JP5773260B2 - Image forming apparatus, image forming apparatus control method, and control program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a control method for the image forming apparatus, and a control program, and in particular, an image forming apparatus that prints a position detection pattern that can be detected by an electronic pen, and a control method for the image forming apparatus , the image forming apparatus, or The present invention relates to a control program that operates in an apparatus that controls an image forming apparatus.

  In recent years, there are various electronic information devices for digitizing information handled in offices and the like for efficient handling. One example is an electronic pen (for example, Anoto (registered trademark) pen) that outputs handwriting input with a pen as data. This Anoto (registered trademark) pen has a small camera mounted on the tip of the pen, and a specific pattern called an Anoto (registered trademark) pattern (hereinafter referred to as a position detection pattern) printed on a dedicated sheet of paper. The position of the pen tip can be specified by reading with, and locus information of handwritten characters, figures, pictures and the like (hereinafter referred to as handwritten images) can be output (for example, see Patent Document 1 below).

JP 2006-141062 A

  Normally, a position detection pattern that can be detected with an electronic pen is printed by a dedicated printer or the like, and a unique position detection pattern is assigned to each page. This is for uniquely associating the paper page with the handwritten image written on the page. However, during printing of the position detection pattern, an error that stops printing such as a paper jam (so-called JAM), an error that is printed on paper of a size different from the setting (so-called paper size error), etc. (collectively, When the printing is performed again after detecting an error), there may be a plurality of sheets on which the same position detection pattern is printed. In this case, the handwritten images from the plurality of sheets are superimposed and correct. There arises a problem that a handwritten image cannot be obtained. Therefore, when the position detection pattern is printed on paper, special control is required at the time of error detection so that the above problem does not occur.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its main purpose is to prevent repeated printing of patterns even when an error occurs during printing of a unique pattern. An image forming apparatus, a control method for the image forming apparatus, and a control program are provided.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a paper feeding unit that supplies paper, an image forming unit that creates a toner image of a composite image, a transfer unit that transfers the toner image onto the supplied paper, A printing unit including a fixing unit that fixes a toner image transferred onto a sheet, a paper discharge unit that discharges the sheet on which the toner image is fixed, and a unique pattern and document that enables the electronic pen to detect the position on the sheet. An image forming apparatus that includes at least an image processing unit that combines images with print settings according to the print settings , creates and stores information that associates document images and patterns in print order according to the print settings, and stores the paper When an error is detected after the paper supplied from the printing unit reaches the fixing unit, regarding printing after error recovery, the original image is assigned in order from the original image printed at the time of error detection, and the pattern is The next pattern of the printed pattern during error detection allocated in order to reconstruct the information, to the image processing unit, based on the reconstructed said information, said document image, and a subsequent pattern of the pattern be to synthesis, to produce a new composite image, to the printing unit, characterized in that it comprises a control unit for printing the new composite image.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing unit that generates a composite image by combining a unique pattern that allows the electronic pen to detect a position on a sheet and a document image according to a print setting, a sheet feeding unit that supplies the sheet, An image forming apparatus including at least a printing unit including a fixing unit that fixes a toner image corresponding to a composite image on the sheet, and the sheet supplied from the sheet feeding unit when the occurrence of an error is detected Is determined to have reached the fixing unit, and when it is determined that the paper supplied from the paper feeding unit has reached the fixing unit, the image processing unit is informed of the fixing with respect to printing after error recovery. The printing unit prints by newly synthesizing a document image corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the copy and a pattern different from the pattern corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the fixing unit. Characterized in that it comprises a control unit for controlling to generate the formed image.
The present invention also provides a paper feeding unit that supplies paper, an image forming unit that creates a toner image of a composite image, a transfer unit that transfers the toner image onto the supplied paper, and a transfer unit that is transferred onto the paper. A printing unit that includes a fixing unit that fixes the toner image, a paper discharge unit that discharges the paper on which the toner image is fixed, and a unique pattern that allows the electronic pen to detect the position on the paper and the original image are set to print. An image processing unit comprising at least an image processing unit that combines the image processing unit according to the print setting, the step of creating and storing information associating a document image and a pattern in the printing order according to the print setting; When an error is detected after the supplied paper reaches the fixing unit, regarding printing after error recovery, the original image is assigned in order from the original image printed at the time of error detection, and the pattern is the error. A step of reconfiguring the information in order from the next pattern of the pattern printed at the time of detection, and the image processing unit based on the reconstructed information, the original image, and the next pattern of the pattern And a step of generating a new composite image and a step of causing the printing unit to print the new composite image.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing unit that generates a composite image by combining a unique pattern that allows the electronic pen to detect a position on a sheet and a document image according to a print setting, a sheet feeding unit that supplies the sheet, A control method of an image forming apparatus comprising at least a printing unit including a fixing unit that fixes a toner image corresponding to a composite image on the paper, and is supplied from the paper feeding unit when the occurrence of an error is detected It is determined whether or not the received paper has reached the fixing unit, and if it is determined that the paper supplied from the paper supply unit has reached the fixing unit, the image processing unit is informed about printing after error recovery. A step of newly synthesizing a document image corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the fixing unit and a pattern different from the pattern corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the fixing unit; In part, characterized in that it comprises a step of printing the newly synthesized synthetic image.

