JP4811280B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that outputs a sample image for checking image quality.

  In an image forming apparatus that outputs a large amount of printed material at high speed, the printed material output by the image forming apparatus is discharged and stacked on a stacking device called a stacker device. The stacker apparatus can stack about 5000 printed materials, and can automatically increase the efficiency of printing work by automatically stacking sequentially output printed materials on a predetermined stacking unit.

  During the image forming process by the image forming apparatus, the printed materials are discharged and stacked one after another to the stacker device in the order of output. Therefore, when the operator tries to confirm the image quality of the printed material stacked on the stacker apparatus during the image forming process, it is not possible to take a sufficient time for confirming the image quality unless the image forming process is temporarily interrupted. This significantly reduces the efficiency of printing work, and the purpose of adding a stacker device to the image forming apparatus to improve work efficiency is lost.

  Also, after a job for forming a plurality of pages or a plurality of copies of an image is completed, an operator may arbitrarily take out printed materials stacked on a series of stacker devices and check the image quality. If the image quality of the printed image is degraded, all the images formed after the printed matter must be discarded as defective products. In this case, the waste of the cost for creating the printed matter is large. Therefore, considering the cost, it is desirable to stop the image forming process at the time when a decrease in image quality is found in the printed matter.

  Thus, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 are disclosed as techniques that enable confirmation of image quality of a printed matter even during execution of a job.

  According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228561, a color printer apparatus having a control function for automatically outputting a sample image print output based on test pattern image data provided for image quality confirmation in advance for every predetermined period is proposed. This eliminates the need for manual sample image output by the operator, and can increase the efficiency of the printing operation. On the other hand, since the operator can check the image quality at regular intervals, the image forming process can be interrupted when the deterioration of the image quality is confirmed, and a large amount of printing waste can be prevented.

According to Patent Document 2, the proposed image forming apparatus searches for image data of a page selected from jobs as test image data for image quality confirmation when a predetermined condition is satisfied, Separately, a sample image is formed. A control function for discharging the sample image so that the output destination of the sample image is different from the output destination of the job is provided. According to this image forming apparatus, even when a job is being executed, the operator can visually check the sample image and determine whether or not the image quality has deteriorated without interrupting the job for checking the image quality.
JP-A-8-197779 JP 2005-153374 A

  However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, when executing a job intended for large-scale and high-speed printing, sample images are mixed in printed matter that is output one after another. In this case, since the operator confirms the sample image, it is necessary to extract only the sample image from a large amount of printed matter, which complicates the work.

  On the other hand, in the technique of Patent Document 2, the sample image discharge destination is different from the job discharge destination, so that it is not necessary to extract the sample image from a large amount of printed materials. However, the sample image to be formed uses the same paper as that set in the job being executed. Therefore, when the same paper as that used in the job is used in the sample image, there may be a problem described later.

The case where the above inconvenience occurs is, for example, a pre-printed paper, a colored paper, a tab paper, a coated paper, or the like of a specific paper with respect to a normal paper that is used for a general purpose job. This is a case where the number of images and the output order are predetermined. If the specific paper is used as a sample image, the shortage of specific paper or the order of pages will be lost in the job, making it impossible to obtain a desired printed matter.
In addition, when the paper used in the job is expensive specific paper such as coated paper having gloss, the paper used in the sample image is also the specific paper. Considering the purpose of use of the sample image, the image used for the sample image can be confirmed even if it is an inexpensive and general-purpose normal paper. The image of the sample image is formed using an expensive specific paper. There is no need.

  An object of the present invention is to determine an appropriate sheet for a sample image in accordance with a sheet used in a job, so that the output of the job is not adversely affected and the confirmation of the sample image can be made inexpensively and easily. An object is to provide a possible image forming apparatus.

In the first aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus includes:
A printer unit that forms an image based on job image data on preset normal paper or specific paper;
When the number of pages for image formation by the printer unit reaches the number of pages for sample image formation, the control unit determines test image data for the sample image and causes the printer unit to perform image formation of the test image data And comprising
When the paper used for image formation of the job page when the number of pages on which the image formation of the sample image is reached is a normal paper, the control unit determines the image data of the page as test image data and specifies In the case of paper, sequentially determine whether the paper used for image formation is normal paper or specific paper for the pages after that page, determine the page using normal paper as test image data, When there is no page using the paper for image formation, the test pattern image data set in advance to use the normal paper for image formation is determined as the test image data .

