JP6800941B2 - Print setting device, its control method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a print setting device, a control method thereof, and a program .

Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copier, when performing simple editing or post-processing of an image, it is common to move from the operation unit to various processing mode screens and make detailed settings in each processing mode. It was.

Insertion paper setting is known as one of the processing modes of such an image forming apparatus. There are two types of insert paper: interleaving paper and emblem, and interleaving paper is a different type of paper that is sandwiched between pages of printed matter as a mark to separate pages in order to easily check the number of printed pages. is there.

On the other hand, chapter paper is a different type of paper that is inserted into printed matter like interleaving paper, but it indicates the division of chapters, and the image of the manuscript page is printed on one side or both sides like the inside cover of a booklet. It is a thing.

By using different types of paper such as colored paper and tab paper for the interleaving paper and chapter paper, it is possible to output a booklet in which the middle cover and chapter breaks are easy for the user to see.

In the conventional method of setting the insert paper in the operation unit, it is necessary to shift to the mode screen for setting and switch the display of several layers, so that the setting procedure is many and it is not user-friendly.

In particular, the method of setting the insertion page by inputting a numerical value makes it difficult to know the position of the insert paper with respect to the original page, and the quality of the output is deteriorated or re-processed because the actual post-processing is not performed at the desired position. Productivity and resource saving were reduced by printing.

On the other hand, the original is displayed as a preview image in the preview screen, and the simple editing and post-processing settings of the original image are reflected in the preview image by touch operation on the touch panel, and the original is printed or post-printed like the display on the preview screen. There is a technology to perform processing. (Refer to Patent Document 1) For example, in the case of interleaving paper, a finger is placed on the preview image of the interleaving paper, the preview image is moved by the operation of the finger, and the interleaving paper is inserted between pages.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-228439

However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a method of operating the preview screen for inserting the interleaving paper, and does not mention the setting of the insert paper for printing the manuscript page like the chapter paper.

Therefore, when inserting the chapter paper by the method of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to print a page using the chapter paper from the manuscript page in advance and insert the paper as a slip sheet, which makes the setting procedure complicated. It was.

An object of the present invention is to enable the setting of the insertion paper to be realized by an intuitive operation close to the image of the actual insertion operation.

In order to achieve the above object, the print setting device of the present invention displays a multi-page preview image including a first object showing a first printing paper and a second object showing a second printing paper. The first object is a touch operation by the user on the operation screen on which the first object and the second object are displayed, and is based on the touch operation for designating the insertion position of the insertion paper. has a printing paper and the second print paper, and determining means for determining a positional relationship between the insertion sheet, and wherein the display control unit, in the operation screen, change the display position of the preview image of the plurality of pages The display position of the preview image is changed so that the relative positions of the first object and the second object are changed with respect to the object indicating the insertion paper before the insertion position is specified according to the touch operation for making the insertion position. controls have rows, further wherein the display control unit to display an object that indicates the paper feed unit of the print setting apparatus, the determining means, the preview image of the plurality of pages from the object showing the sheet feeding unit is displayed It is characterized in that the insertion position in which the printing paper stored in the paper feed unit is inserted as the insertion paper is determined for the plurality of pages according to the touch operation on the area .

According to the present invention, it is possible to set the insertion paper by an intuitive operation close to the image of the actual insertion operation.

It is a figure which shows the appearance of the image forming apparatus and the operation terminal (print setting apparatus) which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the appearance of the operation terminal in FIG. It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the MFP part and the operation terminal in FIG. It is a figure which shows the preview display of the scan data displayed on the touch screen display in FIG. It is a figure which shows the preview display for setting the insert paper displayed on the touch screen display in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the method of setting the paper feed part of the insert paper. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a method of inserting the chapter paper. It is a figure for demonstrating the method of canceling the insertion of the interleaving paper and the chapter paper. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the print process executed by the operation control unit and the CPU in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the insertion paper setting process of step S108 in the print process of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the form registration information. It is a figure for demonstrating the setting method at the time of double-sided printing setting. It is a figure which shows the preview display for the insertion paper setting at the time of double-sided printing setting displayed on the touch screen display. It is a figure for demonstrating the method of inserting a chapter paper. It is a figure for demonstrating the method of printing on both sides of a chapter paper. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the print process executed by the operation control unit and the CPU in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the insertion paper setting process of step S310 in the printing process of FIG. It is a figure which shows the paper selection screen of the insertion paper. It is a figure for demonstrating the method of setting the insertion paper from the paper cassette part of the main body image. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the insertion paper setting process which is executed by the operation control part in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the method of setting the insertion paper from the paper set in the paper cassette part of the main body image. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the print process executed by the operation control unit and the CPU in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the insertion paper setting process of step S611 in the print process of FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of an image forming apparatus 90 and an operation terminal (print setting apparatus) 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 90 is prepared so that an operation terminal 100 (information processing apparatus) that performs an operation setting and a preview operation of the image forming apparatus 90 can be separated from the image forming apparatus.

The operation terminal 100 may be configured to be attached to the image forming apparatus 90 from the beginning, or may be configured to use an electronic terminal such as a tablet.

In this embodiment, an electronic terminal such as a tablet or a smartphone is used. Further, the operation screen display and the control program for the operation unit necessary for using the electronic terminal as the operation unit of the image forming apparatus are separately downloaded by a communication means unique to the operation terminal 100 or the like. And.

The MFP unit 101 is a multi-function printer that realizes functions such as copying, printing, and facsimile transmission / reception. In the present embodiment, it is possible to perform the operation setting and the preview function while communicating between the operation terminal and the MFP unit 101 via the wireless network line.

As a method of feeding the paper which is the recording paper to the MFP unit 101, there is a method of feeding the paper from the paper cassette units 102 to 104 or the manual feed tray unit 105. The bypass tray portion 105 is used for feeding special paper that cannot be fed from the paper cassette portions 102 to 104, such as thick paper and OHP.

Further, when the paper prepared in advance is set in the inserter 106, the paper can be inserted into any page of the printed matter.

Paper information such as the size and type of paper set in the paper cassette units 102 to 104, the manual feed tray unit 105, and the inserter 106 can be registered in the MFP unit 101 using the operation terminal 100. Then, the registered paper information is stored in the MFP unit 101 as the paper registration information. This form registration information will be described later.

The output tray 107 outputs the paper printed by the MFP unit 101. The document mounting table 108 sets the document when performing the scanning process described later, and the scanning process is started.

The operation terminal 100 can send and receive image data via a wireless communication line. The image data in this case refers to all the image data created by the MFP unit for previewing, for example, a preview image to be displayed on the operation terminal, a menu display for giving instructions such as printing on the operation unit, and the like. Image data for input instructions.

Using the operation terminal 100, the user can specify the printing method, post-processing, and the like using the displayed preview screen and menu screen.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance of the operation terminal 100 in FIG.

