JP7615929B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming device.

There is a known technology for printing specific information with invisible toner, such as IR toner, which is normally not visible to the naked eye, to indicate that the printed matter is genuine. Techniques have been disclosed for inserting slip sheets or sorting the printed matter printed with invisible toner as a means for distinguishing the printed matter printed with invisible toner from other printed matters.

For example, a technique for printing two sheets of slip paper to be used as a divider has been disclosed (for example, Patent Document 1).

However, with conventional technology, although it is possible to distinguish printed matter printed with invisible toner by using interleaving paper, there is a problem in that it is not possible to confirm what has been printed with invisible toner.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide an image forming device that allows the contents printed with invisible toner to be confirmed.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the present invention is characterized by comprising an image forming unit that prints on a print medium using at least one of developers that contain at least an invisible toner, a determination unit that determines whether or not the image information included in a print job contains invisible information that is information printed with the invisible toner, and a print control unit that, when the determination unit determines that the image information contains the invisible information, visualizes information about the invisible information and causes the image forming unit to print it as an insert sheet at least either before the image information is printed on the print medium or after the image information is printed.

According to the present invention, the content printed using invisible toner can be confirmed.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a control device of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional block configuration of the control device of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of printing processing in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a state in which an interleaf sheet is transported in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment.

Below, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and the components in the following embodiment include those that a person skilled in the art would easily come up with, those that are substantially the same, and those that are within the scope of what is called equivalent. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, modifications, and combinations of the components can be made without departing from the spirit of the following embodiment.

(Overall configuration of image forming apparatus)
1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The image forming device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a device that transfers toner, which is a developer, onto printing paper P (an example of a printing medium) to form a print. The image forming device 1 is a tandem type device that can form a full-color image by overlapping, for example, four colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black), and can also form an image of invisible toner such as IR toner by overlapping it as necessary.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming device 1 includes a control device 10, an optical scanning device 20, four photosensitive drums 30a-30e, four cleaning units 31a-31e, four charging devices 32a-32e, four developing rollers 33a-33e, and four toner cartridges 34a-34e. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming device 1 also includes a transfer belt 40, a transfer roller 42, a density detector 45, four home position sensors 46a-46e, a fixing roller 50, a paper feed roller 54, a pair of registration rollers 56, a paper discharge roller 58, a paper feed tray 60, a paper discharge tray 70, and a communication control device 80.

The photoconductor drum 30a, cleaning unit 31a, charging device 32a, developing roller 33a, and toner cartridge 34a are used as a set. These constitute an image forming station that forms an image of invisible toner.

The photoconductor drum 30b, cleaning unit 31b, charging device 32b, developing roller 33b, and toner cartridge 34b are used as a set. These constitute an image forming station that forms a black image using black (K) toner.

The photoconductor drum 30c, cleaning unit 31c, charging device 32c, developing roller 33c, and toner cartridge 34c are used as a set. These constitute an image forming station that forms a cyan image using cyan (C) toner.

The photoconductor drum 30d, cleaning unit 31d, charging device 32d, developing roller 33d, and toner cartridge 34d are used as a set. These constitute an image forming station that forms a magenta image using magenta (M) toner.

The photoconductor drum 30e, cleaning unit 31e, charging device 32e, developing roller 33e, and toner cartridge 34e are used as a set. These constitute an image forming station that forms a yellow image using yellow (Y) toner.

The photoconductor drums 30a to 30e may be referred to simply as "photoconductor drum 30" when referring to any photoconductor drum or when referring to them collectively. The cleaning units 31a to 31e may be referred to simply as "cleaning unit 31" when referring to any cleaning unit or when referring to them collectively. The charging devices 32a to 32e may be referred to simply as "charging device 32" when referring to any charging device or when referring to them collectively. The developing rollers 33a to 33e may be referred to simply as "developing roller 33" when referring to any developing roller or when referring to them collectively. The toner cartridges 34a to 34e may be referred to simply as "toner cartridge 34" when referring to any toner cartridge or when referring to them collectively. The home position sensors 46a to 46e may be referred to simply as "home position sensor 46" when referring to any home position sensor or when referring to them collectively.

