JPH11138952A - Image-forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device which selects sheets on which an image is to be formed by determining whether an image to be formed is in colors or in monochrome, or whether a photographic image is included in the image to be formed, or by depending upon the number of colors which make up the image to be formed, and thereby, of mitigating a burden for sheet selection on a user. SOLUTION: This image-forming device 1 is equipped with a first sheet feeder tray in which a fine quality sheet is stored, a second sheet feeder tray in which an ordinary sheet is stored, a recognizing means 3 which recognizes the attribute of an image to be formed on either of the first sheet feeder tray or the second sheet feeder tray and a decision means 2 which decides on which of the sheets the image is formed, the sheet stored in the first sheet feeder tray or the sheet stored in the second sheet feeder tray in accordance with a recognized attribute.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to whether an image to be formed is a color image or a black and white image, whether or not a photographic image is included in the image to be formed, or The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that recognizes the number of colors constituting an image to be formed as an attribute and determines a sheet on which an image is to be formed according to the recognized attribute.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Copiers, printers, facsimile machines (FA)
X) An image forming apparatus such as an apparatus takes out sheets one by one from a paper feed tray storing sheets for forming an image, and supplies the sheets to a transfer unit / printing unit to transfer a toner image or transfer ink. By printing, an image is formed on the paper. When a plurality of paper feed trays are mounted on the image forming apparatus and different types of paper are stored in each paper feed tray, it is necessary to determine which paper is used to form an image.

In order to determine the paper to be used for forming an image, the type of paper stored in each paper feed tray is recognized, and the paper tray in which the paper on which an image is to be formed is stored is determined. In the past, the user had to recognize the paper type and select the paper tray,
The burden on the user was heavy.

In order to reduce the burden on the user of recognizing the color and paper quality of the paper stored in the paper feed tray, the color and paper quality of the paper stored in the paper feed tray are detected.
A technique for notifying a user of a result is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-181756.
No. 6,086,045. In this technique, a light detection unit including a light source and a color sensor is provided in a paper feed tray unit, and R (red), G (green), B
The color and quality of the paper are detected based on the light receiving output from each of the (blue) light receiving elements.

[0005] When the user specifies a desired paper quality or a paper quality that the user does not want to select using paper information stored in each paper feed tray, only paper feed trays that meet the conditions can be selected. The technology is disclosed in JP-A-5-14775.
No. 7 discloses this. By using this technique, the number of paper feed trays selected by the user is reduced, so that the burden on the user when selecting the paper feed tray in which the paper on which an image is to be formed is stored is reduced. However, in any of these methods, when forming an image, the user must select the paper tray or paper quality.
There is a problem that the burden on the user is not sufficiently reduced.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the conventional problem that a user must always select a paper feed tray or paper quality when forming an image. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that selects a sheet of paper quality suitable for a type of an image to be formed and forms an image on the sheet.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus, comprising: a first sheet supply tray for storing a sheet on which an image is formed; A second paper feed tray for storing paper of a paper quality different from the paper quality of the paper stored in the paper feed tray; a recognition unit for recognizing an attribute of an image to be formed on one of the papers; Forming an image on the paper stored in the first paper feed tray according to the attribute of the image recognized by the means;
Determining means for determining whether an image is to be formed on the paper stored in the second paper feed tray, wherein the first paper supply is performed in accordance with the attribute of the image recognized by the recognition means. The decision means selects whether to form an image on paper stored in the paper tray or to form an image on paper stored in the second paper tray.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising a recognition unit that recognizes whether an image to be formed is a color image or a monochrome image. When the image is recognized as a color image, the image is stored in a high-quality paper, and when the image is recognized as a black and white image, the image is stored in a first paper tray to form an image. The decision means selects whether to form an image on a sheet or to form an image on a sheet stored in the second paper feed tray.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising a recognition unit for recognizing whether a photographic image is included in an image to be formed. In order to form an image on high-quality paper when it is recognized that a photographic image is included, and on plain paper when it is recognized that a photographic image is not included, the first supply is performed. The decision means selects whether to form an image on paper stored in the paper tray or to form an image on paper stored in the second paper tray.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising a recognition unit for recognizing the number of colors constituting an image to be formed. When the number is larger than a predetermined threshold, the first paper is formed on high-quality paper, and when the number of colors is smaller than a predetermined threshold, the first paper is formed on plain paper.
To form an image on the paper stored in the paper tray
The determination means selects whether to form an image on the paper stored in the paper feed tray of the printer.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. An image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied is configured, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 1 includes a controller 2, a scanner unit 3, a printer unit 4, a facsimile unit 5, and an operation panel 6. The controller 2 is a central processing unit (CPU)
7, read / write storage device (RAM) 8, read-only storage device (ROM) 9, hard disk (HD) device 1
0, scanner interface 11, printer interface 12, FAX interface 13, panel interface 14, and host interface 15
6 and can communicate with each other.

