JP7435116B2 - Image forming device and image forming device control program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a control program for the image forming apparatus.

Some image forming apparatuses have a function of additionally forming a page number or title in an area different from a body area in which images, text, etc. are formed. Regarding the technology related to such an image forming apparatus, Patent Document 1 listed below has the following description. In other words, "The CPU of the central processing unit 201 sends to the printer driver 305 information on the presence or absence of a header footer determined in step S704 and information on the header and footer area (specifically, size information) calculated in step S705. Perform settings. ...The CPU of the central processing unit 201 determines whether a header is set for the document by referring to information set in the printer driver 305. ...A header is set. If it is determined that this is the case, the CPU of the central processing unit 201 instructs the printer driver 305 to instruct the printer 302 to print and output the header section of the document.''

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-121942

However, in such image forming apparatuses, after the header and footer area information is set in the printer driver, the header and footer printing settings cannot be changed. Therefore, if you want to correct or change the print settings for a header or footer while a job is being executed, it is necessary to stop the job and reset the print conditions.

Therefore, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus and a control program for the image forming apparatus that can change the image forming conditions for each image forming area of a recording medium without stopping the job even while the job is being executed. The purpose is to provide.

To achieve such an object, the present invention includes an image forming section that forms an image on a recording medium, and a system for setting image forming conditions for a plurality of image forming areas set on each page of the recording medium. an operating section, a setting holding section that holds the image forming conditions set by the operating section, and a drive control section that controls driving of the image forming section based on the image forming conditions acquired from the setting holding section. The drive control section reacquires the image forming conditions set on the operation section each time an image is formed on each image forming area of the recording medium, and the drive control section reacquires the image forming conditions set on the operation section. The image forming apparatus forms an image in each of the image forming areas based on image forming conditions.

According to the present invention, an image forming apparatus and a control program for the image forming apparatus are capable of changing image forming conditions for each image forming area of a recording medium without stopping the job even while the job is being executed. can be provided.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating the arrangement direction of an image forming area with respect to a recording medium in an image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a diagram (part 2) illustrating the arrangement direction of an image forming area with respect to a recording medium in an image forming apparatus. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for setting image forming conditions in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen for image forming conditions according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a screen for changing image forming conditions according to the embodiment. 1 is a flowchart (Part 1) for explaining a control program for an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. 3 is a flowchart (part 2) for explaining a control program for the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of image formation on a recording medium by the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of image formation on a recording medium by the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment.

An image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied and the implementation of a control program for the image forming apparatus will be described below. In the embodiments described below, an inkjet image forming apparatus will be exemplified as an image forming apparatus, but the present invention is not limited to this and may be applied to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. It is also applicable.

≪Image forming device≫
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 shown in this figure is of an inkjet type, and includes a medium transport section 10, an image forming section 20, a drive control section 30, and a control device 40, and executes image formation on a recording medium P. do. Of these, the medium transport section 10, the image forming section 20, and the drive control section 30 constitute the main body of the image forming apparatus. The configuration of each part of such an image forming apparatus 1 will be explained below.

<Media transport unit 10>
The medium transport unit 10 is for transporting the recording medium P in a predetermined direction. The medium conveying unit 10 is, for example, a belt conveying device, and includes a driving roller 11, a driven roller 12, and an endless belt 13 stretched around these, and rotates the endless belt 13 by rotation of the driving roller 11. The endless belt 13 has a surface facing the image forming section 20 of the outer peripheral surface between the drive roller 11 and the driven roller 12 as a mounting surface 13s for the recording medium P. Such an endless belt 13 conveys the recording medium P supplied onto the mounting surface 13s in the circumferential direction of the endless belt 13 while being attracted to the mounting surface 13s. Note that in the following, the moving direction of the mounting surface 13s of the endless belt 13 is assumed to be the transport direction x of the recording medium P. Further, the explanation will be made assuming that the direction perpendicular to the transport direction x within the plane of the mounting surface 13s is the width direction.