The present invention also includes at least an image processing unit that synthesizes a unique pattern that allows the electronic pen to detect a position on a sheet and a document image according to print settings, a sheet feeding unit that supplies the sheet, and a toner of the combined image An image forming unit that creates an image; a transfer unit that transfers the toner image onto the supplied paper; a fixing unit that fixes the toner image transferred onto the paper; and a paper on which the toner image is fixed A control program that operates on a device that prints a composite image on a printing unit that includes a paper discharge unit , the device creating and storing information that associates document images and patterns in printing order according to the print settings When an error is detected after the paper supplied from the paper supply unit reaches the fixing unit, the original image is printed in order from the original image printed when the error is detected. Against Ri, the pattern is allocated from the next pattern of the pattern printed on error detection in order to reconstruct the information, to the image processing unit, based on the reconstructed said information, said document image, said pattern By combining the next pattern, a new composite image is generated, and the printing unit is caused to function as a control unit that prints the new composite image .
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feed unit that includes at least an image processing unit that synthesizes a unique pattern capable of detecting a position on a paper and an original image according to a print setting and generates a composite image, and supplies the paper. And a control unit that operates a device that prints a composite image on a printing unit that includes a fixing unit that fixes a toner image corresponding to the composite image on the sheet, and the device detects the occurrence of an error. If the paper supplied from the paper supply unit has reached the fixing unit and it is determined that the paper supplied from the paper supply unit has reached the fixing unit, printing after error recovery is performed. With respect to the image processing unit, a new original image corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the fixing unit and a pattern different from the pattern corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the fixing unit are updated. By causing synthesized, characterized in that to function as a control unit, which performs control to generate a composite image which the printing unit prints.

According to the image forming apparatus, the control method of the image forming apparatus, and the control program of the present invention, even when an error occurs during printing of a unique pattern, overlapping printing of patterns can be prevented in advance.

  The reason is that, when printing is instructed, the information processing apparatus (control program) stores the unique pattern and the original image in association with each other according to the print setting information. If an error is detected during printing, the detected error is It is determined whether the error needs to be printed, and if it is an error that requires reprinting, the associated information is reconstructed to create a new document image that has the same original image as the error detection and a different pattern at the time of error detection. This is because control for combining the pattern and reprinting is performed.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a controller of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the electronic pen which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of an Anoto (trademark) pattern. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration and operation of a print engine of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a document image and paper during normal single-sided printing. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a document image and paper during normal duplex printing. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the pattern at the time of single-sided printing of a position detection pattern, a manuscript image, and paper. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the pattern at the time of double-sided printing of a position detection pattern, an original image, and paper. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship (after recovery) between a pattern, a document image, and a sheet when duplex printing of a position detection pattern is performed. 4 is an example of association information stored in an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a position detection pattern printing process in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the output process of the handwritten image in the image forming apparatus which concerns on one Example of this invention.

  As shown in the background art, a handwritten image written with an electronic pen using a paper on which a position detection pattern for detecting the position of the electronic pen on the paper, represented by an Anoto (registered trademark) pattern, is printed. There is known a method for digitizing a signal. However, when a position detection pattern is printed, if an error such as a JAM in which the operation of the apparatus stops or a paper size error printed on a paper of a size different from the designated paper occurs, the position detection pattern transferred to the paper If a part of the toner image is fixed, there may be a plurality of sheets on which the same position detection pattern is printed, and a handwritten image from a plurality of sheets is superimposed to obtain a correct handwritten image. The problem arises. This problem occurs not only when the position detection pattern is printed, but also when printing unique information for each sheet.

  Therefore, in one embodiment of the present invention, in an image forming apparatus (control program) that performs control to output unique information (for example, a position detection pattern) for each input document image, the document image and the position detection pattern. Is configured according to the printing status. Specifically, when an error such as a JAM or paper size error is detected during printing, it is determined whether the error is a reprint error. If the error requires reprinting, the order of the original images is changed. The association between the original image and the position detection pattern is reconfigured while keeping the same, so that the same position detection pattern is not printed on the paper in error and the newly printed paper.

  Thereby, duplication of unique information (position detection pattern) printed by the image forming apparatus can be prevented, and a problem that handwritten images written on a plurality of sheets are superimposed can be prevented. Hereinafter, a case where a position detection pattern is printed as unique information will be described as an example.

