WO2020035986A1

WO2020035986A1 - Image formation device

Info

Publication number: WO2020035986A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/022073
Authority: WO
Inventors: ノーランイワイ
Original assignee: 京セラドキュメントソリューションズ株式会社
Priority date: 2018-08-17
Filing date: 2019-06-04
Publication date: 2020-02-20

Abstract

An image formation device (10) comprises: an image reading unit (11); a storage unit (28) for storing the images of a plurality of documents read by the image reading unit (11); an image formation unit (12) for forming an image of each document stored in the storage unit (28) onto each recording sheet; an operation unit (23) or a touch panel (24) to be operated by a user; and a controller (31) that selects, for each of a plurality of document groups, document images among the images of each document for assignment to a document group in response to operation of the operation unit (23) or the touch panel (24) by a user and then causes the image formation unit (12) to form, per document group, document images belonging to the document group onto recording sheets.

Description

Image forming device

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that reads an image of a document and forms the image on a recording sheet, for example, sharing images of a plurality of documents with a plurality of users, and changing a different image for each of a plurality of users from among a plurality of documents. It relates to the technology of selecting and printing.

In the image forming apparatus, the image reading unit reads the image of the document, forms the image of the document on recording paper by the image forming unit, and discharges the recording paper to the tray. It is also possible to form an image of the same document on a plurality of recording papers.

However, when a plurality of users print different pages among images of a plurality of pages of a document, the printing procedure becomes complicated. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, there is an image J of a document of 1 to 5 pages, a user A needs to print an image J of a document of 1 to 5 pages, and a user B needs to print the image J of a document of 3 to 5 pages. It is assumed that the image J needs to be printed, and that the user C needs to print the image J of the document on

pages

2, 4, and 5. In this case, each of the users A, B, and C performs an operation of individually printing the image J of the document of each page necessary for the user, or, as shown in FIG. Print on one sheet of paper, print image J of the second page of the document on two sheets of paper, print image J of the third page of the document on two sheets of paper, and print the fourth page of the document. Is printed on three sheets of recording paper, and the image J of the document on the fifth page is printed on three sheets of recording paper. The recording paper on which the image J of the original is printed is distributed to the user B, the recording paper on which the image J of the original of three to five pages is printed is distributed to the user B, and the

pages

2, 4, and 5 are distributed to the user C. It is necessary to distribute the recording paper on which the image J of the original is printed.

On the other hand, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-163, when print data of a plurality of pages input is printed on a long medium with a different number of copies for each page, the print data of the first page is displayed as an image, and the operator confirms the print data. Then, printing is started by inputting the number of copies of the print page. Similarly to the first page, print data of the second and subsequent pages is displayed as an image, and the print data is confirmed and the number of copies is input and printed. This makes it possible to print the print data of a plurality of pages in an arbitrary number of copies for each page, thereby eliminating unnecessary print output of the pages.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-163873 includes a print canceling unit that can instruct print cancellation and a print copy number changing unit that can change the number of print copies. During printing of input data, a print-unnecessary page is deleted by a user's instruction. It is possible to cancel or change the number of copies for each page.

JP 2004-358752 A JP 2007-008080 A

(4) As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a method in which a plurality of users print different pages of the image J of a plurality of pages of a document requires time and effort. Further, in Patent Document 1, since the print data is confirmed and the number of copies is input for each page of each document, printing can be performed with an arbitrary number of copies for each page. However, similar to the procedure shown in FIG. It is necessary to sort and distribute the recording paper to a plurality of users, which is troublesome. Further, in Patent Document 2, since printing is simply canceled or the number of copies is changed, in order for the user to obtain only the recording paper on which the desired image is printed, the user is also sorted and distributed. It is necessary and troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a case where images of a plurality of originals are shared by a plurality of users and a different image for each of a plurality of users is selected from a plurality of originals and printed. Another object of the present invention is to enable each user to obtain only recording paper on which a desired image is printed by a simple operation.

An image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes an image reading unit that reads an image of a document, a storage unit that stores a plurality of images of the document read by the image reading unit, and a storage unit that is stored in the storage unit. An image forming unit for forming an image of each document on each recording sheet, an operation unit operated by a user, and a plurality of document groups according to the operation of the operation unit by the user. For each group, one or more images of an arbitrary document among the images of the respective documents are selected and made to belong, and for each of the document groups, the images of the documents belonging to the document group are recorded on the recording paper by the image forming unit. And a control unit to be formed.