The recording medium P conveyed by such a medium conveyance unit 10 may be, for example, a long sheet-like one that is unwound from a roll and wound up on the roll, but the length of the recording medium P in the conveyance direction x is It may be a fixed value. In addition to paper such as plain paper or coated paper, the recording medium P may be made of various materials capable of fixing ink that has landed on the main surface of the sheet, such as cloth or resin sheet. It's fine. Note that the medium conveyance unit 10 is not limited to a belt conveyance device, but may be in the shape of a drum.

<Image forming section 20>
In this embodiment, the image forming section 20 is for supplying ink to the recording medium P conveyed by the medium conveyance section 10. The image forming section 20 includes a plurality of head units 21 arranged along the conveyance direction x of the recording medium P. In the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, four head units 21 respectively corresponding to four colors of ink, for example, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), are connected to a recording medium. They are arranged in order from the upstream side in the conveyance direction x of P at predetermined intervals.

Each head unit 21 has an ink ejection surface on which nozzle openings of a plurality of ink heads are arranged, and is arranged so that this ink ejection surface faces the mounting surface 13s of the endless belt 13 in the medium conveying section 10. There is. Each such head unit 21 may be of a single-pass type in which the ink ejection surface is arranged across the width direction of the recording medium P conveyed in the medium conveyance section 10. Further, each head unit 21 may be of a scanning type in which the ink ejection surface is freely moved across the width direction.

Such an image forming section 20 forms an image on one main surface of the recording medium P by supplying ink to one main surface of the recording medium P transported in one transport direction x by the medium transport section 10. Form. Such image formation by the image forming unit 20 is performed for each image forming area set in the control device 40, which will be described below, based on image forming conditions set for each image forming area. .

<Drive control section 30>
The drive control unit 30 is a printer driver that controls the drive of each driving part of the medium transport unit 10 and the image forming unit 20 based on signals from a control device 40, which will be described next. The drive control section 30 is configured by a computer. A computer is hardware used as a so-called computer. A computer includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and other memories. Furthermore, the computer is equipped with a non-volatile storage unit and a network interface as required.

One of the controls performed by the drive control unit 30 is to set the image forming conditions for each image forming area from the control device 40 each time an image is formed on each image forming area of the recording medium P. This is control to be reacquired. Further, it is a control for forming an image in each image forming area based on the re-acquired image forming conditions. Such a characteristic control procedure is a control program for the image forming apparatus 1, which is a program stored in advance in the ROM, or a stored program loaded from an external device into the RAM or non-volatile storage. . This control program causes the computer to execute the steps described in the image forming apparatus control method below. The control procedure by the drive control unit 30 will be described in detail in the following description of the method for controlling the image forming apparatus.

<Control device 40>
The control device 40 performs various settings and processes related to image formation performed using the image forming apparatus 1, and also holds information required by the drive control section 30 for image formation. Such a control device 40 is equipped with an operation section 41, a display section 42, and a control section 43, and has an image forming section configured by a medium transport section 10, an image forming section 20, and a drive control section 30. It may be provided integrally with the device main body. Further, such a control device 40 may be a personal computer capable of communicating with the drive control section 30 to exchange data, or an external device such as a printer controller. Each part constituting the control device 40 will be explained below.

[Operation unit 41]
The operation unit 41 is a part for inputting various settings related to image formation performed using the image forming apparatus 1, and is a part for setting image forming conditions for each image forming area of the recording medium P. Such an operation section 41 may be a touch panel provided integrally with the display section 42, or may have operation buttons provided separately from the display section 42. Furthermore, such an operation unit 41 may be a personal computer capable of communicating with a control unit 43 to be described later to exchange data, or an external device such as a printer controller.

Here, one of the various settings made by operating the operation unit 41 is the setting of the arrangement direction of each image forming area set on the recording medium P. 2 and 3 are diagrams (Part 1) and (Part 2) for explaining the arrangement direction of the image forming area A with respect to the recording medium P in the image forming apparatus. As shown in these figures, the image forming area A set on the recording medium P is an area set within each page [p] in one job. These image forming areas A are, in a typical example, areas called a main body area A0 where the main image of the job is formed, and areas called a header area A1 and a footer area A2 that are arranged on both sides of the main body area A0. The header area A1 and the footer area A2 are areas where information regarding the page number, title, and even the image of the main body area A0 is formed.