The control device 10 is a control device that comprehensively controls each device provided in the image forming device 1. The control device 10 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which a program executed by the CPU and various data used when executing the program are stored, a RAM (Random Access Memory) which is a working memory, and an AD conversion circuit that converts analog data to digital data. The control device 10 also controls each device in response to a request from the upper device 2, and sends image data from the upper device 2 to the optical scanning device 20. A print job including image data received by the control device 10 from the upper device 2 may include print setting parameters indicating that at least a portion of the information in the image data is printed with invisible toner. Here, the information in the image data (print data) that is printed with invisible toner is referred to as invisible information. The higher-level device 2 is an information processing device such as a PC (Personal Computer) or a workstation that transmits a print job including image data to be printed to the control device 10 via the communication control device 80.

The optical scanning device 20 is an optical device that irradiates the surface of the corresponding charged photoconductor drum 30 with a laser modulated for each toner based on image data (cyan image data, magenta image data, yellow image data, black image data, invisible information). As a result, the charge on the surface of each photoconductor drum 30 disappears only in the areas irradiated with light, and a latent image corresponding to the image data is formed on the surface of each photoconductor drum 30. The latent image formed on the surface of each photoconductor drum 30 moves in the direction of the corresponding developing roller 33 as the photoconductor drum 30 rotates.

The photoconductor drum 30 is an example of a latent image carrier, and is a drum-shaped member with a photosensitive layer formed on its surface. In other words, the surface of the photoconductor drum 30 is the surface to be scanned. The photoconductor drums 30a to 30e are arranged side by side, for example, with their rotation axes parallel to each other, and rotate in the same direction (for example, the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1).

In the following description, the direction parallel to the central axis of each photoconductor drum 30 is the Y-axis direction, and the direction along the arrangement direction of each photoconductor drum 30 is the X-axis direction in an XYZ three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.

The cleaning unit 31 is a unit that removes toner (residual toner) remaining on the surface of the corresponding photoconductor drum 30. The surface of the photoconductor drum 30 from which the residual toner has been removed returns to a position facing the corresponding charging device 32 again.

The charging device 32 is a device that uniformly charges the surface of each corresponding photoconductor drum 30.

As the developing roller 33 rotates, toner from the corresponding toner cartridge 34 is applied thinly and evenly to its surface. When the toner on the surface of the developing roller 33 comes into contact with the surface of the corresponding photoconductor drum 30, it adheres to the portion of the surface that is irradiated with light. In other words, the developing roller 33 adheres to the toner on the latent image formed on the surface of the corresponding photoconductor drum 30, making it visible and forming a toner image.

Toner cartridge 34a is a cartridge that supplies invisible toner to developing roller 33a. Toner cartridge 34b is a cartridge that supplies black toner to developing roller 33b. Toner cartridge 34c is a cartridge that supplies cyan toner to developing roller 33c. Toner cartridge 34d is a cartridge that supplies magenta toner to developing roller 33d. Toner cartridge 34e is a cartridge that supplies yellow toner to developing roller 33e.

The transfer belt 40 is an endless belt that is stretched around a belt rotation mechanism and rotates in a fixed direction. The outer surface of the transfer belt 40 contacts the surface of each photosensitive drum 30 at a position opposite the optical scanning device 20, and the toner images on each photosensitive drum 30 are transferred in a sequential, overlapping manner, and the toner images are transferred. The outer surface of the transfer belt 40 also contacts a transfer roller 42.

The transfer roller 42 is a roller that comes into contact with the outer surface of the transfer belt 40 via the printing paper P and transfers the toner image formed on the transfer belt 40 to the printing paper P.

The concentration detector 45 is a sensor that detects the toner concentration of the toner image on the transfer belt 40 and is located on the -X side of the transfer belt 40 (upstream of the fixing roller 50 in the direction of travel of the transfer belt 40 and downstream of the five photosensitive drums 30).

The home position sensor 46 is a sensor that detects the home position (original position) of the rotation of the corresponding photosensitive drum 30.

The fixing roller 50 is a roller that applies heat and pressure to the recording paper to fix the toner onto the print paper P. The print paper P with the fixed toner is sent to the paper output tray 70 via the paper output roller 58, and is stacked on the paper output tray 70 in order.

The paper feed roller 54 is disposed near the paper feed tray 60 and is a member that takes out the printing paper P one sheet at a time from the paper feed tray 60 and transports it to the registration roller pair 56.

The registration roller pair 56 is a pair of rollers that sends the printing paper P toward the gap between the transfer belt 40 and the transfer roller 42 at a predetermined timing. This causes the toner image on the transfer belt 40 to be transferred to the printing paper P. The printing paper P that has been transferred here is sent to the fixing roller 50.

The paper discharge roller 58 is a roller that discharges the printing paper P with the toner image transferred thereto from the fixing roller 50 onto the paper discharge tray 70.