The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1,
The control unit performs control so that a discharge destination of the printed material of the sample image formed by the test image data is switched to a discharge destination different from the printed material formed based on the job. Features .

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The control unit performs image formation of the sample image every predetermined number of pages newly counted from the start page of the resumed job when the image formation by the printer unit is interrupted and resumed to resume image formation. it shall be the features a.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The control unit performs image formation of the sample image every predetermined number of pages newly counted from the start page of the resumed job when the image formation by the printer unit is interrupted and resumed to resume image formation. or, alternatively whether to perform image formation of the sample image for each predetermined number of pages it has been counted from the beginning of the image forming you, comprising an operating unit for switching operation.

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to check the image quality of a printed matter even while a job is being executed, and it is possible to prevent a large amount of printing waste paper from being generated and improve the cost. .
In addition , a normal sheet is always used for image formation of the sample image, and the output result of the job is not affected by whether or not the sample image is output. Further, the increase in cost can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of an optimal embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, an image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The image forming apparatus 100 includes an automatic document feeder 10, a document reading device 20, and a printer device 30 as main components.

The automatic document feeder 10 conveys the documents D stacked on the document loading tray 11 one by one to the reading portion of the document reading device 20. When the document D is a double-sided document, the automatic document feeder 10 reverses the front and back of the document D after one side reading of the document D and transports the document D to the document reader 20 again.
Each component included in the automatic document feeder 10 includes a first paper feed roller 12 that sequentially conveys the document D stacked on the document loading tray 11 from the top, and a contact glass 21 that is a reading portion of the document D. The contact roller 13 for allowing the document D to pass through in close contact, the guide roller 14 for guiding the document D conveyed by the first paper feed roller 12 along the contact roller 13, and the document D passing through the contact glass 21. There are a switching claw 15 for switching the conveyance direction, a reversing roller 16 for reversing the front and back of the original D, and a paper discharge tray 17 for discharging the original D that has been read.

The document reader 20 reads an image from the document D conveyed by the automatic document feeder 10, generates image data representing the image, and outputs the image data to the control unit 101 (see FIG. 2).
Each component included in the document reading device 20 includes an exposure scanning unit 25 including a light source 23 and a mirror 24, and a line image sensor 26 that receives reflected light from the document D and photoelectrically converts the light amount signal into an electrical signal. And a condensing lens 27 that condenses the reflected light from the document D onto the line image sensor 26, and various mirrors that form an optical path for guiding the reflected light from the mirror 24 of the exposure scanning unit 25 to the line image sensor 26. 28 and a platen sensor (not shown) for detecting the document D on the platen glass 22.

The printer device 30 forms (prints) an output target image on a sheet by an electrophotographic process. Here, the paper used in the printer device 30 includes a general paper used for general purposes and a specific paper having a property different from that of the normal paper. As the specific paper, for example, there are preprint paper, colored paper, tab paper, a specific paper in which the output number or output order is determined in advance and a desired output result cannot be obtained if this is changed. Further, glossy paper made of a special material such as coated paper is also included in the specific paper.
The main components included in the printer device 30 include a laser unit 31 that outputs a laser beam that is turned ON / OFF according to an output target image, a photoreceptor 32 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, and a surrounding area. There are a charging device 33, a developing device 34, a transfer device 35, a separation device 36, and a cleaning device 37.

  As other components, a paper feed unit 40 including a plurality of paper feed cassettes 41, a transport unit 50 that transports sheets stored in the paper feed cassette 41 one by one by the second paper feed roller 42, and a transport unit 50 The normal conveyance path 60a and the reverse conveyance path 60b for discharging the sheet that has passed through the fixing device 58 located downstream of the apparatus, the conveyance path switching claw 61 for switching the conveyance path of the sheet, and the front and back surfaces of the sheet are reversed. There are a reverse roller 62 for discharging the sheet, a sheet discharge sensor 63 for detecting the sheet output to the outside of the machine, and a sheet discharge unit 64.

Next, the stacker apparatus 200 will be described with reference to FIG.
The stacker device 200 includes a main stacking unit 210 and a sub stacking unit 211 that are discharge trays as main mechanical components.
The main stacking unit 210 is a paper discharge tray that is housed inside the stacker device 200 and that can be loaded with a large amount of printed matter by including an elevating unit 213 that can be moved up and down. The elevator 213 is positioned at the top when no printed material is stacked, and descends as the printed material is stacked. The operator can take out the printed matter stacked on the elevating unit 213 by opening a door (not shown) of the stacker device 200.