As shown in FIG. 2, these image forming areas A are arranged in the order of header area A1, main body area A0, and footer area A2 from the downstream side in the conveyance direction x for each page [p] of recording medium P. , or may be arranged in the reverse order. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, for each page [p] of the recording medium P, each image forming area A has a header area A1, a main body area A0, a footer area They may be arranged in the order of area A2.

Note that the image forming area A set for such an image forming section P is not limited to the above, and another area may be further set in the middle part of the main body area A0.

Another of the various settings made by the operation unit 41 is a setting for changing the forming conditions of the image forming area. These settings will be explained in detail in the subsequent image forming apparatus control method.

[Display section 42]
Returning to FIG. 1, the display unit 42 displays the contents of the operation on the operation unit 41, the contents set according to the operation on the operation unit 41, and a change screen for changing the settings according to instructions from the control unit 43. Display according to. Details of the display screen on the display unit 42 will be explained in the following description of the method for controlling the image forming apparatus.

[Control unit 43]
The control unit 43 processes image data related to images to be formed on the recording medium P, controls display on the display unit 42, and sets jobs necessary for control on the drive control unit 30 based on operations on the operation unit 41. implement controls related to Such a control section 43 is configured by a computer, and may be configured integrally with the drive control section 30. Further, the control section 43 may be a personal computer capable of communicating with the drive control section 30 to exchange data, or an external device such as a printer controller.

One of the controls performed by this control unit 43 is a characteristic control described below. Such a characteristic control procedure is a control program for the image forming apparatus 1, which is a program stored in advance in the ROM, or a stored program loaded from an external device into the RAM or non-volatile storage. . This control program causes the computer to execute the steps described in the image forming apparatus control method below.

Such a control section 43 includes a display control section 43a, a processing judgment section 43b, and a setting holding section 43c as functional elements. These functional elements are:

-Display control section 43a-
The display control unit 43a controls the display content on the display unit 42. In particular, the display control section 43a causes the display section 42 to display, at a predetermined timing, a setting screen, a change screen, etc. for image forming conditions for each image forming area, as will be explained in a method for controlling an image forming apparatus below. .

-Processing judgment unit 43b-
The processing determination unit 43b performs various determinations and processes for executing an image forming job using the image forming apparatus 1. The details of the judgment and processing by the processing judgment unit 43b will be explained in the following description of the image forming apparatus control method.

-Setting holding section 43c-
The setting holding unit 43c is a storage unit that holds image forming conditions set by operating the operating unit 41 according to the display on the display unit 42. This setting holding section 43c may be configured integrally with the drive control section 30.

<<Control method of image forming apparatus>>
Next, a method of controlling the image forming apparatus implemented by the drive control section 30 and the control device 40 included in the image forming apparatus 1 described above will be described.

<Procedure for setting image formation conditions>
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure for setting image forming conditions in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment, which is executed based on the control program included in the control device 40 of the image forming apparatus 1 described using FIG. The control procedure for setting the image forming conditions is shown. This flow is started, for example, when a job setting start command is input on the operation unit 41 of the control device 40 as a trigger. Hereinafter, a procedure for setting image forming conditions in the image forming apparatus 1 will be explained along the flowchart of FIG. 4 and with reference to FIG. 1 and other figures as necessary.

[Step S1]
In step S1, the display control section 43a causes the display section 42 to display a setting screen for image forming conditions when executing the job. Here, the setting screen for setting the image forming conditions displayed on the display unit 42 includes, for example, a setting screen for the image forming area on each page, a setting screen for setting the arrangement direction of the image forming area with respect to the conveying direction of the recording medium, and a setting screen for setting the size of each page. This is a screen for making initial settings necessary to execute a job, such as a screen, a screen for setting images to be formed on each page of a recording medium, and a screen for setting the number of pages on which image formation is to be performed.

The display unit 42 may be configured to display such image forming condition setting screens over multiple screens, or may be configured to display them on one screen.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen for image forming conditions according to the embodiment, in which designation of an area in which image formation is to be performed and setting of an image forming area for recording medium P on a setting screen spanning multiple screens is shown. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a setting screen 401 for specifying a placement direction. This setting screen 401 displays, for example, an area specifying section 401a, an image forming area arrangement direction specifying section 401b, an apply button 401c, and a cancel button 401d.