According to the present invention, when images of a plurality of documents are shared by a plurality of users, and different images are selected from a plurality of documents for each of a plurality of users and printed, each user can easily perform a desired operation. It is possible to obtain only the recording paper on which the image is printed.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a main internal configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an image of a document is made to belong to a document group for each of a plurality of document groups. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure from reading an image of a document to forming it on recording paper in a batch mode. It is a flowchart which shows the processing procedure following FIG. 4A. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an initial screen displayed on a display unit of the image forming apparatus. (A)-(D) is a figure which shows the transition of a batch mode screen. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating images of a plurality of documents read by an image reading unit of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a pop-up screen for selecting a page of a document belonging to a document group. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a pop-up screen for setting a page range of a document belonging to a document group. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a pop-up screen for setting an image of each document belonging to a document group and the number of prints of each document. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a pop-up screen for setting a page of a document belonging to a document group after a document image is added. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a pop-up screen for setting a page range of a document belonging to a document group after a document image is added. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a pop-up screen for setting the image of each document belonging to the document group and the number of printed copies of each document after the image of the document is added. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a conventional example of distribution of images of a plurality of documents to a plurality of users. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a conventional example of the number of printed images of each document when distributing images of the documents to a plurality of users.

Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is, for example, an MFP (multifunction peripheral) having a plurality of functions such as a copy function, a printer function, and a scanner function. The image forming apparatus 10 includes an image reading unit 11 and an image forming unit 12.

The image reading unit 11 has an image sensor that optically reads an image of a document. An analog output of the image sensor is converted into a digital signal, and image data representing an image of the document is generated. The image reading unit 11 reads an image of a document placed on a platen glass by the above-described image sensor, or pulls out one or a plurality of documents set on a document tray one by one to transport the document. A document feeder (automatic document feeder) is provided, and the image of the document conveyed by the ADF is read by the image sensor.

The image forming unit 12 forms an image represented by the image data on a recording sheet, and includes a magenta image forming unit 3M, a cyan image forming unit 3C, a yellow image forming unit 3Y, and a black image forming unit 3Y. Image forming unit 3Bk. In each of the

image forming units

3M, 3C, 3Y, and 3Bk, the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 is uniformly charged, the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 is exposed, and the electrostatic latent An image is formed, the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 is developed into a toner image, and the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 5. As a result, a color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 5. This color toner image is secondarily transferred to the recording paper P conveyed from the paper supply unit 14 through the conveyance path 8 in the nip area N between the intermediate transfer belt 5 and the secondary transfer roller 6.

After that, the recording paper P is heated and pressed by the fixing device 15, the toner image on the recording paper P is fixed by thermocompression, and the recording paper P is further discharged to the discharge tray 17 through the discharge roller 16.

The paper transport roller pair 191 disposed at various points in the paper transport path 19 rotates when the driving source (motor or the like) of the paper transport roller pair 191 is controlled by the control unit 31, and the paper transport roller pair 191 is rotated. The recording paper to be nipped further is transported along the paper transport path 19 to the discharge tray 17.

Next, a configuration related to control of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a main internal configuration of the image forming apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 10 includes an image reading unit 11, an image forming unit 12, a display unit 22, an operation unit 23, a touch panel 24, a storage unit 28, a control unit 21, and the like. These components can transmit and receive data or signals to and from each other via a bus.

The display unit 22 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, and the like.

The operation unit 23 includes hard keys such as a ten key, an enter key, and a start key.

The transport mechanism 190 includes the paper transport path 19, the pair of paper transport rollers 191, the driving source, and the like. The drive of the drive source is controlled by the control unit 31.

The touch panel 24 is overlaid on the screen of the display unit 22. The touch panel 24 detects a touch (touch) of the user's finger or the like on the touch panel 24 together with the contact position, and inputs a user's instruction on the screen of the display unit 22. Therefore, the touch panel 24 functions as an operation unit to which a user operation on the screen of the display unit 22 is input.

The storage unit 28 includes a large-capacity solid state drive (SSD), hard disk drive (HDD), and the like, and stores various data and programs.

The control unit 21 includes a processor, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like. The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit). The control unit 21 functions as the control unit 31 when the control program stored in the ROM or the storage unit 28 is executed by the processor. Each of the above-mentioned components of the control unit 21 may be configured by a hardware circuit, instead of the operation based on the above-described control program.

The control unit 31 controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 10. The control unit 21 is connected to the image reading unit 11, the image forming unit 12, the display unit 22, the operation unit 23, the touch panel 24, the storage unit 28, and the like. The control unit 31 controls the operation of each of the above-described components and transmits and receives signals or data to and from each of the components.

{Circle around (4)} The control unit 31 also functions as a processing unit that executes various processes. Further, the control unit 31 has a function of controlling the display operation of the display unit 22.

The operation unit 23 and the touch panel 24 are examples of the operation unit in the claims.