  In order to describe the above-described embodiment of the present invention in more detail, an image forming apparatus and a control program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a controller of the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic pen. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an Anoto (registered trademark) pattern, and FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration and operation of the print engine of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. 5 and 6 are diagrams showing the relationship between the document image and the paper during normal printing, and FIGS. 7 and 8 show the relationship between the pattern, the document image and the paper when printing the position detection pattern. FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table stored in the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. FIGS. 10 and 11 are flowcharts illustrating processing of the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment.

  The system according to the present embodiment includes an electronic pen that specifies a position on a sheet on which a unique position detection pattern is printed for each sheet and transmits pen tip locus information, and an image obtained by combining the position detection pattern with an original image. An information processing apparatus for instructing printing and for instructing printing of an image in which a handwritten image specified by trajectory information acquired from an electronic pen is combined with an original image (in this embodiment, an image in which a position detection pattern is combined with an original image) And an image forming apparatus having a printing function for printing an image obtained by synthesizing a handwritten image on a document image on a sheet). Hereinafter, each device will be described in detail.

[Image forming apparatus]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a controller of an image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. The controller includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13a, Non-volatile RAM 13b, motor driver 14, IR (Image Reader) / ADF (Auto Document Feeder) motor 15, display / operation unit 16, electronic pen communication module 17, CCD (Charge Coupled Devices) 18, USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface 19, NIC (Network Interface Card) 20, image processing chip 21, image processing RAM 22, print engine 23, TEL response module 24, modem 25, public line interface module 26, and the like.

  The CPU 11, the ROM 12, the RAM 13a, and the nonvolatile RAM 13b constitute a control unit. After copying the control program stored in the ROM 12 to the RAM 13a, the CPU 11 performs overall control for each function such as the scanner function, facsimile function, print function, and copy function in accordance with the control program on the RAM 13a. The ROM 12 stores position detection pattern data in addition to the control program. The RAM 13a creates association information (table shown in FIG. 9 to be described later) for associating the position detection pattern with the document image, which is created based on the print setting information when the image obtained by combining the position detection pattern with the document image is printed, and various calculations. Used as a temporary storage location for values. Further, when it is necessary to store these data even when the image forming apparatus 10 is powered off, the data is stored in the nonvolatile RAM 13b.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the control unit (control program) executes print control processing, error determination processing, table reconfiguration processing, and the like. In the print control process, the image processing chip 21 combines the document image and the position detection pattern, causes the print engine 23 to print the combined image, and causes the image processing chip 21 to combine the document image and the handwritten image. This is a process for printing a composite image. In the error determination process, an error such as a JAM or a paper size error is detected using an output of a sensor or the like provided in a paper conveyance path in the print engine 23, and whether the detected error is an error that needs to be reprinted. This is a process for determining. The table reconstruction process is a process for reconstructing the association between the document image and the position detection pattern while maintaining the document image order when an error that requires reprinting is detected. In this reconstruction, the original image is assigned in order from the original image printed at the time of error detection on the paper to be printed after error recovery, and the position detection pattern is skipped from the position detection pattern printed at the time of error detection. The position detection pattern is assigned in order.

  The IR / ADF motor 15 is a motor that drives a reading device and an automatic document feeder. The motor driver 14 drives and controls the IR / ADF motor 15.

  The display / operation unit 16 includes a pressure-sensitive touch panel in which transparent electrodes are arranged in a grid pattern on an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (electroluminescence) display, and hard keys.

  The electronic pen communication module 17 communicates with the communication module 34 of the electronic pen 30 by short-range wireless communication or wired communication typified by the Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication method. The trajectory information is received and held in the RAM 13a.

  The CCD 18 is installed in a reading device or an automatic document feeder of the image forming apparatus 10, scans a document, detects reflected light of the document, photoelectrically converts the reflected light, and further performs analog-digital conversion to generate image data. To do. The USB interface 19 is an interface for connecting to a USB compatible device. The NIC 20 is an expansion card for connecting to a user's computer device or the like via a LAN (Local Area Network), and is obtained by inputting or scanning print data transmitted from the user's computer device or the like. The image data generated based on the image signal is transmitted to the user's computer device or the like.

  The image processing chip 21 performs image processing such as image synthesis, scaling, image rotation, density adjustment, edge enhancement, smoothing, and binarization. The image processing RAM 22 temporarily stores image data output by the image processing chip 21 in the course of image processing, various calculated values, and the like. The print engine 23 forms an image on a sheet based on the image data stored in the image processing RAM 22.

  The telephone response module 24 responds when an incoming call is received. The modem 25 modulates a digital signal into an analog signal of a telephone line, and vice versa, and demodulates it. The public line interface module 26 is an interface for connecting to the public line network.