Of these, the area specifying unit 401a is a part for specifying an area in which image formation is to be performed in a job, out of the image forming areas set on the recording medium P. Referring to FIG. 2 or 3, the image forming areas A are, for example, a body area A0, a header area A1, and a footer area A2 of the job.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to specify an area in which an image is to be formed in addition to the main body area of the job. A specification button for specifying one of the following additional area options: No additional area (None), Header area (Hedder), Footer area (Footer), Header area and Footer area (Hedder Footer) is displayed. The illustrated example shows a case where a header area (Hedder) is designated by the operation unit 41 as a print area to be added to the main body area of the job. The area that can be specified here is a changeable area in which the image forming conditions can be changed even after the start of the job.

Note that the image forming area set for the recording medium P may be registered in advance, or may be configured to be settable on this setting screen or another setting screen.

Further, the area arrangement direction designating section 401b is a part for specifying the arrangement direction of the image forming area with respect to the recording medium P. In the region arrangement direction designation section 401b, a designation button for designating the transport direction (Transport Direction: see FIG. 2) or the width direction (Width Direction: see FIG. 3) is displayed. In the illustrated example, the transport direction (see FIG. 2) is specified by the operation unit 41.

[Step S2]
In step S2, the processing determining unit 43b determines whether the setting of image forming conditions for executing the job is completed. At this time, the display control unit 43a determines that the setting is completed (YES) when, for example, a completion button displayed on any of the image formation condition setting screens is operated by the operation unit 41, and the next Proceed to step S3.

[Step S3]
In step S3, the setting holding unit 43c holds the image forming conditions set by operating the operating unit 41. Further, if the image forming apparatus 1 is a system capable of queue printing, the setting holding unit 43c registers the image forming conditions set for a plurality of jobs as jobs waiting to be formed. The ranking of image formation and image formation conditions are then held in association with the registered job.

[Step S4]
In step S4, the process determining unit 43b determines whether there is a job start process. At this time, the process determination unit 43b determines that job start processing has occurred (YES) when an operation to start a job is performed by operating the operation unit 41, for example.

Note that the processing determining unit 43b determines that job start processing has occurred (YES) when the completion button displayed on any of the image forming condition setting screens is operated by the operating unit 41 in step S2. You can judge.

Further, upon receiving a signal from the drive control unit 30 that the previously executed job has ended, the processing determination unit 43b starts the next job among the plurality of jobs registered in the setting holding unit 43c. It may be determined that there was a process (YES).

[Step S5]
In step S5, the process determining unit 43b transmits the image forming conditions held in the setting holding unit 43c to the drive control unit 30. If a plurality of jobs are registered in the setting holding unit 43c, the processing determining unit 43b sends the image forming conditions held in association with the job with the earliest image forming order to the drive control unit 30. Send.

[Step S6]
In step S6, the display control unit 43a causes the display unit 42 to display a screen for changing the image forming conditions.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an image forming condition change screen 402 according to the embodiment. As shown in this figure, the image forming area change screen 402 displays an area change section 402a, an apply button 402b, and a cancel button 402c. The area changing unit 402a is a part for changing the area in which image formation is performed, and is a part for changing the area specified according to the setting screen in step S1.

In such an area changing section 402a, a specification button similar to that of the area specifying section 401a (see FIG. 5) described in step S1 is displayed. In other words, the area changing unit 402a selects the following as areas for image formation in addition to the main body area of the job: no additional area (None), header area (Hedder), footer area (Footer), header area and footer area (Hedder Footer). A designation button for designating one is displayed. The area in which the designation can be changed is a changeable area in which the image forming conditions can be changed even after the start of the job.

As a result, the operator of the image forming apparatus 1 can change the setting of the area where an image is formed in addition to the main area of the job by operating the operation unit 41 according to the display on the image forming area change screen 402. It becomes possible. The illustrated example shows a case where a header area and a footer area (Hedder Footer) are specified by the operation unit 41 as print areas to be added to the main body area of the job.