In the image forming apparatus 10 having such a configuration, when a user sets a document on the image reading unit 11 and operates the start key of the operation unit 23 to instruct to execute copying, the control unit 31 Is read by the image reading unit 11, and the image of this document is formed on the recording paper by the image forming unit 12.

(4) When the user operates the operation unit 23 or the touch panel 24 to select and instruct a preset batch mode, the control unit 31 sets the batch mode. This batch mode is a mode for performing a series of processes described below. The control unit 31 causes the storage unit 28 to store image data indicating images of a plurality of documents read by the image reading unit 11. The control unit 31 causes the image of each document to be reduced and displayed on the screen of the display unit 22 based on the image data stored in the storage unit 28. Based on the operation of the operation unit 23 or the touch panel 24 by the user, the control unit 31 performs a process of making an image of an arbitrary document selected from the images of the respective documents belong to the document group for each of the plurality of document groups. . Thus, the image of the document belonging to the document group is set for each document group. Thereafter, when the user operates the operation unit 23 or the touch panel 24 to instruct printing of one or a plurality of document groups, the control unit 31 associates with the document group for each of the specified one or a plurality of document groups. The image of the original to be read is read from the storage unit 28 and is formed on the recording paper by the image forming unit 12.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, images J of five originals are read by the image reading unit 11, and respective image data indicating the images J of the five originals are stored in the storage unit 28, and the five originals are read. Is displayed in a reduced size on the screen of the display unit 22, and in accordance with an instruction input by the user operating the operation unit 23 or the touch panel 24, the control unit 31 sets the document group GP1 to the document group GP1, And the image J of the original of 1 to 5 pages is associated with the original group GP2.

In this case, when the user operates the operation unit 23 or the touch panel 24 to instruct printing of the document group GP1, the control unit 31 stores the image J of the document of 2, 4, or 5 pages belonging to the document group GP1 in the storage unit 28. , And is recorded on each recording sheet by the image forming unit 12.

When the user operates the operation unit 23 or the touch panel 24 to instruct the printing of the document group GP2, the control unit 31 reads out the image J of the document of 1 to 5 pages belonging to the document group GP2 from the storage unit 28, and The image is recorded on each recording sheet by the image forming unit 12.

Further, when the user instructs printing of a plurality of document groups by operating the operation unit 23 or the touch panel 24, the control unit 31 stores an image J of a document belonging to the document group for each of the designated document groups. 28 and is recorded on recording paper by the image forming unit 12.

For this reason, the user sets a document group GP1 for himself and a document group GP2 for other users by using a set of print target images composed of the images J of five documents, and then sets each document group GP2. The image J of the document belonging to the document group can be printed for each of the groups GP1 and GP2. Further, the images J of all the documents belonging to the document groups GP1 and GP2 can be printed at a time. That is, a plurality of users can share the above-described set of print target images, and each user can specify and print a different one of the five original images J.

Next, a processing procedure from reading an image of a document to forming it on recording paper in such a batch mode will be described in detail with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

(5) Assume that the control unit 31 displays an initial screen G1 as shown in FIG. 5 on the display unit 22 of the image forming apparatus 10 (S101). On the initial screen G1, a plurality of function keys K41a to 41h and the like associated with the respective functions are displayed. When the user performs a touch operation on the function key K41h for setting the batch mode in a state where the initial screen G1 is displayed, the controller 31 causes the touch panel 24 to associate the batch mode setting instruction with the function key K41h. The input is accepted, and the batch mode is set according to the instruction (S102). At this time, the control unit 31 causes the display unit 22 to display a batch mode screen G2 as shown in FIG.

原稿 On the batch mode screen G2, a document group selection field R1 and a document selection field R2 are displayed. In the document group selection field R1, a document group list L, an addition key K11, a deletion key K12, an edit key K13, a print key K14, and a print copy box B11 are displayed. Further, a page selection key K21, a page range setting key K22, and a page-specific print number setting key K23 are displayed in the document selection field R2.

(4) With the batch mode set, the user sets a plurality of documents on the ADF of the image reading unit 11 and operates the start key of the operation unit 23. When the start key is operated, the control unit 31 receives a document reading instruction based on the operation, and in accordance with the instruction, causes the image reading unit 11 to read the image J of each document, and displays the image J of each document. The stored image data is stored in the storage unit 28 (S103). For example, an image J of a document of 1 to 5 pages as shown in FIG. 7 is read, and respective image data indicating the image J of each document is stored in the storage unit 28 as a set of print target data.

Thereafter, the control unit 31 inputs any one of the instructions associated with the document group list L, the addition key K11, the deletion key K12, the editing key K13, and the printing key K14 in the document group selection field R1. Wait (S104).