  The sub stacking unit 211 is a paper discharge tray that is located on the upper surface of the stacker device 200 and is exposed to the outside. The operator can visually confirm the printed material stacked on the sub stacking unit 211 from the outside.

  As other constituent elements, a carry-in port 221 into which the printed material discharged from the image forming apparatus 100 is carried in, a main loading path 231 for conveying the printed material from the carry-in port 221 to the main stacking unit 210, and a printed material branched from the main loading route 231. Is switched from the main stacking path 231 to the unloading path 232. The unloading path 232 for transporting the prints to the unloading path 222, the sub stacking path 233 for branching from the unloading path 232 and transporting the printed products to the sub stacking unit 211, There are a main switching claw 241 to be performed and a sub switching claw 242 for switching the printed material from the carry-out path 232 to the sub stacking path 233.

  In the present embodiment, the case where only one stacker apparatus 200 is used is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, two stacker apparatuses are used as the first stacker apparatus 200a and the second stacker apparatus 200b, and the image is displayed. The printed matter discharged from the forming apparatus 100 may be stacked on either the first stacker apparatus 200a or the second stacker apparatus 200b.

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of the image forming apparatus 100.
The image forming apparatus 100 includes a main body unit 1, a scanner unit 2, a printer unit 3, a communication unit 4, and an operation unit 5 as main components.

  The main unit 1 includes a control unit 101, a storage unit 102, a DRAM control IC 103, an image memory 104, a reading processing unit 105, a compression IC 106, a decompression IC 107, a writing processing unit 108, and a counting unit 109.

  The control unit 101 reads a system program stored in the storage unit 102, develops it in a RAM in a control unit (Central Processing Unit) (not shown), and centrally controls operations of the respective units of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the developed program. . Further, the control unit 101 switches between the copy mode, the printer mode, and the scanner mode based on the operation signal of the operation unit 5 and the image data input via the communication unit 4, and switches to each mode stored in the storage unit 102. A corresponding processing program is read out and an image forming process is executed.

  The storage unit 102 includes an HD (Hard Disk), a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and the like, and includes a system program corresponding to the image forming apparatus 100 and various processing programs that can be executed on the system program. The storage unit 102 stores setting information necessary for executing various processing programs, and stores post-execution data and the like.

  The DRAM control IC 103 controls reading of data into the image memory 104 and reading of data from the image memory 104. The DRAM control IC 103 is connected to the DRAM control IC 402 in the communication unit 4 via a PCI bus, and controls data input / output between the communication unit 4 and the main body unit 1.

  The image memory 104 is configured by a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and includes a compression memory 104a and a page memory 104b. The compression memory 104 a temporarily stores data such as image data compressed by the compression IC 106 under the control of the DRAM control IC 103. The page memory 104 b temporarily stores image data output from the communication unit 4 under the control of the DRAM control IC 103, and temporarily stores decompressed image data to be output to the communication unit 4.

  The reading processing unit 105 converts the analog electrical signal read by the scanner unit 2 into digital data that can be processed in the main body unit 1 and outputs the digital data to the compression IC 106.

The compression IC 106 compresses the image data output from the communication unit 4 and the image data output from the reading processing unit 105.
The decompression IC 107 decompresses the compressed data output from the DRAM control IC 103.

  The writing processing unit 108 inputs image data subjected to image processing such as enlargement, reduction, rotation, and position change according to the instruction data output from the operation unit 5 or the communication unit 4 from the decompression IC 107 and calibrates as necessary. After processing and the like, the data is output to the printer unit 3.

  The counting unit 109 includes a paper feed counter that counts the number of paper feed pages, a sample output counter that counts the output cycle of sample images, and a paper discharge counter that counts the number of paper discharge pages. Count the number of sheets. This is used to output the number of objects to be recovered to the control unit 101 when an abnormality such as a paper jam occurs, or to output the output cycle of the sample image to the control unit 101.

The scanner unit 2 includes a scanner control unit 201, a CCD 202, and the like.
The scanner control unit 201 receives a control signal from the control unit 101 and drives and controls the CCD 202.

  A CCD (Charge Coupled Device) 202 forms an image of reflected light of light that has been illuminated and scanned from a light source (not shown) and photoelectrically converts the read image, and outputs the read image data to the reading processing unit 105. Here, the image data is not limited to image data such as graphics and photographs, but also includes text data such as characters and symbols.

