JP4232966B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention belongs to the technical field of an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a facsimile machine, a printer, or a so-called multifunction machine having these functions.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the image forming apparatus as described above, an apparatus that forms an image on a sheet having a relatively large area (hereinafter, referred to as “large area sheet”) such as A0, A1, and A2 plates is known. ing. According to this, it is possible to suitably perform image formation on, for example, a design drawing. By the way, it is preferable that the large area paper is used in an expanded manner when reading the contents, but is folded when stored, etc. In this case, the large area paper after being folded is used. Is preferably filed with an appropriate binder or the like. In this case, on the large area paper, in addition to the form of the binder or the like, a part to be bound is secured when the sheet is folded, and the part is instructed where the punch hole should be provided in the part. It is more preferable that a mark for punch holes to be formed is formed. As a result, even if a large amount of large-area paper is generated, it is possible to suitably organize, store, and transport the paper. As an image forming apparatus having such a mark forming function, for example, an apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 or 2 is known.
JP-A-8-6172 JP-A-2001-213016

  However, the image forming apparatus as described above has the following problems. That is, the punch hole mark is not simply formed anywhere on the large-area sheet. If a punch hole mark is to be formed in order to appropriately guide the user's punch hole forming operation, it is necessary to perform this in accordance with predetermined rules and standards. However, conventionally, no special consideration has been given to this point, and it has not always been easy to determine at which position on the large-area sheet the punch hole mark should be formed. In particular, this problem becomes more serious when the size of the large area paper does not match the standard size. Incidentally, in such a case (that is, when the size of the large area paper does not match the standard size), for example, when the image is formed while cutting the paper fed out from the roll paper, the standard size is used. Even if the cutting is intended to obtain a sheet of paper, the case where the cutting position slightly deviates from the standard size is also included.

  In this regard, in either of the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 and 2, the determination of where the punch hole mark ("Folding position mark" in Patent Document 1) should be formed is left to the user's selection. Therefore, the ease of determination is impaired. That is, there is a problem that it is troublesome for the user. In particular, as described above, when the size of the large-area sheet does not match the standard size, it may be necessary to customize the sheet one by one, and the degree of ease is impaired.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can easily and suitably determine where a punch hole mark should be formed.

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet based on image data, and the punch hole mark is formed according to the size of the sheet on which the image is formed. Control means for calculating the formation position, image forming means for forming the punch hole mark on the paper based on the formation position of the punch hole mark, selection means for selecting the size of the paper, Input means for inputting a folding size when the paper after the image formation is folded, and the control means has a length in a direction that coincides with a direction in which one side of the paper extends in the folding size as b. The mark is formed at a position b / 2 from the lower end of the paper based on a value obtained by b / 2, and the size of the paper on which the image is to be formed is the folding size. If within the predetermined range based on the observed size, made according to the calculated standard paper size.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, first, an image can be formed on a sheet based on image data. Here, “image data” is created based on “image information”, and this “image information” is, for example, an image on a document surface read from a scanner unit that can be attached to the image forming apparatus, or Information necessary for configuring an image transmitted from a user terminal such as a personal computer connected to the image forming apparatus, or an image transmitted from the outside by a facsimile function that can be mounted on the image forming apparatus. Say. The image data is obtained by processing such image information into a form suitable for use in image formation in the image forming apparatus. The “image” includes all forms such as documents and drawings.

  In the present invention, in particular, the punch hole mark formation position is calculated according to the size of the paper on which image formation is performed. Here, the calculation of the formation position is preferably automatically performed. In other words, the decision as to where the punch hole mark should be formed on the paper is suitably and automatically performed by the control means taking into account various circumstances in addition to the aforementioned “paper size”. It has become possible. Here, in the “various circumstances”, when the paper after the image formation is scheduled to be folded, the formation position of the punch hole mark is determined in accordance with the folding size input by the input means. included.