In FIG. 2, the operation terminal 100 is provided with a touch screen display 200, and can detect a position operated by a human finger 222, a pen, or the like.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the MFP unit 101 and the operation terminal 100 in FIG.

In FIG. 3, the operation terminal 100 includes an operation control unit 205, a network communication unit 209 which is a communication means for communicating with the image forming device 90, a memory 207, a touch screen display 200, and an antenna 210.

The operation control unit 205 controls the entire operation terminal 100. Further, the operation control unit 205 has a CPU (not shown), a non-volatile memory in which software information is written, and the like. Data and information to be temporarily stored when controlling the operation terminal 100 are temporarily stored in the memory 207 via the memory interface 206.

By such an operation, each coordinate information input from the touch screen 201 and the temporary information stored in the memory 207 are interpreted as setting information by software stored in a non-volatile memory (not shown).

As a result, the setting information for the MFP unit 101 is generated, and the setting information is transmitted from the network communication unit 209 to the MFP unit 101 via the network interface 208.

The touch screen display 200 has a two-layer structure in which a touch screen 201 made of a transparent material and a liquid crystal display 202 are combined under the touch screen 201. As described above, the operation terminal 100 includes a touch screen 201 combined with a liquid crystal display 202 which is a display unit.

The operation of the touch screen display 200 can be assigned processes such as selection of an operation mode, setting of various functions, operation instructions, and selection and movement of image data at the time of editing processing for image data.

Further, the touch screen display 200 can assign processing such as touch, drag, pinch, flick, and the like and designation of desired coordinate position information of the image data while displaying the image data generated by the MFP unit 101. It is possible.

Further, the operation control unit 205 transmits / receives necessary data, information, and control signals to the touch screen 201 and the liquid crystal display 202, respectively.

Specifically, the touch screen 201 is connected to the operation control unit 205 by the touch screen control interface 203, and the coordinate information obtained by the touch screen 201 is transmitted to the operation control unit 205.

Further, the liquid crystal display 202 is connected to the operation control unit 205 by the liquid crystal display interface 204, and receives the image data to be displayed by the liquid crystal display interface 204.

Next, the MFP unit 101 will be described.

The MFP unit 101 includes a network communication unit 219, an antenna 220, a data bus interface 211, an image processing unit 214, a preview image generation unit 215, a memory 216, a printer unit 217, a scanner unit 218, a CPU 212, and a ROM 213.

The network communication unit 219, the image processing unit 214, the preview image generation unit 215, the memory 216, the printer unit 217, the scanner unit 218, the CPU 212, and the ROM 213 are connected by the data bus interface 211.

The bus master of the data bus interface 211 is a network communication unit 219, an image processing unit 214, a preview image generation unit 215, a printer unit 217, a scanner unit 218, and a CPU 212, and has data transfer means to a memory corresponding to a so-called DMAC. The data transfer at the data bus interface 211 is mainly used when transferring the transfer data from each bus master to the memory 216.

The image processing unit 214 performs image processing of the transferred image data according to the print settings sent from the operation terminal 100. The image data image-processed by the image processing unit 214 is stored in the memory 216.

The preview image generation unit 215 reads out the image data after image processing stored in the memory 216 and forms a preview image to be displayed on the touch screen display 200.

The printer unit 217 receives the image data after image processing stored in the memory 216, and in the case of an electrophotographic printer, for example, generates a laser pulse that forms a latent image on the photosensitive image carrier by PWM modulation. The image formed on the photosensitive image carrier as a latent image is transferred and fixed on paper and output.

The scanner unit 218 reads the original by a reading sensor (not shown), and stores the digitalized image data in the memory 216. After the scan process is selected on the operation screen (not shown), the document placed on the document mounting table 108 is read as scan data from the reading sensor (not shown) according to the instruction of the CPU 212. The read scan data is input to the scanner unit 218, converted into digital data, and then stored in the memory 216.

The CPU 212 sends the scan data stored in the memory 216 to the image processing unit 214, performs various image processing, and then generates a preview image. The generated preview image is stored in the memory 216, and when the preview image is displayed on the operation terminal 100, the preview image data stored in the memory 216 by the CPU 212 is transmitted to the operation terminal 100 via the wireless communication line 221. Will be done.

The operation of each of the bus masters is controlled by the CPU 212, and the CPU 212 is operated by a program stored in the ROM 213.

In this way, the image forming apparatus 90 can communicate with the operation terminal 100, and has a printing means (printer unit 217) for printing an image on the recording paper and a feeding means (manual feed tray) for feeding the recording paper to the printing means. Section 105, paper cassette sections 102 to 104, inserter 106) are provided.

Next, network communication between the operation terminal 100 and the MFP unit 101 will be described.

The network communication units 209 and 219 are provided in the operation terminal 100 and the MFP unit 101, respectively, and perform network wireless communication by the WLAN communication method.

The antenna 210 is connected to the network communication unit 209, and the antenna 220 is connected to the network communication unit 219. The network communication units 209 and 219 convert the communication data into a pulse wave for transfer and vice versa, respectively.

The network communication unit 219 of the MFP unit 101 converts the pulse wave received from the wireless communication line 221 via the antenna 220 into communication data, and sends the pulse wave to the image processing unit 214 via the data bus interface 211.

Further, the network communication unit 219 converts the communication data received from the image processing unit 214 via the data bus interface 211 into a pulse wave for transfer, and transmits the communication data to the wireless communication line 221 via the antenna 220.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a preview display of scan data displayed on the touch screen display 200 in FIG.

In FIG. 4, the preview display 301 displays a plurality of pages of preview images 302A to 302E based on the plurality of scan data read by the scanner unit 218.

As an example, the preview images 302A to 302E are letters A to E of the alphabet written in order on each page of the scan data.

The operation control unit 205 displays the preview image 302 in the object display area 303 by using the preview image data received from the MFP unit 101. This object is preview image data.

Further, although it is not displayed on the touch screen display 200, it is assumed that 302F, 302G, etc. exist as pages after the preview image 302E.

Further, in addition to the preview image 302 of a plurality of pages, various print setting keys are arranged on the preview display 301. In the present embodiment, as an example, the insert paper setting key 304 and the other print setting key 305 for performing other than the insert paper setting are displayed. When any of the print setting keys is pressed, the preview display 301 is switched to the screen display of various print settings, and the print settings can be started.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a preview display for setting the insert paper displayed on the touch screen display 200 in FIG.

It should be noted that the interleaving paper described below indicates a page break, and the image is not printed. On the other hand, the chapter paper indicates the division of chapters, and an image is printed. The insert paper includes a slip sheet and a chapter paper.

The insert paper setting preview display in FIG. 5 is displayed when the insert paper setting is selected by the touch operation of the insert paper setting key 304 of the preview display 301 in FIG. 4 after the scanning process.