The printer unit 3 includes a printer control unit 301 and a printing unit 302.
The printer control unit 301 receives a control signal from the control unit 101 and drives and controls the LD based on the image data from the writing processing unit 108 to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum.
The print unit 302 includes an LD (Laser Diode) (not shown), a photosensitive drum, a paper feed unit, a paper discharge unit, and the like. The printing unit 302 develops the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum with toner, transfers and fixes the toner image onto a sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding unit, and then discharges the sheet from the sheet discharging unit.

  The communication unit 4 includes a communication control unit 401, a DRAM control IC 402, an image memory 403, an I / F 404, and the like.

  The communication control unit 401 controls the operation of each unit of the communication unit 4 and transmits / receives data to / from the information terminal device I connected to the network N.

  The image memory 403 temporarily stores image data received from the information terminal apparatus I via the network N, image data output from the main body unit 1 through the PCI bus, and the like under the control of the DRAM control IC 402.

  The I / F 404 is an interface for the image forming apparatus 100 to connect to the information terminal apparatus I via the network N. The I / F 404 and the information terminal apparatus I connected to the network N according to an instruction from the communication control unit 401 Send and receive.

  The operation unit 5 includes an operation control unit 501, an LCD 502 including a touch panel, and the like.

  The operation control unit 501 receives a display signal from the control unit 101 and performs display control on the LCD 502. In addition, an operation signal input from the touch panel on the LCD 502 is output to the control unit 101.

  An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 502 displays various operation buttons, image status display, operation status of each function, and the like on the screen in accordance with an instruction of a display signal input from the operation control unit 501. The display screen of the LCD 502 is covered with a transparent sheet panel, and includes a touch panel that outputs position information input by touching with a finger or a dedicated stylus pen to the operation control unit 501 as input information.

  The stacker apparatus 200 includes a stacker control unit 251, a transport unit 252, a switching unit 253, an operation unit 254, a sensor unit 255, and a count unit 256 as main components.

  The stacker control unit 251 includes a control unit, a ROM, a RAM, and the like (not shown). Based on a control signal from the control unit 101, the stacker control unit 251 performs operations of the transport unit 252, the switching unit 253, the operation unit 254, the sensor unit 255, and the count unit 256. Take overall control.

  The transport unit 252 includes a drive motor and a sensor for transporting paper in the main stacking path 231, the unloading path 232, and the sub stacking path 233.

  The switching unit 253 includes a driving unit that displaces the main switching claw 241 and the sub switching claw 242 and uses a solenoid or a motor as a driving source.

  The operation unit 254 includes an input unit and a display unit (not shown). These are used for a switch operation for lowering the elevating unit 213 to the lowermost part in order to take out a sheet from the main stacking unit 210, and a switch operation for lowering the elevating unit 213 when a paper jam occurs. . Also, when a paper jam occurs, the occurrence status is displayed.

  The sensor unit 255 includes various sensors such as a door sensor, a paper upper limit sensor, a stage lower limit sensor, a stage upper limit sensor, and a paper discharge sensor.

  The count unit 256 includes a paper discharge counter that counts the number of paper discharged normally to the stacker device 200. The required number of recovery sheets can be calculated based on the difference between the count value of the count unit 256 and the count value of the count unit 109 of the image forming apparatus 100.

  Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described. Each process described below is executed in cooperation with the control unit 101 and various programs stored in the storage unit 102.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the operation screen 521 displayed on the LCD 502.
On the operation screen 521, characters indicating the apparatus status of the image forming apparatus 100 that “can be copied” are displayed at the upper center of the screen. On the right side, the count / set number of sheets, the remaining memory capacity, and the like are displayed. Various operation buttons for the operator to operate the image forming apparatus 100 are displayed at the bottom of the screen.

  An application setting area 521a is provided at the lower right of the operation screen 521. When the document reading button 5a displayed in the application setting area 521a is pressed, a sample output mode setting screen is displayed on the left side thereof. 521b is displayed.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the sample output mode setting screen 521b. As shown in FIG. 4, three setting buttons 5b to 5d are displayed on the sample output mode setting screen 521b.

The mode setting button 5b can perform three settings: “OFF setting” of the sample output mode, “cycle setting” of the sample image output, and “button output setting” of the sample output.
In “OFF setting”, it is possible to set so as not to output the sample image. In “cycle setting”, it is possible to perform setting so that the output of the sample image is executed for each cycle set by a cycle setting button 5c described later. In “button output setting”, the operator can output a sample image by pressing a sample output button (not shown) of the operation unit 5.