  As the “folding size” relating to the input, for example, a size defined by a name such as “A4”, “B5”, or the like (that is, a standard size), or “vertical x [mm] and horizontal y [mm]”. The size directly determined by the numerical value is included. That is, input by these methods can be permitted. Various specific folding methods are conceivable, but the present invention can be applied if a predetermined calculation method is determined corresponding to a predetermined folding method.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the determination of where the punch hole mark should be formed on the paper can be made very easily and preferably without bothering the user. Also, if the calculation process of the formation position of the punch hole mark is suitably determined, the large-area paper is scheduled to be folded, or the large-area paper does not match the standard size. Can be easily accommodated.

  Such operations, effects and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the embodiments described below.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus includes a control unit 1, a printer unit 2, a storage device 3, a fax interface (hereinafter referred to as “FAX I / F”) 4, a network I / F 5, a scanner unit 6, and an operation unit 7. It is configured.

  Among these, the printer unit 2 is, for example, image data configured based on image information sent from a personal computer (not shown), read by the scanner unit 6, and further received by the FAX I / F 4, or the like. Processes a print job set based on image data. Note that the print job processing mainly means printing characters / drawings and the like based on the image information on paper or the like previously stored in the printer unit 2. Particularly in the present embodiment, the printer unit 2 forms punch hole marks on a sheet based on punch hole mark data set as a part of the image data or in addition to the image data. This point will be described later with reference to FIG. The storage device 3 stores a print job scheduled to be executed or being executed, a print job in which an error has occurred, and the like. The FAX I / F 4 is connected to a device outside the network (not shown) via a telephone line, and transmits and receives image information using a FAX function. The network I / F 5 is connected to the network and transmits and receives data within the network. For example, image information sent from the personal computer is taken into the image forming apparatus via the network I / F 5. The scanner unit 6 includes a platen, a light source unit, a CCD camera, and the like (not shown), and scans a document surface placed on the platen to read image information. The operation unit 7 is a user interface for the user to send various commands to the image forming apparatus. More specifically, for example, a touch panel method can be adopted as the operation unit 7. Particularly in the present embodiment, the operation unit 7 is used when selecting a paper size to be used for image formability and inputting a folding size when the paper after image formation is folded. This point will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The control unit 1 controls the entire image forming apparatus through the above-described elements. The control unit 1 is composed of a CPU that issues a control command, a ROM that stores a control program, a RAM that temporarily stores data, and an NVRAM that stores nonvolatile data. The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is particularly characterized in that a position where a punch hole mark is to be formed on a sheet is calculated, and the control unit 1 is characterized in that the calculation or control is performed. is there. This point will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment having the above-described configuration is operated as shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, for example, and as a result, the following effects can be achieved. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of punch hole mark forming processing in the image forming apparatus of this embodiment. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of step S200 in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of step S101 or step S102 in FIG. Further, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing an example of a sheet to be subjected to image formation and an example of setting a folding size, and FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for calculating a punch hole mark formation position. It is explanatory drawing. Further, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an actual folding method of the sheet with respect to the example of the sheet and the setting example of the folding size in FIG.

  In FIG. 2, first, it is confirmed whether or not the user has input the folding size when the sheet after image formation is folded through the operation unit 7 (step S10 in FIG. 2). Here, for example, this input operation is realized by displaying buttons such as “A4” and “B5” on the LCD screen adopting a touch panel type constituting the operation unit 7 and touching the buttons. can do. Alternatively, it may be configured such that numerical input such as “vertical x [mm] and horizontal y [mm]” is also possible. If such an input operation is performed, it is assumed that the sheet after image formation is folded so as to be within the range of a × b shown in FIG. Incidentally, the typical folding method is as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7D, but there is no problem in the present invention even if other folding methods are adopted. In FIG. 5, the surface portion having the side of length c is a portion for binding the folded paper 100 when the paper 100 is folded, and a punch hole mark should be formed as described later. It is also a part (see FIG. 6 referred later). FIG. 7D shows an example of forming punch holes PH in the folded paper.