  The general operation of the controller configured as described above will be outlined. Upon receiving an instruction from the display / operation unit 16, the CPU 11 controls the IR / ADF motor 15 with respect to the motor driver 14 and sends an image to the image processing chip 21. Request processing.

  Upon receiving an image processing request from the CPU 11, the image processing chip 21 receives scan data from the CCD 18 and performs image processing for conversion into an image instructed by the display / operation unit 16. At this time, various calculated values are temporarily stored in the image processing RAM 22.

  The processed image data output from the image processing chip 21 is temporarily stored in the RAM 13a, and then transferred to the USB interface 19 or the NIC 20 via the image processing chip 21 when the instruction from the display / operation unit 16 is scanning. Is done. When the instruction from the display / operation unit 16 is Fax, the instruction is transferred to the public line interface module 26 via the modem 25. When the instruction from the display / operation unit 16 is copying, the instruction is transferred to the print engine 23 via the image processing chip 21.

  When the print data is received from the outside, the print data is received from the USB interface 19 or the NIC 20, decompressed by the image processing chip 21, temporarily stored in the RAM 13 a, and transferred to the print engine 23.

  In this embodiment, the information processing apparatus is an image forming apparatus having a printing function. However, the information processing apparatus does not necessarily have a printing function, and may be a control device that instructs the print engine 23 to perform printing. A computer device having a printer driver function may be used.

[Electronic pen]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the electronic pen 30. The electronic pen 30 includes the CPU 31, ROM 32, RAM 33, communication module 34, battery module 35, image sensor 36, pen pressure detection sensor 37, writing module 38, watch. The module 39 is configured.

  The CPU 31 is a data processing device that operates according to a program. The ROM 32 is an information storage unit that stores programs. The RAM 33 is an information storage unit that stores data. The communication module 34 communicates with the electronic pen communication module 17 of the image forming apparatus 10 by short-range wireless communication represented by Bluetooth (registered trademark) or wired communication. The battery module 35 is a primary battery or a secondary battery that is a power source of the electronic pen 30. The image sensor 36 is a small CCD or CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) video camera for reading a pattern. The pen pressure sensor 37 is a piezoelectric element that detects the writing pressure of the electronic pen 30. The writing module 38 is a device that specifies the position of the electronic pen 30 on the paper based on the position detection pattern read by the image sensor 36, and outputs trajectory information (time-series position information) using the communication module 34. . The clock module 39 is a device that holds time information.

  The electronic pen 30 only needs to have a function of specifying the position on the paper on which the position detection pattern is printed, and transmitting the locus information of the pen tip to the image forming apparatus 10, and its configuration, shape, and communication method Etc. are not particularly limited. For example, the electronic pen 30 may be configured to identify the position by identifying the Anoto (registered trademark) pattern, or may be configured to identify the position by identifying the configuration, density, density, and the like of the pattern. Alternatively, the position may be specified in conjunction with a device installed in the vicinity of the sheet (for example, based on an angle or a distance to the device). In this embodiment, a case where an Anoto (registered trademark) pattern is used will be described.

  FIG. 3 is an example of an Anoto (registered trademark) pattern. This Anoto (registered trademark) pattern is a dot pattern arranged in a grid pattern, and each dot is slightly shifted from the grid perpendicular to each other at intervals of 0.3 mm in the vertical and horizontal directions. The data is read in a matrix unit of 6 dots vertically and 6 dots horizontally, for a total of 36 dots. Since this Anoto (registered trademark) pattern is a unique value at any point, if the arrangement of the Anoto (registered trademark) pattern to be synthesized on the paper is determined (that is, an annot ( If it is determined whether or not the registered trademark) pattern is combined with the paper, the electronic pen 30 can recognize an arbitrary position on the paper. The Anoto (registered trademark) pattern data is stored in the ROM 12 in advance, but may be stored in a server on the network, and acquired and used via the network each time.

  By printing a position detection pattern such as the above Anoto (registered trademark) pattern on a sheet, a handwritten image written on the sheet with the electronic pen 30 can be acquired as electronic data. When a JAM, a paper size error, or the like occurs, there may be a plurality of sheets on which the same position detection pattern is printed, and handwritten images from the plurality of sheets may be superimposed.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to prevent the presence of a plurality of sheets on which the same position detection pattern is printed, reprinting is necessary when a JAM or a sheet size error occurs during the printing of the position detection pattern. If the error needs to be reprinted, the association information between the position detection pattern and the document image is reconstructed. Hereinafter, description will be given with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 4 is an example of the print engine 23 of the image forming apparatus 10. The print engine 23 includes a paper feed unit 23a, an image forming unit 23b, a transfer unit 23c, a fixing unit 23d, a paper discharge unit 23e, and the like.