The paper feed tray 60 is a tray for storing print paper P. The paper discharge tray 70 is a tray for stacking print paper P with a transferred toner image that is discharged from the paper discharge roller 58.

The communication control device 80 is a device that controls two-way communication with a higher-level device 2 (e.g., a computer) via a network or the like. The communication control device 80 realizes communication that complies with, for example, the TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)/IP (Internet Protocol) standard or the USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard.

(Hardware configuration of image forming apparatus)
2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a control device of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. The hardware configuration of the control device 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 10 includes a CPU 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, an external I/F 204, an optical scanning control circuit 211 (an example of an image forming unit), an image forming control circuit 212 (an example of an image forming unit), a paper feed drive corridor 213, and a paper discharge drive circuit 214, which are capable of data communication with each other via a bus line.

The CPU 201 is a computing device that loads various programs stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203, which is used as a work area, to realize various functions.

The external I/F 204 is an interface for communicating with a host 250, which is an external device connected via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network) constructed by a wired or wireless data transmission path, and corresponds to the communication control device 80 shown in FIG. 1. The host 250 is, for example, an information processing device that transmits a print job including image data (image information) to be printed to the control device 10, and corresponds to the higher-level device 2 shown in FIG. 1.

The optical scanning control circuit 211 is a control circuit that controls the laser irradiation operation of the optical scanning device 20 based on image data (print data) received by the external I/F 204 in accordance with instructions from the CPU 201.

The image forming control circuit 212 is a control circuit that controls the operation of the photoconductor drum 30 and the transfer roller 42, etc., based on image data (print data) received by the external I/F 204 in accordance with instructions from the CPU 201, and forms (prints) an image on the printing paper P.

The paper feed drive corridor 213 is a drive circuit that controls the operation of the paper feed roller 54 according to instructions from the CPU 201, and feeds the print paper P one sheet at a time from the paper feed tray 60.

The discharge drive circuit 214 is a drive circuit that controls the operation of the discharge rollers 58 in accordance with instructions from the CPU 201, and discharges the print paper P on which the toner image is printed onto the discharge tray 70.

The hardware configuration of the control device 10 shown in FIG. 2 is an example, and other components may be included. For example, in addition to what is shown in FIG. 2, the control device 10 may also have a non-volatile memory such as NVRAM (Non-Volatile RAM), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) that performs image processing, or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) that performs input/output signal processing.

(Configuration and operation of functional blocks of the control unit of the image forming apparatus)
3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of functional blocks of the control device 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. The configuration and operation of the functional blocks of the control device 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control device 10 of the image forming device 1 has an acquisition unit 101, a determination unit 102, and a print control unit 103.

The acquisition unit 101 is a functional unit that acquires a print job from the higher-level device 2 (host 250) via the external I/F 204. The print job acquired by the acquisition unit 101 includes various print setting parameters (print setting information) in addition to image data (print data) that is the subject of image formation. The acquisition unit 101 is realized by the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 2 executing a program.

The determination unit 102 is a functional unit that determines whether or not invisible information is included in the image data included in the print job acquired by the acquisition unit 101. For example, the determination unit 102 determines whether or not invisible information is included in the image data by using print setting parameters included in the print job. The determination unit 102 is realized by executing a program by the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 2.

The print control unit 103 is a functional unit that controls the optical scanning control circuit 211 and the image forming control circuit 212 to print the image data of the print job acquired by the acquisition unit 101 on the print paper P. If the determination unit 102 determines that the image data of the print job includes invisible information, the print control unit 103 visualizes information related to the invisible information before printing the image data including the invisible information, and prints the visualized information on the print paper P as a first interleaf. Next, the print control unit 103 prints the image data of the print job on the print paper P fed next to the first interleaf. Then, the print control unit 103 visualizes and prints information related to the invisible information on the print paper P fed next to the print paper P on which the image data has been printed, as a second interleaf. Here, the information on the invisible information printed on the first and second interleaf sheets may include, for example, the invisible information itself (the invisible information itself), reduced image data showing the invisible information, a two-dimensional code of the invisible information (or information about it), the page number of the invisible information, or information that the invisible information is printed on the printing paper P together with the interleaf sheets, and may include at least one of these pieces of information. Note that the information on the invisible information printed on the first and second interleaf sheets is not limited to being the same information, and different information may be printed. For example, information that the invisible information is printed on the printing paper P between the interleaf sheets may be printed on the first interleaf sheet, and reduced image data showing the invisible information may be printed on the second interleaf sheet. The print control unit 103 is realized by the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 2 executing a program.