  With the cycle setting button 5c, the output interval of the sample image can be set in units of the number of pages of the printed matter, and can be set from the cycle from 1 to 9999 pages.

With the recovery setting button 5d, if the job is interrupted due to a problem such as a paper jam during the execution of the job, the image forming process of the sample image is performed when the unprocessed job that has not been processed normally is processed again. It is possible to set whether or not to include it.
In addition, the user inputs and sets whether the paper loaded on the paper feed cassette 41 is a normal paper or a specific paper in the operation unit 5.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of the image forming process of the image forming apparatus 100. When the operator turns on the image forming apparatus 100, the control unit 101 executes various setting processes. The setting process here is an initialization process at power-on (step S1), a paper jam check before starting a job (step S2), and an idling process (step S3). After each of these processes, the image forming apparatus 100 enters a standby state.

  When various settings relating to the job such as paper size setting and number of copies setting are made by the operator during the standby state and a start instruction is issued thereafter (step S4; Yes), the control unit 101 forms an image relating to the instructed job. Start processing.

  The control unit 101 performs a start process for initially setting the operating conditions in accordance with the various settings set by the operator (step S5). In addition to the paper size and number of copies setting described above, for example, when the output cycle of the sample image is set to a predetermined number, for example, 200 pages by the operator (see FIG. 4), the control unit 101 initializes this setting. Is stored in the storage unit 102. In the image forming process in step S8 described later, when the number of processed sheets reaches 200 pages, the control unit 101 executes the image forming process of the sample image separately from the job, and discharges it to the sub stacking unit 211. The printer unit 3 is instructed.

  Next, the control unit 101 checks the presence / absence of image data to be recovered, and executes a recovery process for forming an image of the image data to be recovered if necessary (step S6). Image data to be recovered refers to image data that has not been formed and has not been processed because processing was interrupted during job execution.

  The recovery process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This process is executed when a problem such as a paper jam (hereinafter referred to as “jam”) occurs during execution of a job.

  The presence / absence of image data to be recovered is determined from the counts of the paper feed counter and the paper discharge counter included in the count unit 109 of the control unit 101 (step S61). The control unit 101 can count the number of image data to be recovered also in cooperation with the paper feed counter of the count unit 109 and the paper discharge counter of the count unit 256 of the stacker apparatus 200.

Here, FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining the output of the sample image during the recovery operation.
Q1 represents image data of the job, and the number represents the number of pages, and is composed of a total of 16 pages of image data. The output cycle of the sample image is set every 7 pages. When the job is not executed, the paper feed counter of the count unit 109 is “0”, the paper discharge counter is “0”, and the sample output counter is “7”.

  Q2 indicates that a jam has occurred when the image data for the sixth page is being formed, and the image data for the sixth and subsequent pages has been targeted for recovery. At this time, the paper feed counter is “6”, the paper discharge counter is “5” because paper discharge is executed for 5 pages, and the sample output counter is “2” by subtracting 5 pages from which paper was discharged from 7 pages. It is.

  Q3 and Q4 are the cases where the sample image is included in the image data on and after the sixth page to be recovered, and Q3 does not form an image of the sample image immediately after the occurrence of the jam and starts from the sixth page. A case where the output cycle of the sample image is newly counted and output is shown, and Q4 shows a case where the sample image is discharged while maintaining the cycle set initially. Accordingly, the sample output counter for Q3 is “7”, and the sample output counter for Q4 is “2”.

  Returning to FIG. 6, the description will be continued. If there is no image data to be recovered (step S61; No), that is, if no jam has occurred, the control unit 101 resets the sample output counter (step S62), and ends this process (RETURN). .

  If there is image data to be recovered (step S61; Yes) and the recovery setting for the sample image is “no recovery” (see FIG. 4) (step S63; No), the control unit 101 resets the sample output counter. (Step S62). In the example of FIG. 7, the state is Q3, and the control unit 101 resets the sample output counter from “2” to “7”. By resetting the sample output counter, it is possible to prevent the unreasonableness that the sample image is discharged immediately after the restoration even though the image quality confirmation is performed during the jam clearing operation. After resetting the sample output counter, the control unit 101 ends this process (RETURN).