  The paper feed unit 23a is a part that supplies paper, and includes a paper feed tray that stores paper of various sizes, and a feeding mechanism that feeds the paper set in the paper feed tray to the transfer unit 23c. . The image forming unit 23b irradiates the photosensitive drum with laser light based on the image to be printed (here, the original image and the pattern image of the position detection pattern) to form a latent toner image. The transfer unit 23c transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum to an intermediate transfer belt, and then transfers the toner image onto a sheet by a secondary transfer roller. The fixing unit 23d permanently fixes the toner image transferred onto the paper. The paper discharge unit 23e discharges the paper on which the image is fixed.

  In general, the electrophotographic process forms an image on the paper through the steps of charging, exposure, development, transfer, and fixing, but if an error occurs before the toner image is fixed on the paper, The transferred position detection pattern is not fixed, and the position detection pattern is destroyed when the pen tip of the electronic pen 30 is brought into contact with the paper. Therefore, the possibility of using this paper is low. On the other hand, if an error occurs when a part of the paper is fixed, the position detection pattern of the fixed part can be read by the electronic pen 30, and unintentional writing is performed using this paper. There is a possibility that. Therefore, using a sensor or the like provided in the paper transport path, it is determined whether the paper transported from the paper feed unit 23a has reached the fixing unit 23c. The association information of the detection pattern, the document image, and the paper is reconstructed. Here, it is determined whether or not to reconstruct the association information based on whether or not the sheet has reached the fixing unit 23c. However, if more precise determination is made, the sheet is transferred to the transfer unit 32d. You may determine based on whether it reached | attained.

  Next, how the relationship between the document image and the paper or the position detection pattern, the document image, and the paper changes when an error occurs will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 show a normal reprint operation, and FIGS. 7 and 8 show a reprint operation specific to this embodiment.

  FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing the relationship between a document image and paper during normal single-sided printing. FIG. 5A shows a case where no error occurs, and FIG. 5B shows a case where an error occurs and error recovery is performed. Yes. In FIG. 5A, since no error has occurred, images 1 to N are printed on sheets 1 to N, respectively. On the other hand, in FIG. 5B, an error has occurred during printing (here, when printing the image 3 on the paper 3), so the image 3 is reprinted on a new paper (paper 4) for this recovery. Is done.

  6A and 6B are diagrams showing the relationship between the original image and the paper during normal double-sided printing. FIG. 6A shows a case where no error occurs, and FIG. 6B shows a case where an error occurs and error recovery is performed. Yes. In FIG. 6A, since no error has occurred, images 1 to 2N are printed on papers 1 to N by two images (one image on the front and back), respectively. On the other hand, in FIG. 6B, an error has occurred during printing (here, when images 5 and 6 are printed on the paper 3). 6 is reprinted.

  Here, when printing an original image, if an error that requires reprinting is detected, there is no problem if the original image at the time of error detection is reprinted on new paper, but the position detection pattern is added to the original image. In the case of printing, if the position detection pattern at the time of error detection is reprinted, a plurality of sheets on which the same position detection pattern is printed exist, and the handwritten image of the electronic pen 30 may be superimposed. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the position detection pattern is combined with the original image and printed, the following control is performed.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the pattern, the original image, and the paper during single-sided printing of the position detection pattern. FIG. 7A shows the case where no error occurs, and FIG. 7B shows the case where an error occurred and error recovery was performed. Shows the case. In FIG. 7A, since no error has occurred, patterns 1 to N and images 1 to N are printed on sheets 1 to N, respectively. On the other hand, in FIG. 7B, an error has occurred during printing (here, when pattern 3 and image 3 are printed on paper 3), and reprinting is performed on a new paper (paper 4) for this recovery. However, at this time, the same image (here, image 3) is reprinted without updating the image, the position detection pattern is updated, and a new position detection pattern (here, pattern 4) is printed.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between the pattern, the original image, and the paper during double-sided printing of the position detection pattern. FIG. 8A shows the case where no error occurs, and FIG. 8B shows the case where an error occurred and error recovery was performed. Shows the case. In FIG. 8A, since no error has occurred, the patterns 1 to 2N and the images 1 to 2N are printed on the sheets 1 to N by two images (one image on the front and back), respectively. On the other hand, in FIG. 8B, since an error occurred during printing (here, when printing patterns 5 and 6 and images 5 and 6 on paper 3), a new paper (paper 4) is used for this recovery. In this case, the same image (here, images 5 and 6) is reprinted without updating the image, and the position detection pattern is updated to a new position detection pattern (here, pattern 7). , 8) is printed.

  In order to perform such control, it is necessary to store the relationship between the document image and the position detection pattern. Therefore, when the print setting is performed, the control unit performs FIG. 9 based on the print setting information. A table as shown is created, and when an error that requires reprinting occurs, the table is reconstructed.