The CPU 7 has a ROM 9 or an HD device 10
, The instructions from the operation panel 6, and the commands from the external host device 17 to control the entire controller 2. The RAM 8 is used as a work memory of the CPU 7, a buffer for input / output data, a memory for download fonts, and the like, and the ROM 9 stores a control program of the controller 2, image data, font data, and the like.

The scanner interface 11 is connected to the scanner unit 3 and communicates commands and control data and communicates image data read by the scanner unit 3. The printer interface 12 is connected to the printer unit 4,
Communication of commands, control data, and formed image data is performed. The FAX interface 13 is connected to the FAX unit 5 and communicates commands, control data, and FAX transmission / reception image data. The panel interface 14 is connected to the operation panel 6 and communicates commands and control data. The host interface 15 is the external host device 1
7 for communicating commands, control data and formed image data.

The printer section 4 is configured, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the printer unit 4 includes a printer engine 21 that performs printing, a first paper feed tray 22,
It comprises a second paper feed tray 23, a manual feed tray 24, and a paper discharge tray 25. The printer engine 21
According to the command and the image data received from the controller 2, an image is formed using the paper stored in the designated paper feed tray, and the image is discharged to the paper discharge tray 25. Each paper feed tray has means (not shown) for determining the paper size and paper quality, and can transmit information on the stored paper size and paper quality to the printer engine 21. The FAX unit 5 is connected to the external communication line 18 and can transmit and receive FAX image data.

Next, a description will be given of a processing procedure when copying an original using the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when copying a document. When the user instructs copying of a document via the operation panel 6 or the external host device 17, first, the scanner unit 3 prescans the document at a low resolution (S10).
11) The read image data is stored in the RAM 8 or the HD device 10. Next, an image processing program stored in the ROM 9 or the HD device 10 is started, and a recognition process is performed to determine whether the read image data is a color image or a monochrome image (S12).

In the recognition process, the quantized luminance of each of the R, G, and B color components is checked for each pixel of the image data. Pixels having the same luminance in all of the R, G, and B components are collectively counted as one color, and the number of colors used in the entire image data is checked. If the number of colors is larger than the predetermined threshold value, the read image data is recognized as a color image, and a command to perform image formation using high quality paper is transmitted to the printer unit 4 (S13).

On the other hand, when the number of colors is smaller than a predetermined threshold value, the image is recognized as a monochrome image. If the read image data is recognized as a black-and-white image, a recognition process is performed to determine whether a photographic image is included in the read image data (S14). Here, the photo image is
5 shows a multi-tone image having a density value of 3 or more, or an image represented by area gradation such as a dither method.

In a monochrome image, each pixel in the image is represented by a value of 1 or 0. In the recognition process, the image is divided into predetermined small unit regions, and the number of pixels represented by a value of 1 existing in each small unit region is checked. If the change in the number of pixels represented by a value of 1 between adjacent small unit areas is smaller than a predetermined threshold, the area is determined to be a photograph, and the photographic image is included in the image data. Is included, and a command to perform image formation using high quality paper is transmitted to the printer unit 4 (S13). Conversely,
If the change in the number of pixels represented by a value of 1 between adjacent small unit areas is larger than a predetermined threshold, it is recognized that no photographic image is included in the image data, and A command to perform image formation using paper is transmitted to the printer unit 4 (S15).