Here, when the user touches, for example, the document group GP1 of the document group list L in the document group selection field R1, the control unit 31 receives an instruction to select the document group GP1 through the touch panel 24 (S104 “select”), The document group GP1 is selected (S105). Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, the control unit 31 checks the check box CB1 of the selected document group GP1 and displays the selected document group GP1.

At this time, the control unit 31 waits for input of any of the instructions corresponding to the page selection key K21, the page range setting key K22, and the page number of print setting key K23 in the document selection field R2. (S106). When the user touches the page selection key K21 in the document selection field R2 and the control unit 31 receives an instruction associated with the page selection key K21 through the touch panel 24 (S106 “page selection”), control is performed. The unit 31 causes the display unit 22 to display a pop-up screen PU1 for selecting a page of a document belonging to the document group GP1 as illustrated in FIG.

縮小 On the pop-up screen PU1 shown in FIG. 8, reduced images (thumbnails) of all the documents read by the image reading unit 11 are displayed. Here, reduced images of originals of 1 to 5 pages are displayed. Further, in addition to the reduced image of the document, an all-selection key K31, a preview key K32, a cancel key K33, and an OK key K34 are displayed on the pop-up screen PU1.

In a state where the pop-up screen PU1 is displayed on the display unit 22, the user touches the reduced image of any document by touching the image J of the document indicated by the touched reduced image through the touch panel 24. The control unit 31 receives an instruction to be engaged in the group GP1. The control unit 31 causes the display unit 22 to display, for example, change the display color of the reduced image targeted for the instruction.

Then, when the user touches the OK key K34, the control unit 31 accepts, through the touch panel 24, a selection of an image J of the document targeted for the instruction as an image to be tied to the document group GP1, and The resulting image is assigned to the document group GP1 (S107). After the assignment, the control unit 31 causes the storage unit 28 to store, in the storage unit 28, the assignment relationship of the document group GP1, which indicates what kind of document image J is assigned to the document group GP1 (S108). That is, when the user selects the document group, the control unit 31 newly creates and sets a document group to which the selected image is to be associated. Then, the control unit 31 makes the selected image belong to the document group. Then, the control unit 31 causes the display unit 22 to delete the pop-up screen PU1.

For example, when the user performs a touch operation on the reduced image of the original on the pop-up screen PU1, a reduced image of the original on

pages

2, 4, and 5 is selected, and the OK key K34 is touched, and the control unit 31 determines that the control unit 31 When the controller 31 receives an instruction to cause the image J of the 5-page document to be related to the document group GP1, the control unit 31 causes the image J of the document of

pages

2, 4, and 5 to be related to the document group GP1, and indicates the document group GP1 indicating this. Is stored in the storage unit 28.

After the images J of the documents of

pages

2, 4, and 5 are assigned to the document group GP1, the control unit 31 returns to the process from S104, and the document group list L in the document group selection field R1, the additional key K11, It waits for the input of any of the instructions respectively associated with the delete key K12, the edit key K13, and the print key K14 (S104).

In S107, when the user touches the select key K31 on the pop-up screen PU1 and then touches the OK key K34, the control unit 31 selects the reduced images of all the documents on the pop-up screen PU1. Then, an instruction to make the images J of all the documents belong to the document group GP1 is received (S107), and the images J of all the documents are made to belong to the document group GP1 (S108).

On the other hand, in S104, when the user performs a touch operation on the document group GP2 of the document group list L in the document group selection field R1, the control unit 31 receives an instruction to select the document group GP2 through the touch panel 24 (S104 “selection”). "), And select the document group GP2 (S105). Further, as shown in FIG. 6C, the control unit 31 checks the check box CB2 of the selected document group GP2 and displays the selected document group GP2.

Here, a description will be given of a process performed when the user performs a touch operation on the page range setting key K22 in the document selection field R2. When the control unit 31 receives an instruction associated with the page range setting key K22 through the touch panel 24 (S106 “page range setting”), a document group (here, document group GP2) as shown in FIG. The display unit 22 displays a pop-up screen PU2 for setting the page range of the document to be related to the above (2).

9. On the pop-up screen PU2 shown in FIG. 9, a box B41 for entering a page to start printing, a box B42 for entering a page to end printing, a cancel key K43, and an OK key K44 are displayed.

In a state where the pop-up screen PU2 is displayed on the display unit 22, in response to a user's touch operation of the up / down button B411 of the box B41, the control unit 31 issues an instruction to specify a print start page through the touch panel 24. Accept. Further, in response to the user's touch operation of the up / down button B421 of the box B42, the control unit 31 receives an instruction to specify a print end page via the touch panel 24.

