 generates preview screen data from the acquired image data and image-related data (step S512).

  The display unit 1011 displays a message “Preview is being displayed” (step S513). FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a preview display screen displayed on the operation panel. The input unit 1012 determines whether or not the “stop” button has been pressed (step S514). If it is determined that the “Cancel” button has not been pressed (step S514: No), that is, if the “Cancel” button has not been pressed until the display of the preview screen is completed, the preview screen is displayed. (Step S515), the process returns to Step S508. FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a preview screen displayed on the operation panel.

  If it is determined that the “Cancel” button has been pressed (step S514: Yes), the display unit 1011 displays the previous preview screen or gray image (step S516), and the process returns to step S508. If it is determined in step S509 that the “document switching” button has not been pressed (step S509: No), page switching processing 2 is executed (step S517). Details will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Next, a page switching process by the multifunction machine 100 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a page switching procedure performed by the input unit, the display unit, the preview screen generation unit, and the transmission unit. FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a preview screen displayed on the operation panel.

  First, the input unit 1012 determines whether “page switching” has been input (step S601). If it is determined that “page switching” has been input (step S601: Yes), the input of the number of pages is accepted (step S602). FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a page switching screen displayed on the operation panel. The preview screen generation unit 103 acquires image data of the number of pages input from the document database 1000 (step S603).

  The preview screen generation unit 103 generates a preview screen from the acquired image data (step S604). The display unit 1011 displays a message “Preview is being displayed” (step S605). FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a preview display screen displayed on the operation panel. The input unit 1012 determines whether or not the “stop” button has been pressed (step S606). If it is determined that the “Cancel” button has not been pressed (step S606: No), that is, if the “Cancel” button has not been pressed until the display of the preview image is completed, the preview image is displayed. (Step S607), the process returns to Step 601. FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a preview screen displayed on the operation panel.

  If it is determined that the “Cancel” button has been pressed (step S606: Yes), the display unit 1011 displays the previous preview screen or gray image (step S608), and the process returns to step S601. If it is determined in step S601 that “page switching” has not been input (step S601: No), the process is exited.

  Conventionally, there is no particular problem when printing image data read by a multifunction peripheral. However, when the read image data is transmitted over a network, the data amount of the image data should be considered. Quantity information is needed. In a multi-function peripheral capable of reading in color, the color and gradation of image data can be expressed on a preview screen. However, in such a case, the operation panel to be displayed must be capable of expressing color information corresponding to the image data, but there is a problem that a display capable of displaying color image data is expensive.

  However, in this embodiment, since the image data and the image-related data can be displayed on the preview screen, the user who transmits or stores the image data can determine the transmission partner from the data amount of the displayed image data. It is possible to determine whether or not the load on the storage medium is overloaded or the storage medium resources are not taken up excessively. Also, the color / gradation information of the image data can be obtained even if the display device displaying the preview screen is a display of monochrome gradation expression instead of a color display in terms of cost. In the embodiment, since the color / gradation information can be displayed by characters on the preview screen, the color / gradation can be determined.

  In addition, even a color display can be interpreted as character information rather than just a display image, and even a black-and-white data image can be read by the user with full-color scanning conditions set by the user. When this is done, it can be seen from the displayed character information whether the image data has been read in full color, and wasteful data enlargement can be prevented. Further, the color / gradation of the image data can be determined from the color / gradation character information even when the user is color blind.

  FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the multi-function device 100. As shown in the figure, the multifunction peripheral 100 has a configuration in which a controller 10 and an engine unit (Engine) 60 are connected by a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus. The controller 10 is a controller that controls the entire MFP 100 and controls drawing, communication, and input from an operation unit (not shown). The engine unit 60 is a printer engine that can be connected to a PCI bus, and is, for example, a monochrome plotter, a one-drum color plotter, a four-drum color plotter, a scanner, or a fax unit. The engine unit 60 includes an image processing part such as error diffusion and gamma conversion in addition to a so-called engine part such as a plotter.