  On the other hand, when the recovery setting is “recover” (step S63; Yes), the control unit 101 keeps the count value from the beginning of the sample output counter as it is (step S64), and outputs the sample image initially set. The paper is discharged every cycle, and the process proceeds to the next step (RETURN). In the example of FIG. 7, since the sample output counter is “2” in the state of Q4, the sample image immediately after the jam can be confirmed.

  After the recovery process, the process proceeds to step S7 in FIG. 5, and the control unit 101 performs a paper feed process (step S7).

The paper feed process will be described with reference to FIG.
When requesting a sheet for image formation, the control unit 101 acquires page information from the count unit 109 in order to determine the number of sheets in the job (step S71). .

  When the control unit 101 determines from the acquired page information that it does not correspond to the output cycle of the sample image in the job being executed (step S72; No), the discharge destination of the image to be output at this time is formed. Is set in the main stacking unit 210 (step S73), and the sample output counter of the counting unit 109 is decremented by one page (step S74). Thereafter, the control unit 101 issues a paper feed request to the printer unit 3 (step S75), and ends the processing (RETURN).

  On the other hand, when the control unit 101 determines from the acquired page information that the sample image corresponds to the cycle of image formation in the job being executed (step S72; Yes), the image data of the job to be executed at this time is used for the sample image. It is tentatively determined as test image data, and it is determined whether or not the paper used in the temporary test image data is a specific paper (step S76). Whether or not the temporary test image data is a specific sheet is determined by the control unit 101 reading out image data to be output stored in the image memory 104.

Here, FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining sample image output when the specific sheet is a tab sheet.
Q1 is a diagram showing image data of a job, and is composed of a total of 16 pages of image data. Note that the number attached to each image data represents the number of pages. The output cycle of the sample image is set every 7 pages. The seventh page corresponds to a cycle for forming a sample image, and also corresponds to a tab sheet use page in a job.
Q2 indicates that when the seventh page in the job is a tab sheet and is also the output cycle of the sample image, the sample image is to be fed as a normal sheet of the next page. Thereby, even if the number of tab sheets and their order are set in advance, the output result of the job can always be the same regardless of whether or not the sample image is output. As in the case of the 14th page, when normal paper is used in a job, the sample image paper is the same as the job paper.

  Returning to FIG. 8, when the paper used in the temporary test image data is not a specific paper (step S76; No), for example, in the case of the temporary test image data on page 14 in Q2 of FIG. The temporary test image data at this time is determined as the test image data for the sample image, and the discharge destination of the sample image based on the test image data is set in the sub stacking unit 211 (step S77). Thereafter, the control unit 101 resets the sample output counter of the count unit 109 (step S78), and issues a paper feed request to the printer unit 3 (step S75).

  On the other hand, when the paper used in the temporary test image data corresponds to the specific paper (step S76; Yes), for example, in the case of the temporary test image data on the seventh page in Q2 of FIG. A paper feed process is performed in which the paper used in the temporary test image data is replaced with the normal paper instead of the specific paper (step S79). After this process, the process proceeds to step S77 described above.

  Here, the normal paper feeding process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The control unit 101 determines from the image data in the job whether or not the paper of the next page of the page corresponding to the temporary test image data is used as the sample image (step S81). Whether or not to use the paper of the next page for the sample image can be arbitrarily set by the operator using a switching button or the like in the operation unit 5 (not shown), and the control unit 101 makes a determination based on this setting.

  When the paper of the next page is not used for the sample image (Step S81; No), the control unit 101 changes the setting of the paper feed destination so that the paper used in the temporary test image data is different from the paper used in the job. This is performed (step S82). The paper feed destination set at this time is a paper feed cassette 41 in which paper of the same size as the paper used in the job or a preset size is stored, and a paper feed destination in which no specific paper is stored. .

  When the next page sheet is fed as a sample image sheet (step S81; Yes), the control unit 101 determines whether there is a next page corresponding to the temporary test image data in the image data in the job. Is determined by reading the image data stored in the image memory 104 (step S83).

  If there is no next page corresponding to the temporary test image data in the image data in the job (step S83; No), the control unit 101 proceeds to the process of step S82 described above and changes the setting of the paper feed destination. .

  When there is a next page of the page corresponding to the temporary test image data in the image data in the job (step S83; Yes), the control unit 101 acquires the image data to be output corresponding to the next page and uses this. New provisional test image data is used, and it is further determined whether or not the paper used when the image data is formed is a specific paper (step S84).