  FIG. 9A is an example of a table in which the document image No and the pattern No are associated with each other. Here, the document image No. is a management number for uniquely specifying the document image input to the image forming apparatus 10. The pattern No. is a number for uniquely managing the position detection pattern.

  FIG. 9B is an example of a table in which the document image No and the pattern No after the occurrence of an error requiring reprinting are associated with each other. Here, an error occurs during the printing of the document image 3, and the document image 3 is reprinted, so that the corresponding pattern is reconstructed. Specifically, the original image 3 is changed from the pattern 3 to the pattern 4, the original image 4 is changed from the pattern 4 to the pattern 5, the original image 5 is changed from the pattern 5 to the pattern 6, and the original image 6 is changed from the pattern 6 to the pattern 7. Change to

  Then, in order to be able to print the original image and the position detection pattern, the original image and the handwritten image written with the electronic pen 30 on a sheet, a table as shown in FIGS. 9C and 9D is also created. To do. Here, the pattern image is an image of a position detection pattern that is actually printed on paper. The handwritten image is an image written with the electronic pen 30 on a sheet on which a position detection pattern is printed. The document image is a document image input to the image forming apparatus 10.

  By creating and reconfiguring such a table, the control unit (control program) of the image forming apparatus 10 can perform control as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 with reference to this table.

  Hereinafter, processing executed by the control unit (control program) of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 10 and 11. First, a process for printing a position detection pattern will be described with reference to FIG.

  The image forming apparatus 10 acquires print setting information (paper size, single side / double side, number of sheets, etc.) set by the user (S101). The contents of the print setting information may be performed using an application (for example, a printer driver) that allows the user to perform print settings on the host, or by operating the display / operation unit 16 of the image forming apparatus 10. Also good.

  Next, the image forming apparatus 10 acquires a document image from the user (S102). The document image may be acquired from, for example, a scanner, a printer driver on the host, a server, or the like, or may be acquired from a storage unit (RAM 13 or the like) of the image forming apparatus 10.

  Next, the image forming apparatus 10 (control program) reads the position detection pattern from the storage unit (such as the RAM 13), and associates the position detection pattern with the document image based on the information acquired in S101 and S102 (S103). .

  Then, the image forming apparatus 10 (image processing chip 21) synthesizes the original image and the pattern image of the position detection pattern using a known technique (S104), and forms the synthesized image using the print engine 23 on the sheet. (S105). At that time, the image to be printed is read out and printed according to the print order based on the print setting information acquired in S101.

  Next, the image forming apparatus 10 (control program) determines whether the paper corresponding to the print image is a paper size error (S106). If a paper size error is detected, the position detection pattern printed on the paper may be used, so the process skips to S112 to perform the recovery operation. On the other hand, if no paper size error is detected, it is determined whether JAM has occurred on the paper corresponding to the print image (S107). If no JAM is detected, the presence / absence of the next page is determined (S108). If there is a next page, the print image of the next page is read (S109), the process returns to S105, and the same processing is repeated. If there is no next page, finish printing.

  Returning to S107, when JAM is detected for the paper corresponding to the print image, the image forming apparatus 10 (control program) becomes an error target based on the output of a sensor or the like provided in the paper conveyance path. The position of the sheet is identified (S110), and it is determined whether the sheet position has reached the fixing unit 23d of the print engine 23 (S111). If the image does not reach the fixing unit 23d, it is considered that the image transferred on the sheet cannot be used. Therefore, the image forming apparatus 10 (control program) determines that the position detection pattern does not need to be updated, and The image is read again (S115), and the process returns to S105 and the same processing is repeated.

  On the other hand, when the image forming apparatus 10 (control program) has reached the fixing unit 23d and when a paper size error is detected, the image transferred onto the paper may be used. It is determined that the position detection pattern needs to be updated, and the position detection pattern corresponding to the document image at the time of error detection is updated (S112). At that time, the document image is not updated. Next, the image forming apparatus 10 (control program) updates a table associating a document image after error detection with a pattern shown in FIG. 9B (S113). Then, the original image and the pattern image of the position detection pattern configured by the new association in S113 are synthesized (S114), the synthesized image is read (S115), and the same processing is repeated by returning to S105.

  When an error occurs in S106 and S107, the user confirms the paper size, removes the paper, and issues a continuation instruction to cancel the error. At this time, the image forming apparatus 10 preferably displays a message for error cancellation on the display / operation unit 16.

  Next, a process of outputting a handwritten image written with an electronic pen on a sheet on which a position detection pattern is printed will be described with reference to FIG.