  The controller 10 includes a CPU 11, a north bridge (NB) 13, a system memory (MEM-P) 12, a south bridge (SB) 14, a local memory (MEM-C) 17, and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). 16 and a hard disk drive (HDD) 18, and the north bridge (NB) 13 and the ASIC 16 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 15. The MEM-P 12 further includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12a and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12b.

  The CPU 11 performs overall control of the multifunction peripheral 100, has a chip set including the NB 13, the MEM-P 12, and the SB 14, and is connected to other devices via the chip set.

  The NB 13 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 11 to the MEM-P 12, SB 14, and AGP 15, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 12, a PCI master, and an AGP target.

  The MEM-P 12 is a system memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, a memory for developing programs and data, a memory for drawing a printer, and the like, and includes a ROM 12a and a RAM 12b. The ROM 12a is a read-only memory used as a program / data storage memory, and the RAM 12b is a writable / readable memory used as a program / data development memory, a printer drawing memory, or the like.

  The SB 14 is a bridge for connecting the NB 13 to a PCI device and peripheral devices. The SB 14 is connected to the NB 13 via a PCI bus, and a network interface (I / F) unit and the like are also connected to the PCI bus.

  The ASIC 16 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for image processing applications having hardware elements for image processing, and has a role of a bridge for connecting the AGP 15, PCI bus, HDD 18 and MEM-C 17. The ASIC 16 includes a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that is the core of the ASIC 16, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C 17, and a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory) that perform rotation of image data by hardware logic. Access Controller) and a PCI unit that performs data transfer between the engine unit 60 via the PCI bus. An FCU (Fax Control Unit) 30, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) 40, and an IEEE 1394 (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) interface 50 are connected to the ASIC 16 via a PCI bus.

  The MEM-C 17 is a local memory used as an image buffer for copying and a code buffer, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 18 is a storage for storing image data, programs, font data, and forms. It is.

  The AGP 15 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed for speeding up graphics processing. The AGP 15 speeds up the graphics accelerator card by directly accessing the MEM-P 12 with high throughput. .

  Note that the image forming program executed by the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment is provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like.

  An image forming program executed by the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment is a file in an installable or executable format, such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or the like. You may comprise so that it may record and provide on a computer-readable recording medium.

  Further, the image forming program executed by the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. Further, the image forming program executed by the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  The image forming program executed by the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment has a module configuration including the above-described units (display unit, input unit, reading unit, preview screen generation unit, transmission unit, printing unit, and the like). As actual hardware, a CPU (processor) reads out and executes an image forming program from the ROM or the like, so that the above-described units are loaded on the main storage device, and a display unit, an input unit, a reading unit, a preview screen generating unit A transmission unit, a printing unit, and the like are generated on the main storage device.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a data structure of a document database. It is a flowchart which shows the preview screen display processing procedure which a reading part, a preview screen production | generation part, a display part, and a transmission part perform. It is a flowchart which shows the preview screen display processing procedure which a reading part, a preview screen production | generation part, a display part, and a transmission part perform. It is a flowchart which shows the page switching procedure which an input part, a display part, a preview screen production | generation part, and a transmission part perform. It is a flowchart which shows the document search processing procedure which an input part, a display part, a preview screen production | generation part, and a transmission part perform. It is a flowchart which shows the document search processing procedure which an input part, a display part, a preview screen production | generation part, and a transmission part perform. It is a flowchart which shows the page switching procedure which an input part, a display part, a preview screen production | generation part, and a transmission part perform. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the basic screen displayed on an operation panel. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example when a preview is pressed in the basic screen displayed on an operation panel. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the preview display screen displayed on an operation panel. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the preview screen displayed on an operation panel. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the preview screen which displayed the image data displayed on an operation panel as a gray image. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the page switching screen displayed on an operation panel. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the preview display screen displayed on an operation panel. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the preview screen displayed on an operation panel. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the stored document designation | designated screen displayed on an operation panel. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the preview screen displayed on an operation panel. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the document switching screen displayed on an operation panel. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the preview display screen displayed on an operation panel. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the preview screen displayed on an operation panel. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the preview screen displayed on an operation panel. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the page switching screen displayed on an operation panel. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the preview display screen displayed on an operation panel. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the preview screen displayed on an operation panel. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the multifunction machine 100.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 MFP 101 Operation panel 1011 Display unit 1012 Input unit 102 Reading unit 103 Preview screen generation unit 104 Transmission unit 105 Printing unit 1000 Document database 200 Server 300 Network
1 Manuscript
2 Printed matter