  If the input operation can be confirmed in step S10, that is, if the user selects that the sheet after image formation is scheduled to be folded later (step S10 in FIG. 2; YES), the operation continues. Then, the process proceeds to a process for determining the punch hole mark formation position based on the input folding size (step S200 in FIG. 2; “folding size reference process”). Hereinafter, the description of FIG.

  In the folding size reference process, first, the image forming apparatus reads image information (step S201 in FIG. 3). The reading of the image information can be performed via the scanner unit 6. Alternatively, image information transmitted from a personal computer or the like via the network I / F 5 and from a facsimile machine via the FAX I / F 4 can also be read. The image information read in this way is converted into image data that can be processed by the printer unit 2 (for example, conversion to PDL (Printer Description Language)) according to a known process.

  Next, it is confirmed whether or not the size of the sheet on which image formation based on the read image information is to be executed is within a predetermined range based on the folding size input in step S10 in FIG. 3 step S202). Specifically, the confirmation here means, for example, whether or not the size of the sheet on which image formation is to be performed is within a range of the size obtained by adding 1 [cm] in the vertical and horizontal directions of the folding size. (Preferably, an appropriate numerical value within the range of 1 [cm] to 5 [cm] can be applied). The paper size is selected by the user before reading image information through the operation unit 7. For this selection operation, for example, on the LCD screen adopting a touch panel that constitutes the operation unit 7, each paper cassette and a paper size button associated with the cassette are displayed and the button is touched. This can be realized. The paper size associated with each paper feed cassette may be set in advance by initial setting or detected by a sensor of the paper feed cassette. In addition to the standard sizes such as “A4” and “B5”, the paper size can be selected from arbitrary sizes such as “vertical x [mm] and horizontal y [mm]”.

  Next, when it is determined that it is within the predetermined range, in other words, when it is determined that the size of the sheet on which image formation is to be performed is substantially the same as the folded size (step S202 in FIG. 3; YES). Since the width of the sheet to be folded is small, the sheet is not folded after the image is formed. Therefore, the punch hole mark forming position is determined based on the size of the sheet itself. . Specifically, the process returns from step S202 in FIG. 3; YES to step S11 in FIG. 2 (see “A” in FIGS. 3 and 2).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S202 that the predetermined range is exceeded, the process proceeds to the next process (step S202 in FIG. 3; NO to step S203). In this case, the punch hole mark formation position is calculated in accordance with the size of the paper on which image formation is to be performed and the folding size (step S203 in FIG. 3). Specifically, this calculation is performed as follows, for example.

  First, in order to secure a portion for binding the folded sheet 100, the length c of the sheet 100 as viewed from the left end in the drawing is appropriately determined as shown in FIG. Next, since the folded sheet 100 should be within the range of a × b, the punch hole mark forming position is as shown in FIG. 6A. It is determined at a position separated from the lower end by a length b / 2 (see reference numeral C1 in the figure).

  As described above, when the formation position of the punch hole mark is calculated, the punch hole mark is formed at the formation position as a part of the image data or in addition to the image data based on the calculation position. Then, mark data for punch holes is generated (step S204 in FIG. 3).

  When the punch hole mark data is generated in this manner, image formation is executed based on the image data including or added to the punch hole mark data (step S205 in FIG. 3). Here, the specific form of the actual punch hole mark formed on the paper 100 can be basically determined freely. For example, a triangular mark may be used as shown in FIG. 6A, or a “+” mark may be used as shown in FIG. 8A, and further as shown in FIG. 8B. Alternatively, a broken line may be used.

  On the other hand, in step S10 of FIG. 2, when the input operation for the folding size cannot be confirmed, that is, when the user selects not to fold the sheet after image formation (step S10 in FIG. 2; NO). Subsequently, it is selected whether the position for forming the punch hole mark is determined with reference to the upper end of the paper or the lower end as a reference (step S11 in FIG. 2). This selection may be left to manual operation by the user, or may be automatically set on the image forming apparatus side. Note that in step S202 of FIG. 3 described above, it is determined that the size of the sheet on which image formation is to be performed is substantially the same as the folding size, and the same processing is performed even when the folding is not performed.