  The image forming apparatus 10 detects that the electronic pen 30 is connected, acquires trajectory information from the electronic pen 30 (S201), and acquires a handwritten image based on the trajectory information (S202). Next, the image forming apparatus 10 identifies the pattern No corresponding to the handwritten image with reference to the table of FIG. 9C, and refers to the pattern No. with reference to the tables of FIGS. 9B and 9D. A document image corresponding to (that is, a handwritten image) is acquired (S203). Then, the writing image acquired in S202 and the original image acquired in S203 are combined (S204), the combined image is held, and displayed or printed (S205).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when printing is instructed, the image forming apparatus 10 (control program) creates a table that associates the position detection pattern with the original image according to the print setting information, and an error occurs during printing. Is detected, it is determined whether the detected error is an error that requires reprinting (that is, whether the error paper has reached the fixing unit 23d). Is generated and an error occurs during printing of the position detection pattern because control is performed to reprint the same original image as that at the time of error detection and a new position detection pattern that is different from the position detection pattern at the time of error detection. Even in this case, overlapping printing of the position detection pattern can be prevented in advance.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the configuration and control of each device can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 creates a table associating the position detection pattern with the original image, and if an error is detected, it is determined whether the error requires reprinting. If there is a table, the table is reconfigured. However, these processes can also be executed by a host-side device (printer driver). In this case, a table is created and stored based on the print setting information set by the printer driver, and when an error is notified from the image forming apparatus 10, it is determined whether the notified error is an error that requires reprinting. If there is an error that needs to be reprinted, the table is reconstructed, and an image that combines the same original image as the error detection and a new position detection pattern different from the position detection pattern at the time of error detection is printed. The print data to be instructed is created and transmitted to the image forming apparatus 10, and the image forming apparatus 10 may discard the print data at the time of error detection and continue printing according to the newly received print data.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where an image obtained by combining the position detection pattern and the original image has been described. However, even when only the position detection pattern is printed, the table is displayed when an error requiring reprinting occurs. The same effect can be obtained by reconfiguring and performing control to print a new position detection pattern different from the position detection pattern at the time of error detection.

  In the above-described embodiment, the control when a JAM or paper size error occurs has been described. However, when any error occurs that makes it possible to use an image transferred on the paper, the control according to this embodiment is performed. Alternatively, the control of the present embodiment may be performed when an error that interrupts printing occurs regardless of whether or not an image transferred on a sheet becomes available.

  In the above-described embodiment, the control in the case of printing the position detection pattern that can be detected by the electronic pen 30 has been described. However, the printing target is not limited to the position detection pattern, and arbitrary unique information is printed for each sheet. In some cases, similar control can be performed.

  The present invention can be used for an image forming apparatus that prints a position detection pattern, and a control program that operates on the image forming apparatus or an apparatus that instructs the image forming apparatus to print.

10 Image forming apparatus 11 CPU
12 ROM
13a RAM
13b Nonvolatile RAM
14 Motor Driver 15 IR / ADF Motor 16 Display / Operation Unit 17 Electronic Pen Communication Module 18 CCD
19 USB interface 20 NIC interface 21 Image processing chip 22 Image processing RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 23 Print engine 23a Paper supply part 23b Image forming part 23c Transfer part 23d Fixing part 23e Paper discharge part 24 TEL response module 25 Modem 26 Public line interface module 30 Electronic pen 31 CPU
32 ROM
33 RAM
34 Communication Module 35 Battery Module 36 Image Sensor 37 Pen Pressure Detection Sensor 38 Writing Module 39 Clock Module

Claims (9)