Note that the change screen 402 may include a display section for changing images formed in changeable areas such as the header area A1 and the footer area A2.

Further, if the image forming apparatus 1 is a system capable of queue printing, the display control section 43a displays the image forming condition change screen 402 for a plurality of jobs registered in the setting holding section 43c on the display section 42. The configuration shall be such that it is displayed in This makes it possible to change the image forming conditions after starting the job or even before starting the job.

[Step S7]
In step S7, the process determination unit 43b determines whether or not the image forming area has been changed on the area change screen 402. At this time, the process determining unit 43b performs the image forming area changing process when the image forming area is changed by the area changing unit 402a and the apply button 402b is operated, for example, by operating the operating unit 41. is determined to have been performed (YES), and the process advances to step S8. On the other hand, if the change screen 402 has not been operated on the operation unit 41, the process determination unit 43b determines that the area change process has not been performed (NO), and proceeds to step S9.

[Step S8]
In step S8, the setting holding unit 43c changes the designation of the area in which image formation is to be performed, among the setting conditions held in association with the job for which job start processing has been performed (see step S4). Execute the process to update the area.

Further, the setting holding unit 43c also specifies the area in which image formation is to be performed when changing processing is performed based on the changing screen 402 for the setting conditions held in association with a job for which no start processing has been performed. , performs processing to update the changed area.

[Step S9]
In step S9, the processing determining unit 43b determines whether the job has been completed. At this time, when the process determining unit 43b receives a signal that the job has ended from the drive control unit 30, it determines that the job has ended (YES) and ends the series of processes. On the other hand, in other cases, the process determining unit 43b determines that the job has not been completed (NO), returns to step S6, and repeats the subsequent steps until it is determined that the job has been completed (YES).
Ru.

As a result, until it is determined that the job has ended (YES), the area in which the image is formed in addition to the main body area of the job cannot be changed according to the display on the image forming area change screen 402 (step S6). It becomes possible. Further, when the area for image formation is changed, the designation of the area for image formation stored in the setting holding section 43c can be updated to the changed area (step S8).

<Job execution procedure by image forming apparatus>
7 and 8 are flowcharts (part 1) and (part 2) for explaining the control program of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment, in which the control that the drive control section 30 described using FIG. It shows the procedure for executing a job based on the program. This flow is started, for example, when the processing determination unit 43b of the control device 40 transmits the settings for the image forming conditions that are stored in association with the job with the earliest printing order (step S5 in FIG. 4). be done. Hereinafter, the procedure for executing a job in the image forming apparatus 1 will be explained along the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 8, with reference to FIG. 1 and other diagrams as necessary.

[Step S100]
First, in step S100 shown in FIG. 7, the drive control unit 30 determines whether or not the arrangement direction of the image forming area is the transport direction x (the arrangement direction shown in FIG. 2) for the next job to be executed in the image forming apparatus 1. make such judgments. The drive control unit 30 makes this determination based on the settings of the image forming conditions transmitted from the control device 40, and when determining that the transport direction is x (YES), the process proceeds to step S101. On the other hand, if the arrangement direction of the image forming area is the width direction (the arrangement direction shown in FIG. 3), it is determined that it is not the transport direction x (NO), and the following step S201 (flow A direction).

[Step S101]
In step S101, the drive control unit 30 performs an image forming condition acquisition process for the changeable area (header area A1 in the example shown in FIG. 2) located on the most downstream side in the transport direction x. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 2, a description will be given assuming that the changeable area disposed on the most downstream side in the transport direction x is the header area A1.

At this time, after the image forming conditions are transmitted from the processing determination section 43b of the control device 40, the drive control section 30 determines whether the image forming conditions for the header area A1 in the job settings are set immediately before the print processing of the job is started. Executes the process of acquiring the formation conditions of. Thereby, the drive control section 30 reacquires the image forming conditions set on the operation section 41. It is assumed that such image forming conditions can be reacquired in time to perform the image forming process for the header area A1.