When the user touches the OK key K44, the control unit 31 receives an instruction to determine the print start page and the print end page through the touch panel 24, and indicates the print start page and the print end page accepted at this time. Then, the image J of the document from the print start page displayed in the box B41 to the print end page displayed in the box B42 is related to the document group GP2 (S109). After the assignment, the control unit 31 causes the storage unit 28 to store, in the storage unit 28, the assignment relationship of the document group GP2 indicating which image J of the document is assigned to the document group GP2 (S110). Then, the control unit 31 causes the display unit 22 to delete the pop-up screen PU2.

Thereafter, the control unit 31 returns to the process from S104, and performs a touch operation on any one of the document group list L, the addition key K11, the deletion key K12, the edit key K13, and the print key K14 in the document group selection field R1. It waits (S104). If the user touches the cancel key K43 on the pop-up screen PU2 and the control unit 31 receives a cancel instruction, the control unit 31 does not store the pendency of the document group GP2 in the storage unit 28, and proceeds to S104. Return to the processing from.

Here, in S104, for example, when the user touches the document group GP3 in the document group list L and the control unit 31 receives an instruction to select the document group GP3 through the touch panel 24 (S104 “select”). The control unit 31 selects the document group GP3 (S105). Further, as shown in FIG. 6D, the control unit 31 displays a check mark in the check box CB3 of the selected document group GP3.

Next, it is assumed that the user performs, for example, a touch operation on the page-by-page number-of-prints setting key K23 in the document selection field R2. At this time, the control unit 31 receives an instruction associated with the page-specific print number setting key K23 through the touch panel 24 (S106 “page-specific print number setting”), and sets the document group GP3 as shown in FIG. The display unit 22 displays a pop-up screen PU3 for setting the number of pages to be printed of the document to which the user belongs.

On the pop-up screen PU3 shown in FIG. 10, reduced images (thumbnails) of all originals read by the image reading unit 11, respective boxes B51, cancel keys K52, OK keys K53, and scrolls corresponding to the respective originals are displayed. The bar SB is displayed.

When the user touches the reduced image of the document and the up / down key B511 of the box B51 corresponding to the reduced image for each reduced image of each document while the pop-up screen PU3 is displayed on the display unit 22, Through the touch panel 24, the control unit 31 receives an instruction for designating the number of prints of the document indicated by the reduced image. The control unit 31 causes the box B51 to display the designated number of prints. The operation by the user and the processing by the control unit are performed for each reduced image of each document.

Then, when the user touches the OK key K53, the control unit 31 receives, through the touch panel 24, an instruction to determine the image J of each document and the number of prints of the image J of each document. The number of printed images J of the document is related to the document group GP3 (S111). After the assignment, the control unit 31 causes the storage unit 28 to store the assignment relationship of the document group GP3 indicating the type of the image J of the document in the document group GP3 (S112). Then, the control unit 31 causes the display unit 22 to delete the pop-up screen PU3.

For example, by displaying the number of prints for each box B51 corresponding to the page of each document on the pop-up screen PU3, the number of prints for the first page of the document is set to “2”, and the number of prints for the second page of the document is set to “2”. 2 ", indicating that the number of printed pages of the third page of the document is set to" 2 ". In addition, the control unit 31 receives an instruction to display the reduced images of the originals on the fourth and fifth pages and the corresponding boxes B51 on the pop-up screen PU3 by operating the scroll bar SB, and the control unit 31 By operating the scroll bar SB, reduced images of the fourth and fifth page originals and their corresponding boxes B51 are displayed on the pop-up screen PU3.

After that, the process returns to S104, and the control unit 31 determines any one of the instructions associated with the document group list L, the addition key K11, the deletion key K12, the edit key K13, and the print key K14 in the document group selection field R1. Then, the process waits for the user to input (S104).

If the user touches the cancel key K52 on the pop-up screen PU3 and the control unit 31 receives a cancel instruction, the control unit 31 does not store the pendency of the document group GP3 in the storage unit 28, and proceeds to step S104. Return to the processing from.

In the state where the batch mode is set as described above, the image reading unit 11 reads the images J of the plurality of originals, stores the images as a set of print target data in the storage unit 28, and then stores the plurality of original groups in the storage unit 28. It is possible to specify the image J of the document that is created and belongs to the document group for each document group, and store the pendency of each document group. For example, in the example shown above, the image J of the document of

pages

2, 4, and 5 is pendant to the document group GP1, the pendency of the document group GP1 is stored in the storage unit 28, and the document group GP2 is To the document group GP2, and the storage unit 28 stores the image J of each document and the image J of each document and the image of each document to the document group GP3. The number of copies of J is related, and the relationship of the document group GP3 is stored in the storage unit 28.