  In these cases, since the “folding size” used in FIG. 3 does not exist, whether the upper end reference is selected in step S11 (step S101 in FIG. 2) or the lower end reference is selected (FIG. 2). In step S102, the process proceeds to a process for determining the formation position of the punch hole mark based on the paper size itself ("upper end reference process" in step S101 or "lower end reference process" in step S102). Hereinafter, the description of FIG.

  In the upper end reference process or the lower end reference process, the punch hole mark formation position is determined according to the selected reference of the upper end or the lower end and according to FIG. Here, each of step S151 to step S154 in FIG. 4 is processing corresponding to each of steps S201, S203, S204, and S205 in FIG. 3 described above, and is essentially the same. However, in step S152 of FIG. 4, since the “folding size” used in FIG. 3 does not exist, the punch hole mark formation position is calculated based only on the size of the paper. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6B, the formation position of the punch hole mark is determined as a position separated from the upper end or lower end of the sheet 100 by a length H / 2, as shown in FIG. (See reference C2 in the figure). Here, H is the length of the sheet 100 itself in the vertical direction in the figure. In this case, the punch hole mark formation position is generally calculated as a position different from the case where the folding size is input.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment that is operated as described above, it is extremely easy and preferable to determine where the punch hole mark should be formed on the paper without bothering the user. Can be done. In addition, since the calculation process of the formation position of the punch hole mark is suitably determined as described above, the large area sheet is expected to be folded or the size of the large area sheet is fixed. It is possible to easily cope with cases where the size does not match. When it is determined that the paper size and the folding size are substantially the same (see step S202 in FIG. 2), the paper is not folded, and the punch hole mark formation position is set to the paper size. It can be said that more appropriate measures are taken from the fact that it is determined based on its own size.

  In the above embodiment, the punch hole mark is formed on the paper simultaneously with the image formation. However, the present invention is not limited to such a form. For example, the punch hole mark may be formed on the paper in advance by the above-described method, and then an image may be formed on the paper later. That is, in this method, a ready-made sheet in which punch hole marks are suitably formed is prepared in advance.

  In the above embodiment, an example of the punch hole mark calculation method has been described. However, this is merely an example, and it goes without saying that various other calculation methods can be employed in the present invention.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and an image forming apparatus with such a change. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of punch hole mark forming processing in the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the processing content of step S200 of FIG. It is a flowchart showing the processing content of step S101 or step S102 of FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a sheet to be an image formation target and a setting example of a folding size. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the example of a calculation method of the formation position of the mark for punch holes, (a) is an example which calculates a formation position according to folding size and paper size, (c) is according to paper size. The example which calculates a formation position is shown. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an actual folding method of the sheet with respect to the sheet example and the folding size setting example as in FIG. 5. It is a figure which shows the specific form of a folding position mark, Comprising: (a) has shown "+" mark and (b) has shown the example which respectively used the broken line.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control part 2 ... Printer part 3 ... Memory | storage device 4 ... FAX I / F
5 ... Network I / F
6 ... scanner unit 7 ... operation unit 100 ... paper C1, C2 ... folding position mark

Claims (2)

An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet based on image data,
Control means for calculating the formation position of the punch hole mark according to the size of the paper on which the image is formed;
Image forming means for forming the punch hole mark on the paper based on the formation position of the punch hole mark ;
Selecting means for selecting the size of the paper;
Input means for inputting a folding size when the paper after the image formation is folded ,
The control means sets b / 2 from the lower end of the paper based on a value obtained by b / 2, where b is a length in the folding size in a direction coinciding with a direction in which one side of the paper extends. Forming the mark at a position,
An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the size of the sheet on which image formation is to be performed is within a predetermined range based on the folding size, the calculation is performed according to a standard sheet size .
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calculation is automatically performed.

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