  When the paper corresponding to the new temporary test image data is the specific paper (step S84; Yes), the control unit 101 proceeds to step S83 again, and the next page corresponding to the new temporary test image data. The presence / absence is further confirmed (step S83).

  When the paper corresponding to the new temporary test image data is not the specific paper (Step S84; No), the control unit 101 determines this as the paper for the sample image. Thereafter, the control unit 101 acquires the page information at this time (step S85), and ends the processing (RETURN).

  After the paper feeding process, the process proceeds to step S8 in FIG. 5, and the control unit 101 performs an image forming process (step S8).

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the image forming process.
The control unit 101 acquires page information stored in the count unit 109 when executing a job (step S91), and determines whether a page on which image formation is performed corresponds to a cycle in which sample images are output. (Step S92).

  When the page acquired from the count unit 109 corresponds to the cycle of outputting the sample image (step S92; Yes), that is, when the sample output counter is “1”, the control unit 101 determines the job being executed at this time. The image data is provisionally determined as temporary test image data, and it is determined whether or not the paper used in the temporary test image data is a specific paper (step S93).

  If the paper used for the temporary test image data is not a specific paper (step S93; No), for example, if the paper is an inexpensive plain paper such as recycled paper, the control unit 101 uses the temporary test image data for the sample image. The test image data is determined and the test image data is formed on this sheet as a sample image (step S94). As a result, this process ends (RETURN).

  On the other hand, when the paper used in the temporary test image data is a specific paper (step S93; Yes), for example, when the paper is a specific paper such as a preprint paper, a tab paper, or a glossy paper, the control unit 101 sets the temporary paper. An image forming process using a sheet different from the specific sheet used in the test image data is performed (step S95). As a result, this process ends (RETURN).

  With reference to the flowchart of FIG. 12, the image forming process of another sample image executed by the control unit 101 in step S95 of FIG. 11 will be described.

  The control unit 101 determines whether to form an image of the next page of the page corresponding to the temporary test image data from the job being executed as a sample image (step S101). For the image of the next page of the temporary test image data, the control unit 101 reads the image of the next page from the image memory 104, and executes the process of step S93 in FIG.

  When the image data of the next page is not formed as a sample image (step S101; No), the control unit 101 determines test pattern image data for image confirmation set in advance as test image data and performs paper feeding processing. Image formation of the sample image by the test image data is executed on the set sample image paper (step S102). Here, the sample image paper is a normal paper, and any paper can be used as long as the image quality can be confirmed when an image is formed on the paper.

  When the image data of the next page is formed as a sample image (step S101; Yes), the control unit 101 determines whether there is a next page of the page corresponding to the temporary test image data in the job being executed. (Step S103).

  If there is no next page in the job being executed (step S103; No), the control unit 101 proceeds to the process of step S102 described above, and forms test pattern image data for image quality confirmation on the sample image paper (see FIG. Step S102).

  If there is a next page in the job being executed (step S103; Yes), the control unit 101 obtains image data corresponding to the next page and uses it as new temporary test image data. It is determined whether or not the paper used when forming image data is a specific paper (step S104).

  When the paper used when forming the new temporary test image data is a specific paper (step S104; Yes), the process proceeds to step S103, and the control unit 101 performs a new temporary job in the job being executed. It is determined whether or not there is another page next to the page corresponding to the test image data (step S103).

  On the other hand, when the paper used when forming the new temporary test image data is not the specific paper (step S104; No), the control unit 101 determines the new temporary test image data as the test image data. Then, an image forming process of the sample image using the test image data is executed (step S105).

  After the image forming process, the process proceeds to step S9 in FIG. 5, and the control unit 101 performs a paper discharge process (step S9).

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the paper discharge process.
The control unit 101 cooperates with the counting unit 109 or the counting unit 256 of the stacker device 200 to determine the number of sheets in the job when outputting the sheet on which image formation has been performed. Thus, page information is acquired (step S201).