FIG. 5A is an initial screen of the preview display for setting the insert paper. In contrast to the preview display of FIG. 4, in the preview display for setting the insert paper, the insert paper preview image 306 is displayed above the object display area 303. The insert paper preview image displayed here is an image prepared in advance. In this way, when printing a document composed of a plurality of pages, an insert paper image showing the insert paper (insert paper preview image 306) and a preview image showing the pages arranged in a row in page order (preview image 302 of the plurality of pages). Is displayed.

FIG. 5B is a diagram showing a scroll operation.

When the object display area 303 is scrolled from right to left on the touch screen display 200 as shown in FIG. 5 (B) with respect to the initial screen of the preview display of FIG. 5 (A), the preview image 302 of a plurality of pages is performed. The display moves.

As a result, the user can move the display of the preview image 302 according to the position where the insertion paper is desired to be inserted.

FIG. 5C is a diagram showing an operation of inserting the interleaving paper.

In FIG. 5C, the touch screen display 200 is dragged from the position of the insert paper preview image 306 to the position between the preview images 302D and 302E of the object display area 303, and the finger is released at that position.

By doing so, the position where the interleaving paper is inserted is determined. Here, the drag operation indicates an operation of moving the finger on the screen while the preview image is selected by the touch operation on the touch screen display 200.

FIG. 5D is a diagram showing a state in which the interleaving paper is inserted.

In FIG. 5D, the preview image 307 of the interleaving paper inserted at the position between the preview images 302D and 302E in the object display area of the touch screen display 200 is displayed, and the insertion of the interleaving paper is completed. As described above, in the present embodiment, when the inserted paper image is inserted between the adjacent preview images by the drag operation of the user, the inserted paper image is set as the interleaving paper.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a method of setting a paper feed location for the insert paper.

FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a screen displaying a main body image 309 of the image forming apparatus in order to set a paper feed location.

As shown in FIG. 6A, a guide 308 for setting the paper for the inserted interleaving paper and a main body image 309 of the image forming apparatus are displayed on the upper part of the object display area 303 of the touch screen display 200.

FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a paper feed location setting operation.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the user touches any of the paper cassette portions 102 to 104, the bypass tray portion 105, and the inserter 106 of the main body image 309 to insert the paper cassette for interleaving paper. select. FIG. 6B shows an example in which the paper cassette unit 102 is selected.

FIG. 6C is a diagram showing details of paper setting.

As shown in FIG. 6C, when the interleaving paper cassette is selected, the interleaving paper can be set from the paper information registered in advance in the MFP unit 101 for the selected paper cassette unit 102. The form registration information 315 is displayed.

Then, when completing the insertion paper setting, the user presses the setting completion key 316, and when canceling the insertion paper setting, presses the setting release key 317.

As described above, the insertion of the interleaving paper can be set by operating the touch screen display 200 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. When setting the insertion of the second and subsequent sheets of interleaving paper, the operation of inserting the interleaving paper of FIGS. 5 (B) to 5 (D) is repeated. In this case, since the paper feed location for the interleaving paper has already been set by setting the paper feed location for the first sheet of interleaving paper, the operation described with reference to FIG. 6 becomes unnecessary. In this way, the display unit displays a paper feed image indicating each of the plurality of paper feed means included in the image forming apparatus 90 on the display unit, and feeds the insert paper set as the interleaving paper or the chapter paper. Let the user select from the paper feed images displayed in. The paper feed image here is an image showing the manual feed tray portion 105, the paper cassette portions 102 to 104, and the inserter 106 included in the main body image 309.

7 (A) and 7 (B) are diagrams for explaining a method of inserting the chapter paper.

In FIG. 7A, drag the touch screen display 200 from the position where the insert paper preview image 306 is displayed to the position of the preview image 302E of the object display area 303 so that the preview images overlap, and finger at that position. Release. By doing so, the position where the chapter paper is inserted is determined.

As shown in FIG. 7B, a preview image 318 of the chapter paper indicating that the chapter paper has been inserted at the position of the preview image 302E of the object display area 303 of the touch screen display 200 is displayed, and the chapter paper is inserted. Is completed.

The character E shown in the preview image 302E is printed on the chapter paper inserted here, as in the preview image 318 of the chapter paper. The next paper feed location setting operation performed by the user is the same operation as that shown in FIG. As described above, in the present embodiment, when the inserted paper image is superimposed on the preview image by the drag operation of the user, the superimposed preview image is set as the chapter paper.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method of releasing the insertion of the interleaving paper and the chapter paper.

FIG. 8A is a diagram for explaining a method of releasing the insertion of the interleaving paper.

In FIG. 8A, when canceling the inserted interleaving paper as shown in the interleaving paper preview image 307 of FIG. 5D, the interleaving paper preview image 307 is selected as shown in FIG. 8A. , Move out of the object display area 303 by dragging.

FIG. 8B is a diagram for explaining a method of releasing the insertion of the chapter paper.

Similarly, in FIG. 8 (B), when the inserted chapter paper is released as shown in the preview image 318 of the chapter paper shown in FIG. 7 (B), the preview image 318 of the chapter paper is displayed as shown in FIG. 8 (B). Select and move to the outside of the object display area 303 by dragging.

FIG. 8C is a diagram showing a screen in which the interleaving paper and the chapter paper are released.

When the interleaving paper or the chapter paper is released, the preview display 301 before insertion as shown in FIG. 8C is displayed. As a result, the insert paper setting can be canceled for each page, as opposed to the above-mentioned method of canceling the insert paper setting using the setting release key 317. As described above, in the present embodiment, the preview image corresponding to the insert paper set as the interleaving paper or the chapter paper is moved out of the predetermined range (outside the object display area 303) by the drag operation of the user. When, cancel the setting as a slip sheet or a chapter sheet.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of printing processing executed by the operation control unit 205 and the CPU 212 in FIG. The processing by the operation control unit 205 is performed by the CPU of the operation control unit 205 reading and executing the program stored in the memory 207. Further, the processing by the CPU 212 of the MFP unit 101 is performed by the CPU 212 reading the program stored in the ROM 213 into the memory 216 and executing the processing.

In FIG. 9, the arrow shown between the two flowcharts is the communication performed via the wireless communication line 221. While the communication from either the operation terminal 100 or the MFP unit 101 does not come, the other It is assumed that the processing has stopped.

In the operation terminal 100, the operation control unit 205 displays various setting screens (not shown) such as a scan setting and a scan start on the touch screen display 200 (step S101). At this time, the softkey images for various settings to be displayed on the setting screen are stored in the memory 207 of the operation terminal 100 in advance with a program for displaying them.

Then, when the MFP unit 101 is operated, the setting screen is displayed on the touch screen display 200 by reading the program from the memory 207 and executing the program.