Next, further processing in S104 will be described. Here, a case where an image J of a new document is read by the image reading unit 11 and added is described. In this case, the user sets the image J of the new document on the image reading unit 11 and touches the additional key K11 (FIG. 6A) in the document group selection field R1. Based on this operation, the control unit 31 receives an instruction to add a new document image J through the touch panel 24 (S104 “Add”), and the image reading unit 11 reads the new document image J. Then, the image data indicating the image J of the new document is stored in the storage unit 28 and added (S113).

When the user touches the document group list L to specify a desired document group to which a new image is to be added, for example, the user selects the document group GP1 and touches the corresponding check box CB1. Then, the control unit 31 receives, via the touch panel 24, an instruction to designate the document group GP1 as a document group to which a new image is to be added (S114).

Then, the control unit 31 waits for input of any one of the instructions corresponding to the page selection key K21, the page range selection key K22, and the page-specific print number setting key K23 in the document selection field R2 ( S106). When the user touches the page selection key K21 in the document selection field R2 and the control unit 31 receives an instruction associated with the page selection key K21 through the touch panel 24 (S106 “page selection”), control is performed. The unit 31 is assigned to the document group GP1 as shown in FIG. 11 based on the relationship between the document group GP1 already stored in the storage unit 28 at this time and the image J of the newly read document. The pop-up screen PU1 for selecting the page of the original to be displayed is displayed again on the display unit 22.

The pop-up screen PU1 shown in FIG. 11 includes a reduced image of the original of 1 to 5 pages read by the image reading unit 11 and a new original of 6 to 8 pages read later by the image reading unit 11. Is displayed.

While the pop-up screen PU1 is displayed, the user touches a reduced image of an arbitrary document as described above to select an image J of an arbitrary document as to be associated with the document group GP1, and presses an OK key. When a touch operation is performed on K34, the control unit 31 causes the image J of the selected document to be tied to the document group GP1 through the touch panel 24 (S107), and determines the pendency of the document group GP1 stored in the storage unit 28. Update (S108), and return to the processing from S104.

In S106, the user touches the page range selection key K22 in the document selection field R2, and the control unit 31 receives an instruction associated with the page range selection key K22 through the touch panel 24 (S106). “Page range setting”), the control unit 31 performs the process shown in FIG. 12 based on the pendency of the document group GP1 already stored in the storage unit 28 at this time and the image J of the newly read document. The display unit 22 displays a pop-up screen PU2 for setting a page range of a document belonging to the document group GP1.

When the user touches the up / down button B411 of the box B41 while the pop-up screen PU2 is displayed on the display unit 22, the control unit 31 receives an instruction to specify a print start page through the touch panel 24. Further, when the user touches the up / down button B421 of the box B42, the control unit 31 receives an instruction to specify a print end page through the touch panel 24.

When the user touches the OK key K44, the control unit 31 receives an instruction to determine the print start page and the print end page through the touch panel 24, and indicates the print start page and the print end page accepted at this time. Then, the image J of the document from the print start page written in the box B41 to the print end page written in the box B42 is related to the document group GP1 (S109). After the assignment, the control unit 31 updates the assignment relationship of the document group GP1 indicating which document image J is assigned to the document group GP1 and stores the updated relationship in the storage unit 28 ( S110). Then, the control unit 31 causes the display unit 22 to delete the pop-up screen PU2. Thereafter, the process returns to S104.

In S106, when the user touches the print number setting key K23 for each page in the document selection field R2 and the control unit 31 receives an instruction to set the print number for each page through the touch panel 24 (S106). The setting of the number of pages to be printed "), the control unit 31 shown in FIG. 13 based on the pendency of the document group GP1 already stored in the storage unit 28 at this time and the image J of the newly read document. In this way, the display unit 22 displays the pop-up screen PU3 for setting the number of printed pages per page of the document belonging to the document group GP1.

Then, when the user touches the OK key K53, the control unit 31 receives, through the touch panel 24, an instruction to determine the image J of each document and the number of prints of the image J of each document. The number of prints of the document image J is related to the document group GP1 (S111). After the assignment, the control unit 31 updates the assignment relationship of the document group GP1 indicating which document image J is assigned to the document group GP1 and stores the updated relationship in the storage unit 28 ( S112). Then, the control unit 31 causes the display unit 22 to delete the pop-up screen PU3. Thereafter, the process returns to S104.

As described above, the image J of the new document is set in the image reading unit 11, the image reading unit 11 reads the image J of the new document, and the image data indicating the image J of the new document is stored in the storage unit. Then, the image J of the new document is assigned to each of the document groups GP1, GP2, and GP3, and the relationship between the document groups GP1, GP2, and GP3 is updated.

Next, further processing in S104 will be described. Here, a process of editing the contents of the document group will be described. In S104, it is assumed that the user has performed a touch operation on the edit key K13 in the document group selection field R1. In this case, the control unit 31 receives an instruction to edit the contents of the document group via the touch panel 24 (S104 “edit”).