A paper supply unit that supplies paper, an image forming unit that creates a toner image of a composite image, a transfer unit that transfers the toner image onto the supplied paper, and a toner image transferred onto the paper is fixed. A printing unit including a fixing unit and a paper discharge unit that discharges the paper on which the toner image is fixed;
An image forming apparatus comprising at least an image processing unit that synthesizes a unique pattern capable of detecting a position on a paper and an original image according to a print setting,
According to the print settings, information for associating the document image and the pattern in the order of printing is created and stored,
When an error is detected after the paper supplied from the paper supply unit reaches the fixing unit, regarding printing after error recovery, the original image is assigned in order from the original image printed at the time of error detection, and the pattern is detected at the time of error detection. Allocate in order from the next pattern of the printed pattern, reconstruct the information,
Based on the reconstructed information , the image processing unit generates a new composite image by combining the original image and the next pattern of the pattern ,
An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that causes the printing unit to print the new composite image. An image processing unit that generates a composite image by combining a unique pattern that allows the electronic pen to detect a position on the paper and a document image according to print settings, a paper supply unit that supplies the paper, and a toner corresponding to the composite image An image forming apparatus including at least a printing unit including a fixing unit that fixes an image on the paper,
When the occurrence of an error is detected, it is determined whether or not the paper supplied from the paper supply unit has reached the fixing unit, and it is determined that the paper supplied from the paper supply unit has reached the fixing unit. In this case, with respect to printing after error recovery, the image processing unit has a document image corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the fixing unit and a pattern corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the fixing unit. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that performs control to generate a synthesized image to be printed by the printing unit by newly synthesizing different patterns . The control unit creates and stores information for associating a document image and a pattern in order of printing according to the print setting, and corresponds to the information regarding printing after the error recovery when the error is detected. The document image is assigned in order from the document image corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the fixing unit, and the pattern corresponding to the information is from the pattern next to the pattern corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the fixing unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus is assigned in order to reconstruct the information, and instructs the image processing unit to combine images based on the reconstructed information .   A paper supply unit that supplies paper, an image forming unit that creates a toner image of a composite image, a transfer unit that transfers the toner image onto the supplied paper, and a toner image transferred onto the paper is fixed. A printing unit including a fixing unit and a paper discharge unit that discharges the paper on which the toner image is fixed;
  An image forming apparatus control method comprising at least an image processing unit that synthesizes a unique pattern capable of detecting a position on a paper and an original image according to a print setting,
  Creating and storing information associating a document image with a pattern in printing order according to the print settings;
  When an error is detected after the paper supplied from the paper supply unit reaches the fixing unit, regarding printing after error recovery, the original image is assigned in order from the original image printed at the time of error detection, and the pattern is detected at the time of error detection. Assigning in order from the next pattern of the printed pattern, and reconstructing the information;
  Causing the image processing unit to generate a new composite image by combining the original image and a pattern next to the pattern based on the reconstructed information;
  And a step of causing the printing unit to print the new composite image.   An image processing unit that generates a composite image by combining a unique pattern that allows the electronic pen to detect a position on the paper and a document image according to print settings, a paper supply unit that supplies the paper, and a toner corresponding to the composite image A control method for an image forming apparatus comprising at least a printing unit including a fixing unit that fixes an image on the paper,
  When the occurrence of an error is detected, it is determined whether or not the paper supplied from the paper supply unit has reached the fixing unit, and it is determined that the paper supplied from the paper supply unit has reached the fixing unit. In this case, with respect to printing after error recovery, the image processing unit has a document image corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the fixing unit and a pattern corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the fixing unit. Has a step of newly synthesizing different patterns,
  And a step of causing the printing unit to print a newly synthesized composite image.   Creating and storing information associating a document image with a pattern in printing order according to the print settings;
  When the error is detected, with respect to printing after the error recovery, the document image corresponding to the information is assigned in order from the document image corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the fixing unit, and the pattern corresponding to the information Assigns in order from the next pattern corresponding to the composite image on the paper that has reached the fixing unit, reconstructs the information, and instructs the image processing unit to synthesize the image based on the reconstructed information The method for controlling an image forming apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: At least an image processing unit that combines a unique pattern that allows the electronic pen to detect the position on the paper and the original image according to print settings, a paper feeding unit that supplies the paper, and an image forming unit that creates a toner image of the composite image A transfer unit that transfers the toner image onto the supplied paper, a fixing unit that fixes the toner image transferred onto the paper, and a paper discharge unit that discharges the paper on which the toner image is fixed. A control program that operates on an apparatus that causes a printing unit to print a composite image,
Said device,
According to the print settings, information for associating the document image and the pattern in the order of printing is created and stored,
When an error is detected after the paper supplied from the paper supply unit reaches the fixing unit, regarding printing after error recovery, the original image is assigned in order from the original image printed at the time of error detection, and the pattern is detected at the time of error detection. The information is allocated in order from the next pattern of the printed pattern, and the information is reconstructed, and the image processing unit is configured to synthesize the original image and the next pattern of the pattern based on the reconstructed information. A control program for generating a new composite image and causing the printing unit to function as a control unit for printing the new composite image . The electronic pen combines a unique pattern that can detect the position on the paper and the original image according to the print settings, and includes at least an image processing unit that generates a composite image. A control program that operates on an apparatus that prints a composite image on a printing unit that includes a fixing unit that fixes a toner image to be fixed on the paper;
Said device,
When the occurrence of an error is detected, it is determined whether or not the paper supplied from the paper supply unit has reached the fixing unit, and it is determined that the paper supplied from the paper supply unit has reached the fixing unit. In this case, with respect to printing after error recovery, the image processing unit has a document image corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the fixing unit and a pattern corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the fixing unit. A control program that functions as a control unit that performs control to generate a composite image to be printed by the printing unit by newly synthesizing different patterns .   The control unit creates and stores information for associating a document image and a pattern in order of printing according to the print setting, and corresponds to the information regarding printing after the error recovery when the error is detected. The document image is assigned in order from the document image corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the fixing unit, and the pattern corresponding to the information is from the pattern next to the pattern corresponding to the composite image on the paper reaching the fixing unit. 9. The control program according to claim 8, wherein the control program is assigned in order, the information is reconstructed, and the image processing unit is instructed to synthesize an image based on the reconstructed information.

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