Next, when the user specifies to start scanning the document on the touch screen display 200 (YES in step S102), the operation control unit 205 transmits a scan start request indicating the start of document scanning to the MFP unit 101. Then, the processing of the operation terminal 100 is in a waiting state.

Since the scanning start request is transmitted from the operation terminal 100 via the wireless communication line 221, the MFP unit 101 receives this, and the CPU 212 makes a document reading start request to the scanner unit 218 to start the scanning operation ( Step S103). Then, the scan data generated by the scanner unit 218 is stored in the memory 216.

The scan data stored in the memory 216 is sent to the image processing unit 214, and the CPU 212 generates preview image data after performing various image processing (step S104). The generated preview image data is stored in the memory 216 again, and the preview image data stored in the memory 216 by the CPU 212 is transmitted to the operation terminal 100 via the wireless communication line 221.

The operation control unit 205 of the operation terminal 100 receives the preview image data transferred from the MFP unit 101 and stores it in the memory 207 of the operation terminal 100. After that, the operation control unit 205 displays the touch screen display 200 as a preview of a plurality of pages as shown in FIG. 4 (step S105). This step S105 corresponds to the preview image display means.

Next, the operation control unit 205 determines whether or not the start of the insert paper setting is specified by the touch screen display 200 (step S106).

As a result of the determination in step S106, if the start of the insert paper setting is not specified on the touch screen display 200 (NO in step S106), the process proceeds to step S109.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S106, when the start of the insert paper setting is specified on the touch screen display 200 (YES in step S106), the process proceeds to step S107. Then, the operation control unit 205 switches the display screen of the operation terminal 100 to the preview display for setting the insert paper shown in FIG. 5A (step S107).

Then, the operation control unit 205 executes the insert paper setting process for setting the insert paper based on the operation on the preview image for the insert paper setting shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 (step S108). This insertion paper designation process will be described later. Further, this step S108 corresponds to the insert paper setting means.

Next, the operation control unit 205 determines whether or not the start of the print setting other than the insert paper setting is specified on the touch screen display 200 (step S109). In this case, the print settings other than the insert paper setting are set by pressing the other print setting key 305.

As a result of the determination in step S109, if the start of print settings other than the insert paper setting is not specified (NO in step S109), the process proceeds to step S112.

On the other hand, when the start of print settings other than the insert paper setting is specified as a result of the determination in step S109 (YES in step S109), the operation control unit 205 performs a preview display for other print settings on the display screen (YES). Step S110). Next, various print settings are made through the preview operation for other print settings.

Then, the operation control unit 205 determines whether or not the completion of all print settings is specified on the operation screen (not shown) of the touch screen display 200 (step S112).

As a result of the determination in step S112, if all the print settings have not been completed (NO in step S112), the process returns to step S106.

On the other hand, when all the print settings are completed as a result of the determination in step S112 (YES in step S112), the operation control unit 205 displays a print operation start window (not shown) on the touch screen display 200 (step S113). ..

Then, when the print start is specified in the print operation start window display (YES in step S114), the operation control unit 205 sends the above-mentioned various print setting information and the print start request to the MFP unit 101 via the wireless communication line 221. Send to. Then, the printing process at the operation terminal 100 is completed.

On the other hand, the CPU 212 of the MFP unit 101 transfers the print setting information and the print start request from the operation terminal 100 via the wireless communication line 221. Therefore, the MFP unit 101 receives these and prints based on the print setting information. (Step S115). Then, the printing process in the MFP unit 101 is completed.

According to the process of FIG. 9, when the inserted paper image is inserted between the adjacent preview images by the drag operation of the user, the inserted paper image is set as the interleaving paper and the inserted paper image is added to the preview image. When they are overlapped, the superimposed preview image is set as a chapter paper. As a result, the setting of the interleaving paper or the insertion paper including the insertion paper for the image forming apparatus can be realized by an intuitive operation close to the image of the actual insertion operation.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the insert paper setting process in step S108 in the printing process of FIG. The process of FIG. 10 is a process performed by the operation control unit 205, and is performed by the CPU of the operation control unit 205 reading and executing the program stored in the memory 207.

Steps S201 to S205 in FIG. 10 are processes related to the insertion setting of the interleaving paper.

In FIG. 10, it is determined whether or not the insertion of the interleaving paper described in FIGS. 5A to 5D is detected in the preview display for setting the insert paper (step S201).

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5C, it is determined whether or not a drag operation for moving the preview image 302 of the insertion paper between the two pages of the preview image 302 of the object display area 303 has been performed.

If the insertion of the interleaving paper is not detected as a result of the determination in step S201 (NO in step S201), the process proceeds to step S206.

On the other hand, when the insertion of the interleaving paper is detected as a result of the determination in step S201 (YES in step S201), the display of the touch screen display 200 is changed to the preview image after the interleaving paper is inserted as shown in FIG. 5 (D). Update. Then, the insertion position of the interleaving paper is set by storing the insertion position information of the interleaving paper in the memory 207 of the operation terminal 100 (step S202).

With reference to the insertion paper setting information of the memory 207 of the operation terminal 100, it is determined whether or not the interleaving paper has been set (step S203).

As a result of the determination in step S203, if the interleaving paper has already been set (YES in step S203), the process proceeds to step S213.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S203, when the interleaving paper has not been set (NO in step S203), the interleaving paper setting screen shown in FIG. 6A is displayed on the touch screen display 200 (step). S204).

Next, when it is detected that the user specifies the selection of the paper cassette section of the interleaving paper as shown in FIG. 6B, the MFP section sends a transfer request for the paper registration information registered in advance in the MFP section 101 to the designated paper cassette section. Send to 101. This form registration information will be described with reference to FIG. 11 below.

Then, the paper registration information received from the MFP unit 101 is stored in the memory 207 of the operation terminal 100 as the insertion setting of the interleaving paper, and the interleaving paper registration information 315 is displayed on the touch screen display 200 as shown in FIG. 6C. To do. In this way, the paper cassette portion and type of the interleaving paper are set (step S205).

Then, it is determined whether or not the insertion paper setting completion key 316 described in FIG. 6C is pressed by the user, that is, whether or not the insertion paper setting is completed (step S213).

As a result of the determination in step S213, if the insertion paper setting is not completed (NO in step S213), the process proceeds to step S201, and if the insertion paper setting is completed (YES in step S213), this process ends. To do.

Returning to step S201, if the insertion of the interleaving paper is not detected as a result of the determination in step S201 (NO in step S201), it is determined whether or not the insertion of the chapter paper is detected (step S206).

Steps S206 to S210 are processes related to the insertion setting of the chapter paper. The difference from the insert paper setting processing S201 to S205 of the interleaving paper is that in step S206, the preview display for the insert paper setting described with reference to FIGS. 5 (C) and 5 (D) and FIGS. 7 (A) and 7 (B). It is a point to detect whether or not the insertion operation of is performed.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7A, has the drag operation of moving the insert paper preview image 306 so as to overlap with any page of the BR> V review image 302 of the object display area 303? Please detect.