When the user touches one of the document groups in the document group list L to specify a document group to be edited, for example, touches the document group GP1 as an object to be edited, and When the control unit 31 receives an instruction to edit the document group GP1 through the touch panel 24 (S115), the control unit 31 causes the display unit 22 to, for example, be assigned to the document group to be edited, here, the document group GP1. The reduced image J of each original is displayed, and among the images J of the original indicated by the reduced image, the image J of the original corresponding to the reduced image touched by the user is assigned to the original group GP1. Is accepted as the image J of the document to be canceled. The control unit 31 releases the pendency of the received image J of the document from the document group GP1, updates the pendency of the document group GP1 with the contents edited by the release, and stores it in the storage unit 28 (S120). .

Thereafter, the process proceeds to S106, where the control unit 31 performs the above-described page selection processing (S107, S108) and sets the page range based on the pendency of the document group GP1 stored in the storage unit 28 at this time. The processing (S109, S110) and the setting of the number of prints for each page (S111, S112) are performed in the same manner as the processing of S107 to S112 described above according to the instruction from the user.

Next, further processing in S104 will be described. Here, a process of deleting a document group will be described. In S104, it is assumed that the user has touched the delete key K12 in the document group selection field R1. In this case, the control unit 31 receives an instruction to delete the document group via the touch panel 24 (S104 “delete”).

When the user touches any one of the document groups in the document group list L, the control unit 31 receives an instruction to delete the touched document group through the touch panel 24 (S116), and The group is deleted from the storage unit 28 (S117). Thereafter, the process returns to S104.

Next, further processing in S104 will be described. Here, a process of printing an image belonging to a document group will be described. In S104, it is assumed that the user has performed a touch operation on the print key K14 in the document group selection field R1. In this case, the control unit 31 receives an instruction to print an image belonging to the document group indicated in the document group list L via the touch panel 24 (S104 “print”).

Then, the user touches the up / down button B111 of the number-of-copies box B11 on the batch mode screen G2 to input an instruction for designating the number of copies to be printed. When the user touches the original document group and inputs an instruction to specify the original document group to be printed, the control unit 31 receives an instruction to select the original document group to be printed according to each of the instructions (S118). The image J of the document belonging to the target document group is read from the storage unit 28, and the image forming unit 12 forms the specified number of print copies on the recording paper (S119). Thereafter, the process ends.

For example, if the user designates the number of copies to be “2” and then designates the document group GP1, the document group GP2, and the document group GP3 of the document group list L as print targets, the user is assigned to the document group GP1. The images J of the originals of

pages

4, 5 and 5 are formed on the respective recording sheets, and the formation of the images J of the originals of

pages

2, 4, and 5 is performed twice (for two copies). Is formed on each recording sheet, and the formation of the image J of the 1 to 5 page document is performed twice (for two copies). The image J of each of the documents concerned is formed on the recording paper for the number of prints of the image J of each document, and the formation of the number of prints of the image J of each document is performed twice (for two copies).

When discharging the recording paper after the image formation by the transport mechanism 190, the control unit 31 controls the lengthwise direction of the bundle of recording paper on which one copy of the image J of the document is recorded and the number of copies corresponding to the next discharge. Each recording sheet may be discharged to the discharge tray 17 in a state where the longitudinal direction of the bundle of recording sheets on which the image J of the original document is recorded intersects. For example, there are provided paper feed cassettes each storing recording paper of the same size in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction. The control section 31 feeds the recording paper from one of the paper feed cassettes, causes the image forming section 12 to form one copy of the document image J on the recording paper, and discharges the recording paper to the discharge tray 17. Thereafter, the recording paper is fed from the other one of the paper feed cassettes, and the image forming section 12 forms the next one copy of the original image on the recording paper. Let it drain. As a result, the longitudinal direction of the recording sheet on which the image J of one copy is recorded and the longitudinal direction of the recording sheet on which the image J of the next copy is recorded can be crossed. The bundle of recording sheets discharged to the tray 17 can be easily sorted in units of one copy.

In addition, a paper feed cassette containing recording papers of different sizes is provided, and the control unit 31 feeds the recording paper from one of the paper feed cassettes and causes the image J of one copy of the original to be printed. The recording paper is formed on the recording paper by the image forming unit 12 and is discharged to the discharge tray 17 by the transport mechanism 190. Thereafter, the recording paper of a size different from that of the preceding recording paper is supplied from the other one of the paper supply cassettes. Then, the image forming unit 12 forms an image J of one copy of the document to be discharged next on the recording paper of the different size, and discharges the recording paper of the different size to the discharge tray 17 by the transport mechanism 190. Is also good.