Next, the scanner unit 3 reads the original at the designated resolution (S16), and transmits the read image data to the printer unit 4 via the printer interface 12. The printer unit 4 forms the received image using the paper feed tray storing the specified paper (S17).

In the above-described processing procedure, the controller 2 recognizes the type of the read image data by performing image processing on the read image data transmitted from the scanner section 3. The data recognition processing may be performed by using the above method, and the read image data and the type of the image data may be transmitted to the controller 2. In the above-described processing procedure, instead of recognizing the type of the read image data by pre-scanning the document and performing the image processing, the user may specify the type of the document. In this case, the user specifies via the operation panel 6 or the external host 17 whether the document is a color image, a black-and-white image, or includes or does not include a photographic image.

In the above embodiment, instead of providing a means for determining the paper quality of the paper stored in the paper feed tray, the paper to be stored in each paper feed tray may be determined in advance. For example, it is determined that high-quality paper is stored in the first paper feed tray and plain paper is stored in the second paper feed tray, and that information is stored in advance in the ROM 9 or the HD device 10, or the image forming apparatus At the time of initialization, the user specifies the paper quality of the paper stored in each paper feed tray via the operation panel 6 or the external host 17.

In the above embodiment, whether the image to be formed is a color image or a monochrome image is recognized. However, it is recognized whether the image is a multi-valued image or an image composed of a plurality of single colors. You may do so. The recognition process is performed by checking the number of colors used in the entire image data as in the above-described embodiment. If the number of colors is larger than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the image is a multi-valued image. Conversely, if the number of colors is smaller than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the image is composed of a plurality of single colors. When the image to be formed is a multi-valued image, and when the image to be formed is a single-color image and includes a photographic image, high-quality paper is used. Use plain paper only if it does not contain.

Next, a processing procedure when the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used as a printer will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a print processing procedure. When the user gives an instruction to print an image via the external host device 17, a printer driver operating on the external host device 17 converts the designated image data into print data, and transmits the print data to the controller 2 via the host interface 15. I do. Print data is Post Scrip
t, image data described using a page description language such as ESC / P. The controller 2 receives the print data and stores it in the RAM 8 or the HD device 10.

Next, the decomposer stored in the ROM 9 or the HD device 10 is started (S21). The decomposer is a program that specifies the type of page description language used in print data, interprets the described control commands and data, and generates a bitmap. The decomposer first checks whether a print control command for specifying a color image exists in the print data, and recognizes whether the image to be formed is a color image or a monochrome image (S22). If the print data is recognized as a color image, a command to form an image using high quality paper is sent to the printer unit 4.
(S23).

If the print data is recognized as a black and white image, it is next checked whether or not the print data contains a photographic image (S24). If the photographic image is included in the print data, a command to form an image using high quality paper is transmitted to the printer unit 4 (S2).
3). If the print data is a monochrome image and the print data does not include a photographic image, a command to perform image formation using plain paper is transmitted to the printer unit 4 (S25).

The controller 2 transmits the bitmap image data generated by the decomposer to the printer unit 4 via the printer interface 12 (S26). The printer unit 4 forms an image using the paper feed tray storing the specified paper (S27).

In the above-described embodiment, a method of interpreting a print control command in the print data as a process for recognizing whether the print data is a color image, a monochrome image, or a photographic image is included. Alternatively, the multi-valued bitmap image data generated by the decomposer may be regarded as input image data, and the recognition process shown in the document copy process may be performed instead.

Further, a printer driver operating on the external host device 17 may transmit the type of print data to the controller 2. In this case, first, when the printer driver converts the image data into the print data, whether or not a print command and a control command that specify a color image are used, and whether or not a photographic image is included, are used as attribute information of the print data. Transmit to controller 2. Next, the print data is transmitted to the controller 2. The controller 2 determines the paper quality of the paper based on the received attribute information, and forms an image using a paper feed tray in which the specified paper is stored. Further, the type of print data may be specified by the user. In this case, the user operates the operation panel 6 or the external host device 17 to
Specify whether the original is a color image or a black-and-white image and whether or not it contains a photographic image.