If the insertion of the chapter paper is not detected as a result of the determination in step S206 (NO in step S206), the process proceeds to step S211.

On the other hand, when the insertion of the chapter paper is detected as a result of the determination in step S206 (YES in step S206), the display of the touch screen display 200 is changed to the preview image after the chapter paper is inserted as shown in FIG. 7B. Update. Then, the chapter paper insertion position is set by storing the chapter paper insertion position information in the memory 207 of the operation terminal 100 (step S207).

With reference to the insertion paper setting information of the memory 207 of the operation terminal 100, it is determined whether or not the chapter paper has been set (step S208).

As a result of the determination in step S208, if the chapter paper has already been set (YES in step S208), the process proceeds to step S213.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S208, when the paper for the chapter paper has not been set (NO in step S208), the paper setting screen for the chapter paper is displayed on the touch screen display 200 (step S209).

Next, when the designation of the selection of the paper cassette section of the chapter paper is detected, the transfer request of the paper registration information registered in advance in the MFP section 101 in the designated paper cassette section is transmitted to the MFP section 101.

Then, the paper registration information received from the MFP unit 101 is stored in the memory 207 of the operation terminal 100 as the chapter paper insertion setting, and the paper registration information 315 of the chapter paper is displayed on the touch screen display 200. In this way, the paper cassette portion and type of the chapter paper are set (step S210), and the process proceeds to step S213.

Returning to step S206, if the insertion of the chapter paper is not detected as a result of the determination in step S206 (NO in step S206), the process proceeds to step S211. Then, it is determined whether or not the release of the insert paper described with reference to FIGS. 8 (A) and 8 (B) is detected in the preview display for setting the insert paper into which the interleaving paper or the chapter paper is inserted (step S211).

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the preview image 307 of the interleaving paper or the preview image 318 of the chapter paper inserted in the object display area 303 is moved out of the object display area 303. Detects if a drag operation has been performed.

If the release of the insert paper is not detected as a result of the determination in step S211 (NO in step S211), this process ends.

On the other hand, when the release of the insert paper is detected as a result of the determination in step S211 (YES in step S211), the display of the touch screen display 200 is changed to the preview display after the release of the insert paper setting as shown in FIG. 8C. Update. Then, by erasing the insert paper setting information of the insert paper whose setting has been canceled from the memory 207 of the operation terminal 100, the insert paper setting is canceled (step S212), and the process proceeds to step S213.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of paper registration information.

In FIG. 11, the paper registration information 602 includes colored paper A in the paper cassette 1, colored paper B in the paper cassette 2, colored paper C in the paper cassette 3, and tab paper registered in the bypass tray portion 105, and the inserter 106 It is shown that it is not registered in.

The paper cassette 1 corresponds to the paper cassette unit 102, the paper cassette 2 corresponds to the paper cassette unit 102, and the paper cassette 3 corresponds to the paper cassette unit 104.

As described above, in the paper registration information 602, the types of paper corresponding to each of the cassette unit, the bypass tray, and the inserter are registered.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the insertion position of the interleaving paper or the chapter paper can be determined by the operation of inserting the insert paper between the original pages or the operation of stacking the insert paper on the original pages on the preview display. Therefore, the insertion setting of the interleaving paper and the chapter paper can be executed more intuitively.

[Second Embodiment]
The first embodiment is a preview display for setting an insert paper specialized for single-sided printing. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the insertion paper setting method suitable for the double-sided printing setting will be described with the same configuration as that described in FIGS. 1 to 3 of the first embodiment.

First, a concept will be described in which the user intuitively operates the insertion paper setting in the preview function of the touch screen display 200 by using the operation means of the touch screen display method.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a setting method at the time of setting double-sided printing.

FIG. 12A is a diagram showing a preview display of scan data displayed on the touch screen display 200.

In the preview display 301 in FIG. 12A, in addition to the preview display shown in FIG. 4, the double-sided setting key 401 is displayed. When the double-sided setting key 401 is pressed, the double-sided printing setting shown in FIG. 12B is obtained.

FIG. 12B is a diagram showing a preview display of scan data displayed on the touch screen display 200 when double-sided printing is set.

In FIG. 12B, a plurality of pages of preview images 402 are displayed in the object display area 303 so that two pages are paired on the front and back sides. For example, as shown in FIG. 12B, preview images 402A and 402B, 402C and 402D, 402E and 402F, and the like are paired on the front and back during double-sided printing.

Further, in addition to the preview image 402 of a plurality of pages of the front and back pair, the single-sided setting key 403 is arranged. This single-sided setting key 403 is displayed in place of the double-sided setting key 401, and when the single-sided setting key 403 is pressed, the single-sided printing is set, and the preview display at the time of single-sided printing setting in FIG. 12A is displayed. The display switches.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a preview display for setting the insert paper at the time of setting double-sided printing displayed on the touch screen display 200.

The preview display for setting the insert paper at the time of setting double-sided printing is displayed when the insert paper setting is selected by the touch operation of the insert paper setting key 304 of the preview display 301 of FIG. 12B. As described above, in the present embodiment, when the printed matter is printed on both sides, the display unit is clearly shown to have one set of preview images showing two pages printed on one sheet of recording paper. Display the preview image. Here, the broken line clearly indicates that there is one set of preview images showing the two pages.

FIG. 13A is an initial screen of the preview display for setting the insert paper.

In FIG. 13A, as in FIG. 5A, the insert paper preview image 306 is displayed at the upper part of the object display area 303.

FIG. 13B is a diagram showing a scroll operation.

As shown in FIG. 13 (B), the display of the preview image 402 on a plurality of pages can be moved by performing a touch operation of scrolling the object display area 303 from right to left as in FIG. 5 (B).

FIG. 13C is a diagram showing an operation of inserting the interleaving paper.

When inserting the interleaving paper, drag the touch screen display 200 from the position of the insert paper preview image 306 to the position between the preview images 402D and 402E of the object display area 303 as shown in FIG. 13C. Release your finger at that position. As described above, in the present embodiment, when the insert paper image is inserted between the adjacent sets, the insert paper image is set as the interleaving paper.

FIG. 13 (D) is a diagram showing a state in which the interleaving paper is inserted.

As shown in FIG. 13 (D), the preview images 404A and 404B of the two pages of the front and back sheets inserted at the positions between the preview images 402D and 402E in the object display area of the touch screen display 200 are displayed. , Insertion of interleaving paper is completed.

At this time, since the image of the original page is not printed on the interleaving paper, the position where it can be inserted is between the back surface of the previous page and the front surface of the next page, such as between the preview images 402B and 402C and between 402D and 402E. Only limited. That is, the operation control unit 205 detects that the interleaving paper has been inserted by the insertion operation between the back surface of the previous page and the front surface of the next page.