Claims (6)

An image forming apparatus including a printing unit that prints image information read from a document on a medium or a transmission unit that transmits the image information to a server connected via a network.
Reading means for reading image information based on a document and acquiring image related information that is information related to the image information based on the read image information;
Storage means for storing the image information read by the reading means and the image-related information acquired by the reading means in association with each other in units of documents consisting of a plurality of pages ;
Among a plurality of documents stored in the storage means, a preview image visually representing image information of a page included in the designated document , image related information corresponding to the designated document , and a preview image 1 for image-related information corresponding to a page to be displayed, a document switching button for receiving an instruction for switching a document including a page to be displayed as a preview image, and a page switching button for receiving an instruction for switching a page to be displayed as a preview image. Generating means for generating display data of a preview screen included in one screen,
Display means for displaying the preview screen based on the display data generated by the generating means,
The generation unit generates image data of a document switching screen that accepts designation of another document when the document switching button is operated on the preview screen, and causes the display unit to display the document switching screen. When another document is designated on the document switching screen, display data of a new preview screen including a preview image of a page included in the designated other document is generated, and a new preview screen is displayed on the display unit. Is displayed ,
When the page switching button is operated on the preview screen, image data of a page switching screen that accepts designation of another page is generated, and the page switching screen is displayed on the display unit. If another page is specified in, and wherein the Rukoto display the new preview screen on the display means generates display data of a new preview screen including the preview image of another page specified Image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image related information includes color / gradation information of the image information for each page . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image related information includes data amount information of the image information for each document . The preview screen, when a portion of the page as the preview image is enlarged and displayed, claim 1-3, characterized in that it further comprises an information specifying the position of a portion which is enlarged The image forming apparatus according to one. An image forming method executed by an image forming apparatus including a printing unit that prints image information read from a document on a medium or a transmission unit that transmits the image information to a server connected via a network,
A reading unit of the image forming apparatus reads image information based on a document, and acquires image related information that is information related to the image information based on the read image information;
A storage unit of the image forming apparatus storing the image information read by the reading unit and the image related information acquired by the reading unit in association with each other in units of documents composed of a plurality of pages ;
The generation unit of the image forming apparatus corresponds to a preview image that visually represents image information of a page included in the specified document among the plurality of documents stored in the storage unit, and the specified document Image-related information to be displayed, image-related information corresponding to a page to be displayed as a preview image, a document switching button for receiving an instruction to switch a document including a page to be displayed as a preview image, and an instruction to switch a page to be displayed as a preview image Generating a display data of a preview screen that includes a page switching button that accepts within one screen;
The display unit of the image forming apparatus displaying the preview screen based on the display data generated by the generation unit;
The generating means generating image data of a document switching screen that accepts designation of another document when the document switching button is operated on the preview screen;
The display means displaying the document switching screen based on the display data generated by the generating means;
The generating means generating display data of a new preview screen including a preview image of a page included in the specified other document when another document is specified on the document switching screen;
The display means displaying a new preview screen based on the display data generated by the generating means;
The generating means generating image data of a page switching screen that accepts designation of another page when the page switching button is operated on the preview screen;
The display means displaying the page switching screen based on the display data generated by the generating means;
The generating means generating display data of a new preview screen including a preview image of the specified other page when another page is specified on the page switching screen;
The display means displaying a new preview screen based on the display data generated by the generating means;
An image forming method comprising: An image forming program for causing an image forming apparatus to execute the image forming method according to claim 5 .

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