Alternatively, the control unit 31 moves the recording paper on which the image J of one copy of the original is formed and the recording paper on which the image J of the original of one copy to be discharged next is recorded from the paper feed cassette. One blank recording sheet may be inserted.

Further, the image forming apparatus 10 is provided with a plurality of paper discharge trays, and adopts a configuration in which the recording paper can be selectively discharged to any of the paper discharge trays. As a result, the recording paper on which the image J of one copy is recorded is discharged to the paper output tray, and the recording paper on which the image J of the original to be discharged is recorded is discharged to another paper discharge tray. Then, similarly, every time an image J of one copy of the document is formed on the recording paper, the discharge tray from which the recording paper is discharged may be changed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the batch mode is set, the images J of the plurality of originals read by the image reading unit 11 are stored in the storage unit 28 as one set of print target data, and the user sets the image data. For each of the plurality of manuscript groups, an image J of one or more arbitrary manuscripts selected from the plurality of manuscript images J constituting the one set of print target data is pendant. Is stored in the storage unit 28. Thereafter, when the user operates the operation unit 23 or the touch panel 24 to instruct printing of one or a plurality of document groups, the image J of the document belonging to the document group is divided for each of the specified one or a plurality of document groups. Is printed.

For this reason, according to the above-described embodiment, even when a plurality of users print different pages of the image J of a plurality of pages of a document which is a set of print target data, the one set of printing is not performed. By setting the relationship of each document group for each of multiple users based on the target data, it is possible to perform multiple operations of multiple users by simple operation without repeatedly reading and printing the document. Printing of different pages can be easily performed.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus of the above embodiment, and the present invention can be applied to a copying machine or the like.

The configuration and processing of the above embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 15 are merely an embodiment of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention to the configuration and processing.

Claims

An image reading unit that reads an image of a document,
A storage unit that stores images of the plurality of originals read by the image reading unit,
An image forming unit that forms an image of each document stored in the storage unit on each recording sheet;
An operation unit operated by a user;
According to the operation of the operation unit by the user, a plurality of document groups are set, and for each of the document groups, one or more images of an arbitrary document among the images of the respective documents are selected and engaged, An image forming apparatus, comprising: a control unit for forming an image of a document belonging to the document group on a recording sheet by the image forming unit for each document group.
The control unit performs the selection by setting a page range of each document for each of the document groups in accordance with an operation of the operation unit by the user, and performs image selection of the document of the selected page range. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is associated with a document group.
Equipped with a display,
The control unit, when the selection is performed by the operation of the operation unit by the user, reduced the respective images of the plurality of documents read by the image reading unit on the display unit, the reduced display The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a selection of an image to be held is received for each document group in accordance with an operation by the user based on an image.
The control unit may include, in the image forming unit, a longitudinal direction of a recording sheet on which an image of a document belonging to a document group is formed, and a recording sheet on which an image of a document belonging to another document group to be discharged next is formed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the recording sheets is output by intersecting a longitudinal direction of the recording paper.
Equipped with respective paper cassettes that store recording paper of the same size horizontally and vertically,
The control unit causes recording paper to be fed from one of the paper feed cassettes, causes the image forming unit to form an image of a document belonging to the document group on the recording paper, and causes the recording paper to be output. Thereafter, the recording paper is fed from the other one of the paper feed cassettes, an image of a document belonging to another document group to be discharged next is formed on the recording paper by the image forming unit, and the recording paper is output. Thus, in the image forming section, the longitudinal direction of the recording paper on which the image of the original belonging to the original group is formed, and the longitudinal direction of the recording paper on which the image of the original belonging to another original group to be discharged next is formed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein each of the recording sheets is output by intersecting a direction with the recording paper.
The control unit is configured to control the image forming unit between a recording sheet on which an image of a document belonging to a document group is formed and a recording sheet on which an image of a document belonging to another document group to be discharged next is formed. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a blank recording paper is inserted into the image forming apparatus, and the recording paper is output.
The control unit controls the image forming unit to determine the size of a recording sheet on which an image of a document belonging to a document group is formed, and the size of a recording sheet on which an image of a document belonging to another document group to be discharged next is formed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the recording sheets is output with a different size.
A plurality of discharge trays for receiving the recording paper discharged from the image forming unit,
A transport mechanism for transporting the recording paper to the paper discharge tray,
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the transport mechanism to vary a discharge tray from which recording paper on which an image of a document belonging to the document group is formed is discharged for each of the document groups. .
The control unit, upon receiving an instruction to add a new document image through the operation unit, causes the image reading unit to read the image of the new document, and stores the image of the new document in the storage unit. When the specification of a document group to which the new image is to be added is received from the plurality of document groups according to the operation of the operation unit by the user, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the new image is pendant to update the pendency of the document group.