14 (A) to 14 (D) are diagrams for explaining a method of inserting the chapter paper.

On the preview screen of the insert paper setting, the operation of moving the display of the preview image 402 according to the position where the insert paper is desired to be inserted is the same as the case of the interleaving paper of FIGS. 13A and 13B.

The chapter paper can print the image of the manuscript page on one side or both sides of the front or back. When printing the image of the original page on the surface of the chapter paper, as shown in FIG. 14A, the preview image is moved from the position of the insert paper preview image 306 to the position of the preview image 402E on the front page of the object display area 303. Drag so that they overlap, and release your finger at that position.

By doing so, the characters E of the preview image 302E are printed on the front surface as shown in FIG. 14B, and the preview images 405A and 405B of the chapter paper which are blank on the back surface are displayed.

Further, in the pages after the preview image 402F, the pages after the preview image 402F are shifted by one page by the amount that the preview image 405B of the blank chapter paper is inserted with respect to the preview image 402 in FIG. 14 (B). ..

When printing the image of the original page on the back side of the chapter paper, as shown in FIG. 14C, the preview image is moved from the position of the insert paper preview image 306 to the position of the preview image 402F on the front page of the object display area 303. Drag so that they overlap, and release your finger at that position.

By doing so, as shown in FIG. 14 (D), the character F of the preview image 302F is printed on the back surface, and the preview images 405C and 405D of the chapter paper on the front surface are displayed. Further, a blank preview image 406 is further inserted on the back surface of the preview image 402E.

15 (A) and 15 (B) are diagrams for explaining a method of printing on both sides of the chapter paper.

When printing the image of the original page on both sides of the chapter paper, drag the image from the position of the insert paper preview image 306 to the position between the preview images 402E and 402F of the object display area 303 as shown in FIG. 15A. Release your finger at that position.

By doing so, as shown in FIG. 15B, the preview images 405E and 405F of the chapter paper in which the character E of the preview image 302E is printed on the front surface and the character F of the preview image 302F is printed on the back surface are displayed. To.

As described above, when inserting the chapter paper during double-sided printing, the operation control unit 205 detects the insertion of the chapter paper to be printed on only one side by moving to the original page to be printed on the chapter paper, and the front and back sides of the original page. Detects the insertion of chapter paper to be printed on both sides by moving between pages.

Since the paper setting method for the interleaving paper or the chapter paper in the second embodiment is the same as the method described with reference to FIG. 6, the description thereof will be omitted. As described above, in the present embodiment, when the insert paper image is superimposed on the preview image of one of the preview images of the same set, the superimposed preview image is set as the chapter paper. When the inserted paper image is superimposed on any of the preview images of the same set, two preview images of the same set are set as the chapter paper.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a procedure of printing processing executed by the operation control unit 205 and the CPU 212 in FIG. The processing by the operation control unit 205 is performed by the CPU of the operation control unit 205 reading and executing the program stored in the memory 207. Further, the processing by the CPU 212 of the MFP unit 101 is performed by the CPU 212 reading the program stored in the ROM 213 into the memory 216 and executing the processing.

Steps S301 to 305 in FIG. 16 are the same processes as steps S101 to 105 in FIG. Further, steps S314 to 320 are the same processes as steps S109 to 115. Further, steps S312 and 313 are the same processes as steps S107 and 108.

Therefore, since steps S306 to 310 are different, these processes will be described.

The operation control unit 205 of the operation terminal 100 determines whether or not the double-sided printing setting is specified (step S306). Here, by pressing the coordinates of the double-sided setting key 401 shown in FIG. 12 (A), the double-sided printing setting is specified.

When the double-sided printing setting is specified as a result of the determination in step S306 (YES in step S306), the operation control unit 205 previews the plurality of pages at the time of double-sided setting as shown in FIG. 12B on the touch screen display 200. Display (step S307).

Next, the operation control unit 205 determines whether or not the start of the insert paper setting is specified by the touch screen display 200 (step S308). If the start of the insert paper setting is not specified as a result of the determination in step S308 (NO in step S308), the process proceeds to step S314.

On the other hand, if the start of the insert paper setting is specified as a result of the determination in step S308 (YES in step S308), the process proceeds to step S309. Then, the operation control unit 205 switches the display screen of the touch screen display 200 to the preview display for setting the insert paper for both sides shown in FIG. 13A (step S309).

Then, the operation control unit 205 executes the double-sided insert paper setting process for setting the insert paper based on the operation on the preview image for the insert paper setting shown in FIGS. 13 to 15 (step S310). This double-sided insertion paper designation process will be described later.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the insert paper setting process in step S310 in the print process of FIG. FIG. 17 shows the processing in the operation control unit 205, and the processing by the operation control unit 205 is performed by the CPU of the operation control unit 205 reading and executing the program stored in the memory 207.

Steps S401 to 405 and 418 in FIG. 17 are the same processes as steps S201 to 205 and 213 in FIG. Further, steps S421 to 414 are the same processes as steps S208 to 210. Therefore, steps S406 to 411,415 to 417 are different, and these processes will be described.

These different processes are processes for detecting whether or not an insertion operation has been performed when printing on the front side, the back side, and both sides of the chapter paper in the insert paper setting preview display when both sides are set.

In FIG. 17, the operation control unit 205 determines whether or not the insertion of the chapter paper for printing the front surface is detected (step S406). If, as a result of the determination in step S406, the insertion of the chapter paper for printing the front surface is not detected (NO in step S406), the process proceeds to step S408.

On the other hand, when the insertion of the chapter paper for printing the front surface is detected as a result of the determination in step S406 (YES in step S406), the operation control unit 205 displays the touch screen display 200 as shown in FIG. 14 (B). Update to the preview image after inserting the chapter paper. Further, the operation control unit 205 sets the insertion position of the chapter paper by storing the insertion position information of the chapter paper for surface printing in the memory 207 of the operation terminal 100 (step S407), and proceeds to step S412.

Returning to step S408, the operation control unit 205 determines whether or not the insertion of the chapter paper to be printed on the back surface is detected (step S408). If, as a result of the determination in step S408, the insertion of the chapter paper to be printed on the back side is not detected (NO in step S408), the process proceeds to step S410.

On the other hand, when the insertion of the chapter paper to be printed on the back surface is detected as a result of the determination in step S408 (YES in step S408), the operation control unit 205 displays the touch screen display 200 as shown in FIG. 14 (D). Update to the preview image after inserting the chapter paper. Further, the operation control unit 205 sets the insertion position of the chapter paper by storing the insertion position information of the chapter paper printed on the back side in the memory 207 of the operation terminal 100 (step S409), and proceeds to step S412.