In the above embodiment, whether the image to be formed is a color image or a monochrome image is recognized. However, it is recognized whether the image to be formed is a multi-valued image or an image composed of a plurality of single colors. You may do so. In the recognition process, the multi-valued bitmap image data generated by the decomposer is regarded as input image data, and the recognition process described in the document copying process is performed. If the number of colors is larger than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the image to be formed is a multivalued image. Conversely, if the number of colors is smaller than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the image is composed of a plurality of single colors. When the image to be formed is a multi-valued image, and when the image to be formed is a single-color image and includes a photographic image, high-quality paper is used. Use plain paper only if it does not contain.

Next, the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
A processing procedure when used as an X device will be described.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure at the time of FAX reception. When a FAX reception request from an external FAX device connected via the external communication line 18 is received, the FA
The X unit 5 receives the attribute information of the FAX image data and the FAX image data from the external FAX device of the transmission source (S3).
1). Here, the attribute information includes, for example, as shown in FIG.
Information such as paper size, resolution, color information used in the image (whether the image is a color image or a black-and-white image), whether a photographic image is included, and the like are stored. The FAX unit 5 stores the received attribute information and FAX image data in the RAM 8 or the HD device 10.

Next, the FAX unit 5 refers to the attribute information of the received FAX image data and recognizes whether the received FAX image data is a color image or a monochrome image (S3).
2). If the FAX image data is recognized as a color image, a command to perform image formation using high quality paper is transmitted to the printer unit 4 (S33). If the FAX image data is recognized as a black-and-white image, it is next determined whether or not the FAX image data contains a photographic image by referring to the attribute information (S34). If the FAX image data includes a photographic image, a command to perform image formation using high quality paper is transmitted to the printer unit 4 (S3).
3). If the FAX image data is a monochrome image and does not include a photographic image, a command to perform image formation using plain paper is transmitted to the printer unit 4 (S35).

Next, the received FAX image data is expanded using an expander (not shown) provided in the FAX unit 5 to generate a bit map (S36). The generated bitmap image data is transmitted to the printer unit 4 via the printer interface 12. The printer unit 4 forms an image using the paper feed tray in which the designated paper is stored (S37).

[0033]

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the attribute of the image to be formed is set to a color image, a black and white image, or a photographic image in the image to be formed. Whether or not it is included or the number of colors constituting the image to be formed is recognized as an attribute, and an appropriate sheet for forming the image can be selected according to the recognized attribute, so that the image is formed. In this case, there is no need for the user to select a sheet, and the burden on the user can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a printer unit in the image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure when an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied is used as a copying machine.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure when an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied is used as a printer.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure when an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied is used as a facsimile receiving apparatus.

FIG. 6 is an example of attribute information of FAX image data.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus, 2 ... Controller, 3 ... Scanner part, 4 ... Printer part, 5 ... FAX part, 6 ... Operation panel,
7 CPU, 8 RAM, 9 ROM, 10 HD device, 11 Scanner interface, 12 Printer interface, 13 FAX interface, 14 Panel interface, 15 Host interface, 1
6 internal bus, 17 external host device, 18 external communication line, 21 printer engine, 22 first paper feed tray, 23 second paper feed tray, 24 manual feed tray, 25
… Output tray

Claims (4)

[Claims] A first sheet storing a sheet on which an image is formed;
Paper tray, a second paper tray storing paper of a different quality from the paper stored in the first paper tray, and an attribute of an image to be formed on one of the paper. And forming an image on the paper stored in the first paper feed tray or storing the image in the second paper feed tray according to the attribute of the image recognized by the recognition means. And a determining unit for determining whether to form an image on a sheet of paper. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recognition unit recognizes whether an image to be formed is a color image or a monochrome image as an attribute. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recognition unit recognizes as an attribute whether a photographic image is included in an image to be formed. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recognition unit recognizes, as an attribute, the number of colors constituting an image to be formed.