Here, the image forming conditions for the header area A1 are information regarding whether or not to perform image formation for the header area A1. Further, the image forming conditions for the header area A1 acquired here may include image data of the image to be formed in the header area A1. This makes it possible to change the image formed in the header area A1.

[Step S102]
In step S102, the drive control unit 30 determines whether to perform image formation on the header area A1 based on the re-acquired image formation conditions. If it is determined to be implemented (YES), the process advances to step S103, and if it is determined not to be implemented (NO), the process advances to step S104.

[Step S103]
In step S103, the drive control unit 30 performs image forming processing on the header area A1. At this time, the drive control section 30 determines the header area of the recording medium P based on the image formation condition settings transmitted from the processing determination section 43b of the control device 40 and the image formation information reacquired in step S101. A page number and other information are formed as an image on A1.

[Step S104]
In step S104, the drive control unit 30 performs image forming processing on the main body area A0 of the job based on the image forming condition settings transmitted from the processing determining unit 43b.

[Step S105]
In step S105, the drive control unit 30 sets the image forming conditions for the changeable area located second from the downstream side in the transport direction x (footer area A2 in the example shown in FIG. 2) among the changeable areas. Execute the acquisition process.

At this time, the drive control unit 30 sets the image forming conditions at a timing immediately before the image forming process is started for the footer area A2, and here, at a timing immediately before the image forming process for the main body area A0 ends. Execute the acquisition process. Thereby, the drive control section 30 reacquires the image forming conditions set on the operation section 41. It is assumed that the reacquisition of such image forming conditions is in time for implementing the image forming process for the footer area A2.

Here, the image formation condition for the footer area A2 is assumed to be information regarding whether or not to perform image formation for the footer area A2. Further, the image forming conditions for the footer area A acquired here may include image data of the image to be formed in the footer area A. This makes it possible to change the image formed in the footer area A.

[Step S106]
In step S106, the drive control unit 30 determines whether or not to perform image formation on the footer area A2 based on the image formation conditions reacquired in step S105. If it is determined to be implemented (YES), the process advances to step S107, and if it is determined not to be implemented (NO), the process advances to step S108.

[Step S107]
In step S107, the drive control unit 30 performs image forming processing on the footer area A2. At this time, the drive control section 30. Based on the image formation condition settings transmitted from the processing determination unit 43b of the control device 40 and the image formation information reacquired in step S105, page numbers and other information are displayed in the footer area A2 of the recording medium P. form an image.

[Step S108]
In step S108, the drive control unit 30 determines whether or not the image forming process for all pages has been completed. If it is determined that the image forming process has been completed (YES), the process proceeds to step S300. On the other hand, if it is determined that the process has not finished (NO), the process returns to step S101 and the subsequent steps are repeated.

In a job in which the image forming areas are arranged in the conveying direction x of the recording medium P through steps S101 to S108 as described above, immediately before image forming processing for the header area A1 and footer area A2, these areas are It becomes possible to determine whether or not to perform image forming processing. Therefore, even after image formation for a job is started, image formation processing for the header area A1 and footer area A2 can be changed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of image formation on the recording medium P by the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, and shows an example of the image formed on the recording medium P when the above steps S101 to S108 are repeated. An example is shown. As shown in this figure, on each page [p] of the recording medium P, a header area A1, a main body area A0, and a footer area A2 are arranged in order from the downstream side in the transport direction x. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that in the initial settings before starting the job, the only area to be additionally imaged in the main body area A0 is the header area A1.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, settings of areas to be additionally formed in the main body area A0 can be changed, for example, in the header area A1 and the footer area, by operating the change screen 402. It can be changed to A2. Then, according to the procedure of steps S101 to S108, the changed information is acquired immediately before the image forming process for the header area A1 and footer area A2. Therefore, even after starting a job, it is possible to perform image formation that reflects information about changes to the header area A1 and footer area A2 before image formation in the target area is performed. It can be done.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, although no image is formed in the footer area A2 of the first page [p1], it is possible to form an image in the footer area A2 of the second page [p2] and beyond. become.

Next, in step S100 of FIG. 7, the procedure when it is determined that the arrangement direction of the image forming area is the width direction (the arrangement direction shown in FIG. 3) and not the transport direction x (NO) is shown in FIG. The process will be explained along the flowchart with reference to FIG. 1 and other figures as necessary.