Returning to step S410, the operation control unit 205 determines whether or not the insertion of the chapter paper for printing both sides is detected (step S410). If, as a result of the determination in step S410, the insertion of the chapter paper for printing both sides is not detected (NO in step S410), the process proceeds to step S415.

On the other hand, when the insertion of the chapter paper for printing both sides is detected as a result of the determination in step S410 (YES in step S410), the operation control unit 205 displays the touch screen display 200 as shown in FIG. 15 (B). Update to the preview image after inserting the chapter paper. Further, the operation control unit 205 sets the insertion position of the chapter paper by storing the insertion position information of the chapter paper for double-sided printing in the memory 207 of the operation terminal 100 (step S411), and proceeds to step S412.

Returning to step S415, when the release of the insert paper is detected as a result of the determination in step S415 (YES in step S415), the operation control unit 205 shifts the display of the touch screen display 200 to the preview display after the insert paper setting is released. Update. Then, the operation control unit 205 cancels the insert paper setting (step S417) by erasing the insert paper setting information of the insert paper whose setting has been canceled from the memory 207 of the operation terminal 100, and proceeds to step S418.

According to the process described above, an intuitive insertion paper setting operation can be performed even when double-sided printing is set.

[Third Embodiment]
In the first and second embodiments, it is determined whether the insert paper is a slip sheet or a chapter paper depending on the insertion destination of the insert paper preview image with respect to the original page. In the third embodiment, a method of setting the insert paper in the case of setting the type of the insert paper in advance will be described with the same configuration as that described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 of the first embodiment.

18 (A) to 18 (C) are views showing a paper selection screen of the insert paper.

In FIG. 18, first, in order to set the paper type of the insert paper, as shown in FIG. 18A, the paper setting guide 501 and the main body image 502 of the image forming apparatus 90 are displayed. In response to this display, the user touches any of the paper cassette units 102 to 104, the bypass tray unit 105, and the inserter 106 of the main body image 502 to select a paper feed location for the inserted paper.

FIG. 18B shows an example in which the paper cassette unit 102 is selected. At that time, the paper registration information 508 of the selected paper cassette unit 102 is displayed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 18C, the guide 509 for selecting the type of insert paper, the preview image 510 of the chapter paper, and the preview image 511 of the interleaving paper are displayed. In response to this display, the user selects the type of insert paper by touching either the preview image 510 of the chapter paper or the preview image 511 of the interleaving paper as shown in FIG. 18C.

FIG. 18C shows an example in which the interleaving paper is selected. At that time, the paper setting information 512 is displayed, and the paper setting information of the inserted paper is stored in the memory 207 in the operation terminal 100. As described above, in the present embodiment, before the insert paper image is displayed, a paper feed image indicating each of the plurality of paper feed means included in the image forming apparatus 90 is displayed on the display unit, and the insert paper is fed. Let the user select the paper feed means to be output from the paper feed images displayed on the display unit.

19 (A) to 19 (D) are diagrams for explaining a method of setting the insert paper from the paper cassette portion of the main body image 513.

FIG. 19A is a preview display for setting the insert paper displayed on the touch screen display 200. In the preview display for setting the insert paper here, the paper setting information 512 of the insert paper and the main body image 513 set in advance are displayed.

In the main body image 513, the paper cassette unit 102 and the manual feed tray unit 105 are displayed in color according to the paper cassette information (paper cassette 1 for interleaving paper and manual feed tray for chapter paper) described in the paper setting information 512. .. The insert paper preview image displayed here is the above-mentioned paper feed image showing each of the plurality of paper feed means included in the image forming apparatus 90.

Further, as shown in FIG. 19B, the preview display can be moved by scrolling.

When inserting the interleaving paper here, as shown in FIG. 19C, the preview image 402D on the front page of the object display area 303 is displayed from the position of the paper cassette unit 102 of the main body image 513 registered in the interleaving paper cassette. Drag between 402E and release your finger at that position.

By doing so, as shown in FIG. 19D, the preview image 516 of the interleaving paper is displayed between the preview images 402D and 402E.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a procedure of the insert paper setting process executed by the operation control unit 205 in FIG. The process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 20 is performed by the CPU of the operation control unit 205 reading and executing the program stored in the memory 207.

In FIG. 20, the paper cassette of the insert paper is set according to the screen display shown in FIG. 18 (step S501). The point that the paper setting of the insert paper is performed first is different from the first and second embodiments.

Next, in the preview display for setting the insert paper, the operation control unit 205 determines whether or not the insertion of the interleaving paper described with reference to FIGS. 19A to 19D has been detected (step S502).

In the previous embodiments, the type of insert paper is detected at the position of the insertion destination in the preview image of a plurality of pages. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the insertion operation is started from the position of the paper cassette unit 102 in which the interleaving paper is registered as shown in FIG. 19C. That is, the type of insert paper is detected at the position where the insert paper is inserted.

When the insertion of the interleaving paper is detected as a result of the determination in step S502 (YES in step S502), the operation control unit 205 displays the touch screen display 200 as a preview image after the interleaving paper is inserted as shown in FIG. 19 (D). Update to. Then, the operation control unit 205 sets the insertion position of the interleaving paper by storing the insertion position information of the interleaving paper in the memory 207 of the operation terminal 100 (step S503).

Subsequent steps S504 and 505 correspond to steps S206 to S210 of FIG. 10, and steps S506 and 507 correspond to steps S21 and 1212. Further, step S508 corresponds to step S213.

As described above, an intuitive insertion operation can also be realized by a method of inserting an insert paper preview image in which paper information is set in advance.

[Fourth Embodiment]
In the first to third embodiments, the user sets the paper for the insert paper according to the screen display of the operation terminal 100.

In the fourth embodiment, the paper setting of the insert paper of the user is simplified and the paper type of the insert paper is determined more intuitively with the same configuration as that described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 of the first embodiment. The method of doing this will be described.

21 (A) to 21 (D) are diagrams for explaining a method of setting the insert paper from the paper set in the paper cassette unit of the main body image 513.

FIG. 21A is a preview display of the insert paper setting according to the present embodiment. Unlike the first to third embodiments, in the present embodiment, the insert paper preview images 601A to 601D are displayed on the upper part of the object display area 303 with reference to the paper registration information 602 described with reference to FIG. The insert paper preview image displayed here is an image (insert paper preview images 601A to 601D) based on the information of the recording paper set in the paper feeding means acquired from the image forming apparatus 90.

Further, as shown in FIG. 21 (B), the preview display can be moved by the scroll operation as in the conventional embodiments.

Here, when inserting a chapter paper using colored paper C, drag it from the position of the inserted paper preview image 601C of colored paper C onto the preview image 402E of the object display area 303 so that the pages overlap as shown in FIG. 21 (C). Operate and release your finger at that position. By doing so, the position where the chapter paper is inserted is determined.