  When the control unit 101 determines that the sampled image corresponds to the cycle for forming the sample image from the acquired page information in the job being executed (step S202; Yes), that is, when the image forming apparatus 100 discharges the sample image. Resets the sample output counter (step S203). Thereafter, the control unit 101 performs a paper discharge process for discharging the sample image discharge destination to the paper discharge destination (sub-stacking unit 211) set in step S77 of FIG. 8 in the paper supply process (step S204). The process proceeds to step S10 of step 5.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 101 determines from the acquired page information that the sample image does not correspond to the cycle for forming the sample image (No in step S202), that is, the image forming apparatus 100 discharges the sample image. If not, the sample output counter is decremented by one page (step S205). Thereafter, the control unit 101 performs a paper discharge process for discharging the image output destination of the job to the paper discharge destination (main stacking unit 210) set in step S73 of FIG. 8 in the paper feed process (step S206). Then, the process proceeds to step S10 in FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 5, after the paper discharge process, the control unit 101 proceeds to step S7 again and performs the process described above until the image forming process for all pages related to the job is completed (step S10; No). ). When the image forming process for all pages of the job is finished (step S10; Yes), this process is finished.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, test image data for image quality confirmation is determined from image data to be output in any job, and this is used as test image data for a sample image. Further, the sample image is discharged to a discharge destination different from the normal discharge destination.
Thereby, since the sample image to be discharged is image data to be output for any one of the jobs, it is possible to visually confirm the image quality of the image data to be output that is actually used.
In addition, since the paper discharge destination that is normally discharged is different from the paper discharge destination of the sample image, the operator can easily check the image quality of the sample image even when the job is being executed. The job execution can be interrupted when a decrease in density is confirmed. As a result, it is possible to prevent a large amount of printing waste paper from being generated, and cost can be improved.

Further, in the temporary test image data temporarily determined from any image data of the job, when the paper used in the temporary test image data is not suitable for image quality confirmation, for example, in the case of preprint paper or glossy paper, In the job, an image corresponding to the next page of the temporary test image data is determined as new test image data, and the test image data is formed on a sample image paper. Alternatively, the test pattern image data prepared in advance is determined as a sample image, and an image is formed on a sample image paper.
As a result, even if the paper used in the job is a specific paper such as a pre-printed paper, the output result of the job does not affect the output result of the job or the like by outputting the sample image. Furthermore, even when expensive glossy paper or the like is used in a job, the paper used for the sample image can always be inexpensive, and the cost can be reduced.

In addition, when a jam occurs during execution of a job, switching control is performed to determine whether or not to discharge the sample image immediately after the jam.
Since the operator can check the image quality of the printed material during the jam recovery operation, it is possible to prevent the sample image from being output when it is not necessary to output the sample image immediately after the jam. Sample images can be output.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus. 2 is a functional block diagram of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of an operation screen. It is a figure which shows an example of a sample output mode setting screen. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an overview of image forming processing. It is a flowchart explaining a recovery process. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining discharge of a sample image during a recovery operation. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a paper feed process. It is a schematic diagram explaining sample image output when specific paper is tab paper. FIG. 6 is a diagram for describing a normal sheet feeding process. It is a flowchart explaining an image formation process. It is a flowchart explaining the image formation process of another sample image. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a paper discharge process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image forming apparatus 101 Control part 10 Automatic document conveying apparatus 20 Document reading apparatus 30 Printer apparatus 1 Main body part 2 Scanner part 3 Printing part 4 Communication part 5 Operation part 200 Stacker apparatus 210 Main stacking part 211 Sub stacking part

Claims (4)

A printer unit that forms an image based on job image data on preset normal paper or specific paper;
When the number of pages for image formation by the printer unit reaches the number of pages for sample image formation, the control unit determines test image data for the sample image and causes the printer unit to perform image formation of the test image data And comprising
When the paper used for image formation of the job page when the number of pages on which the image formation of the sample image is reached is a normal paper, the control unit determines the image data of the page as test image data and specifies In the case of paper, sequentially determine whether the paper used for image formation is normal paper or specific paper for the pages after that page, determine the page using normal paper as test image data, An image forming apparatus characterized in that, when there is no page using paper for image formation, test pattern image data set in advance to use normal paper for image formation is determined as test image data . The control unit performs control so that a discharge destination of the printed material of the sample image formed by the test image data is switched to a discharge destination different from the printed material formed based on the job. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit performs image formation of the sample image every predetermined number of pages newly counted from the start page of the resumed job when the image formation by the printer unit is interrupted and resumed to resume image formation. the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that. The control unit performs image formation of the sample image every predetermined number of pages newly counted from the start page of the resumed job when the image formation by the printer unit is interrupted and resumed to resume image formation. or, alternatively according to whether an image is formed of the sample image for each predetermined number of pages have been counted from the beginning of the image forming to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises an operation unit for switching operation Image forming apparatus.

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