[Step 201]
In step S201, the drive control unit 30 acquires image forming conditions for all changeable areas set for the recording medium P (header area A1 and footer area A2 in the example shown in FIG. 3). . At this time, the drive control unit 30 performs image formation processing for the first page after receiving the image formation conditions held in association with the job with the earliest printing order from the processing determination unit 43b of the control device 40. Before starting, a process for acquiring image formation conditions regarding the changeable area is performed. Thereby, the drive control section 30 reacquires the image forming conditions set on the operation section 41.

Here, it is assumed that the image forming condition for each changeable area is information as to whether or not to perform image formation for each of the header area A1 and footer area A2. Further, the image formation conditions for each changeable area acquired here may include image data for images to be formed in each of the header area A1 and footer area A2. This makes it possible to change the image formed in each changeable area (header area A1 and footer area A2).

[Step S202]
In step S202, the drive control unit 30 determines whether to perform image formation on the header area A1 based on the image formation conditions re-acquired in step S201. If it is determined to be implemented (YES), the process advances to step S203, and if it is determined not to be implemented (NO), the process advances to step S205.

[Step S203]
In step S203, the drive control unit 30 determines whether or not to perform image formation on the footer area A2 based on the image formation conditions re-acquired in step S201. If it is determined to be implemented (YES), the process advances to step S204, and if it is determined not to be implemented (NO), the process advances to step S204a.

[Step S204]
In step S204, the drive control unit 30 controls the image forming conditions of the header area A1, job body area A0, and footer area A2 based on the image forming conditions transmitted from the processing determining unit 43b and the re-acquired image forming conditions. Perform the forming process. After that, the process advances to step S207.

[Step S204a]
In step S204a, the drive control unit 30 performs image formation processing for the header area A1 and the main body area A0 of the job based on the image formation conditions transmitted from the processing determination unit 43b and the re-acquired image formation conditions. After that, the process advances to step S207.

[Step S205]
In step S205, the drive control unit 30 determines whether to perform image formation on the footer area A2 based on the re-acquired image formation conditions. If it is determined to be implemented (YES), the process advances to step S206, and if it is determined not to be implemented (NO), the process advances to step S206a.

[Step S206]
In step S206, the drive control unit 30 executes image formation processing for the body area A0 and footer area A2 of the job based on the image formation conditions transmitted from the processing determination unit 43b and the reacquired image formation conditions. . After that, the process advances to step S207.

[Step S206a]
In step S206a, the drive control unit 30 performs image forming processing for the main body area A0 of the job based on the image forming conditions transmitted from the processing determining unit 43b and the reacquired image forming conditions. After that, the process advances to step S207.

[Step S207]
In step S207, the drive control unit 30 determines whether or not the image forming process for all pages has been completed. If it is determined that the image forming process has been completed (YES), the drive control unit 30 performs step S300 (B of the flow) shown in FIG. direction). On the other hand, if it is determined that the process has not finished (NO), the process returns to step S201 and the subsequent steps are repeated.

Through steps S201 to S207 as described above, in a job in which image forming areas are arranged in the width direction of the recording medium P, image forming is performed on the header area A1 and the footer area A2 immediately before image forming processing for each page. It becomes possible to judge whether or not to carry out the process. Therefore, even after the image formation of the job is started, the image formation processing for the header area A1 and footer area A2 can be changed for each page.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of image formation on the recording medium P by the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. An example of an image is shown. As shown in this figure, each page [p] of the recording medium P has a header area A1, a main body area A0, and a footer area A2 arranged in this order in the width direction y of the recording medium P. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that the initial image forming conditions before the start of the job are such that the header area A1 is the only area to be additionally imaged in the main body area A0.

Here, as shown in FIG. 6, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, by operating the change screen 402, an area where an image is to be formed in addition to the main body area A0 is changed to, for example, a header area A1 and a footer area A2. Can be changed. Then, according to steps S201 to S207, the image forming conditions are reacquired immediately before the image forming process for each page. Therefore, even after starting a job, it is possible to perform image forming processing that reflects changes in the image forming conditions for the header area A1 and footer area A2 for each page.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, although no image is formed in the footer area A2 of the first page [p1], it is possible to form an image in the footer area A2 of the second page [p2] and onwards. become.