Then, as shown in FIG. 21 (D), the preview image 603 of the chapter paper is displayed at the position of the preview image 402E, and the insertion of the chapter paper is completed. In the case of interleaving paper, the insert paper preview image may be selected by the above method, and the same operation as that described in the first embodiment may be performed.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a procedure of printing processing executed by the operation control unit 205 and the CPU 212 in FIG. The processing by the operation control unit 205 is performed by the CPU of the operation control unit 205 reading and executing the program stored in the memory 207. Further, the processing by the CPU 212 of the MFP unit 101 is performed by the CPU 212 reading the program stored in the ROM 213 into the memory 216 and executing the processing.

Steps S601 to 605 in FIG. 22 are the same processes as steps S101 to 105 in FIG. Further, steps S612 to 618 are the same processes as steps S109 to 115.

Therefore, since steps S606 to 611 are different, these processes will be described.

In FIG. 22, the operation control unit 205 determines whether or not the start of the insert paper setting is specified by the touch screen display 200 as in the past (step S606). As a result of the determination in step S606, if the start of the insert paper setting is not specified (NO in step S606), the process proceeds to step S612.

On the other hand, if the start of the insert paper setting is specified as a result of the determination in step S606 (YES in step S606), the process proceeds to step S607. Then, the operation control unit 205 transmits a paper registration information request requesting paper registration information as a paper candidate for the insert paper to the MFP unit 101 (step S607), and the operation terminal 100 is in a waiting state.

In step S608, the CPU 212 receives the paper registration information request from the operation terminal 100 via the wireless communication line 221 by the MFP unit 101. Then, the paper registration information 602 stored in the memory 216 by the CPU 212 is transmitted to the operation terminal 100 via the wireless communication line 221 (step S608). In step S608, the receiving means for receiving the paper registration information request requesting the information of the recording paper set in the paper feeding means from the operation terminal 100, and the paper feeding means in response to the received paper registration information request. Corresponds to the transmission means for transmitting the information of the set chart paper.

The operation control unit 205 of the operation terminal 100 acquires the paper registration information 602 transmitted from the MFP unit 101 (step S609) and stores it in the memory 207 of the operation terminal 100.

Next, the operation control unit 205 displays a preview for setting the insert paper including the insert paper preview image 601 using the registered paper as shown in FIG. 21 (A) on the touch screen display 200 (step S610).

Then, the operation control unit 205 executes the insert paper setting process for setting the insert paper based on the operation on the preview image for the insert paper setting shown in FIG. 21 (step S611). This insertion paper designation process will be described later.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the insert paper setting process in step S611 in the print process of FIG. 22. The process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 23 is a process in the operation terminal 100, and is performed by the CPU of the operation control unit 205 reading and executing the program stored in the memory 207.

In the preview display for setting the insert paper, the operation control unit 205 determines whether or not the insertion of the interleaving paper described with reference to FIGS. 21 (A) to 21 (D) is detected (step S701).

In the previous embodiments, the type of insert paper and the insertion position have been detected in this process. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 21D, the paper type of the insert paper is detected from the insertion source of the insert paper preview image, and the type of the insert paper is detected from the insertion destination of the preview image of the original. Is realized only by the user's drag operation.

If the insertion of the interleaving paper is not detected as a result of the determination in step S701 (NO in step S701), the process proceeds to step S703.

On the other hand, when the insertion of the interleaving paper is detected as a result of the determination in step S701 (YES in step S701), the operation control unit 205 displays the touch screen display 200 by inserting the interleaving paper as shown in FIG. 21 (D). Update to a later preview image. Then, the insertion position information of the interleaving paper and the paper type of the interleaving paper are stored in the memory 207 of the operation terminal 100 to set the insertion position of the interleaving paper (step S702), and the process proceeds to step S707.

Subsequent steps S703 and 704 correspond to steps S206 to S210 of FIG. 10, and steps S705 and 706 correspond to steps S211 and 1212. Further, step S707 corresponds to step S213.

As described above, in the present embodiment, on the preview display, the user selects a candidate paper type for the insert paper and inserts the selected insert paper into the preview of the manuscript page to insert the insert paper. You can more intuitively determine the paper type and insertion position.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is also realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is supplied to the system or device via a network or various storage media, and the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads the program code. This is the process to be executed. In this case, the program and the storage medium storing the program constitute the present invention.

90 Image forming device 100 Operation terminal 200 Touch screen display 201 Touch screen 202 Liquid crystal display 205 Operation control unit 207, 216 Memory 212 CPU
213 ROM
215 Preview image generation unit 217 Printer unit 218 Scanner unit

Claims (4)

A display control means for displaying a preview image of a plurality of pages including a first object indicating the first printing paper and a second object indicating the second printing paper.
The user touches the operation screen on which the first object and the second object are displayed, and the first printing paper and the second printing paper are based on a touch operation for designating an insertion position of the insertion paper. A means for determining the positional relationship between the printing paper and the insert paper ,
Have,
The display control means has the first object and the object indicating the insertion paper before designating the insertion position in response to the touch operation for changing the display position of the preview image of the plurality of pages on the operation screen. There line control for changing the display position of the preview image as the relative position of the second object is changed, further, the display control means may display an object that indicates the paper feed unit of the print setting apparatus,
In the determination means, the printing paper stored in the paper feed unit is used as the insertion paper for the plurality of pages in accordance with a touch operation from the object indicating the paper feed unit to the area where the preview image of the plurality of pages is displayed. A print setting device characterized in determining the insertion position to be inserted . The display control means is said to have fixed the display position of the object indicating the insertion paper before designating the insertion position in response to the touch operation for changing the display position of the preview image of the plurality of pages. The print setting device according to claim 1, wherein the control is performed to change the display position of the preview image so that the display positions of the object 1 and the second object change. A display control step of displaying a preview image of a plurality of pages including a first object indicating the first printing paper and a second object indicating the second printing paper.
The user touches the operation screen on which the first object and the second object are displayed, and the first printing paper and the second printing paper are based on a touch operation for designating an insertion position of the insertion paper. The decision process that determines the positional relationship between the printing paper and the insert paper ,
Have,
In the display control step, the first object and the object indicating the insertion paper before specifying the insertion position in response to the touch operation for changing the display position of the preview image of the plurality of pages on the operation screen. There line control for changing the display position of the preview image as the relative position of the second object is changed, further, in the display control step, to display the object indicating the paper feeding unit of the printing setting device,
In the determination step, the printing paper stored in the paper feed unit is used as the insert paper for the plurality of pages according to the touch operation from the object indicating the paper feed unit to the area where the preview image of the plurality of pages is displayed. A method of controlling a print setting device, which comprises determining an insertion position to be inserted . A program for causing a computer to execute the control method of the print setting device according to claim 3 .

Images