[Step S300]
After steps S101 to S108 or steps S201 to S207 as described above, in step S300 shown in FIG. 7, the drive control unit 30 determines whether or not job registration has been completed. At this time, if the drive control unit 30 transmits the job completion notification to the control device 40 and receives setting information regarding the next job from the control device 40, it determines that the job registration is not completed (NO). Then, the process returns to step S100. On the other hand, the drive control unit 30 transmits the end of the job to the control device 40, and if it does not receive setting information regarding the next job from the control device 40, it determines that the job registration is finished (YES) and processes the job. terminate.

<Effects of embodiment>
According to the embodiment described above, the image forming conditions can be set in each image forming area A of the recording medium P, here, the header area A1 and the footer area A2, without stopping the job during execution. It is possible to change.

20... Image forming unit 30... Drive control unit 41... Operating unit 42... Display unit 43c... Setting holding unit 1... Image forming device A... Image forming area A0... Main body area (main body image forming area)
A1...Header area (changeable area)
A2...Footer area (changeable area)
P...Recording medium x...Conveyance direction [p]...Page

Claims (11)

an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium;
an operation unit for setting image forming conditions for a plurality of image forming areas set on each page of the recording medium;
a settings holding unit that holds the image forming conditions set by the operation unit;
a drive control section that controls driving of the image forming section based on the image forming conditions acquired from the setting holding section;
The drive control section includes:
Every time an image is formed on each image forming area of the recording medium, the image forming conditions set on the operation unit are reacquired, and each of the image forming conditions is adjusted based on the reacquired image forming conditions. Forming an image on the image forming area;
The image forming conditions include information as to whether or not to form an image in each of the image forming areas.
Image forming device. The image according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit is capable of changing the image forming conditions for each image forming area after the drive control unit acquires and reacquires the image forming conditions. Forming device. Each time the drive control unit performs image formation on a changeable area that is preset as an area in which image forming conditions can be changed, among a plurality of image forming areas set on the recording medium, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image forming condition is reacquired. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the changeable area is a header area and a footer area that are arranged to sandwich a main body image formation area set on the recording medium. The image forming unit forms an image on the recording medium conveyed in a predetermined conveyance direction,
When the plurality of image forming areas are arranged along the conveying direction of the recording medium, the drive control unit controls the image forming area immediately before starting image formation in each of the image forming areas. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the image forming apparatus reacquires the forming conditions. The image forming unit forms an image on the recording medium conveyed in a predetermined conveyance direction,
When the plurality of image forming areas are arranged along a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the recording medium, the drive control unit replays the image forming conditions for each page of the recording medium. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the formation conditions for the image to be reacquired include image information of the image to be formed in each of the image forming areas. The setting holding unit holds the image forming conditions regarding a plurality of jobs,
According to any one of claims 1 to 7 , the drive control unit sequentially acquires the image forming conditions for each job from the setting holding unit before starting image formation for each job. The image forming apparatus described above. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the operation unit is capable of changing the image forming conditions regarding the plurality of jobs held in the setting holding unit. comprising a display unit that displays a change screen for changing image forming conditions for each of the image forming areas;
The operation unit is configured to change the image forming conditions for each image forming area after the drive control unit acquires and reacquires the image forming conditions by operating the change screen. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9 . an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium; an operating unit that sets image forming conditions for a plurality of image forming areas set on each page of the recording medium; A control program for an image forming apparatus, comprising: a settings holding unit that holds forming conditions; and a drive control unit that controls driving of the image forming unit based on the image forming conditions acquired from the settings holding unit. ,
Every time an image is formed on each image forming area of the recording medium, the image forming conditions set on the operation unit are reacquired, and each image is created based on the reacquired image forming conditions. causing the drive control unit to form an image on the formation area;
The image forming conditions include information as to whether or not to form an image in each of the image forming areas.
A control program for an image forming apparatus.

Images