In addition, the acquisition unit 101, the determination unit 102, and the print control unit 103 may be partly or entirely realized by an integrated circuit such as an FPGA or ASIC, rather than by a software program.

Furthermore, each functional unit of the control device 10 shown in FIG. 3 is a conceptual representation of a function, and is not limited to this configuration. For example, multiple functional units illustrated as independent functional units in the control device 10 shown in FIG. 3 may be configured as a single functional unit. On the other hand, the function of a single functional unit in the control device 10 shown in FIG. 3 may be divided into multiple functions and configured as multiple functional units.

(Flow of printing process of image forming device)
Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a printing process of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a state in which an interleaf is transported in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. The flow of the printing process of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 4 and 5.

<Step S11>
The acquisition unit 101 acquires a print job from the higher-level device 2 (host 250) via the external I/F 204. The determination unit 102 determines whether or not invisible information is included in the image data included in the print job acquired by the acquisition unit 101. That is, the determination unit 102 determines whether or not the print job is for printing information including invisible information. If invisible information is included in the image data included in the print job (step S11: Yes), the process proceeds to step S12, and if invisible information is not included in the image data (step S11: No), the process proceeds to step S16.

<Step S12>
Before printing image data including invisible information, the print control unit 103 visualizes the information related to the invisible information and prints the visualized information as a first interleaf sheet on the print paper P. Fig. 5 shows a state in which the interleaf sheet PA1 as the first interleaf sheet is printed and then transported toward the paper discharge rollers 58. Then, the process proceeds to step S13.

<Step S13>
Next, after printing the first interleaf, the print control unit 103 prints the image data of the print job on the print paper P fed by the paper feed drive corridor 213. Fig. 5 shows a state in which the image data is transferred to the print paper PF for printing by the transfer roller 42. Then, the process proceeds to step S14.

<Step S14>
When the printing process of the image data including invisible information by the print control unit 103 is completed (step S14: Yes), the process proceeds to step S15, and when the printing process is not completed (step S14: No), the process returns to step S13. Here, it goes without saying that the printing process of the image data including invisible information is not necessarily completed with one sheet of printing paper P, and multiple sheets of printing paper P may be used.

<Step S15>
The print control unit 103 visualizes and prints the information about the invisible information as a second interleaf sheet on the print paper P fed next to the print paper P on which the image data has been printed. Fig. 5 shows a state in which interleaf sheet PA2 as the second interleaf sheet is fed from the paper feed tray 60 by the paper feed roller 54. Then, the print process of the image forming apparatus 1 is completed.

<Step S16>
If the determination unit 102 determines that the image data of the print job does not contain invisible information, the print control unit 103 performs normal printing of the image data on the print paper P. In other words, the print control unit 103 prints the image data of the print job on the print paper P without printing it as an interleaf sheet. Then, the print process of the image forming apparatus 1 ends.

The printing process of the image forming device 1 is carried out through the above steps S11 to S16.

As described above, in the image forming device 1 according to this embodiment, the optical scanning control circuit 211 and the image forming control circuit 212 print on the print paper P using at least one of the developers including at least invisible toner, the determination unit 102 determines whether the image data included in the print job includes invisible information that is information printed with invisible toner, and if the determination unit 102 determines that the image data includes invisible information, the print control unit 103 visualizes information related to the invisible information at least either before the image data is printed on the print paper P or after the image data is printed, and has the optical scanning control circuit 211 and the image forming control circuit 212 print it as a slip sheet. This makes it possible to check the content printed with invisible toner by checking the slip sheet.

Note that, although it has been described above that slip sheets (first slip sheet, second slip sheet) are printed before and after the printing paper P on which image data (print data) including invisible information has been printed, this is not limited to the above, and only the first slip sheet may be printed before the printing paper P, or only the second slip sheet may be printed after the printing paper P.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, when at least one of the functional units of the control device 10 of the image forming device 1 is realized by the execution of a program, the program is provided by being pre-installed in a ROM or the like. In the above-mentioned embodiment, the program executed by the control device 10 of the image forming device 1 may be provided by being recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R (Compact Disk-Recordable), or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) in an installable or executable format file. In the above-mentioned embodiment, the program executed by the control device 10 of the image forming device 1 may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. In the above-mentioned embodiment, the program executed by the control device 10 of the image forming device 1 may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet. Also, in the above embodiment, the program executed by the control device 10 of the image forming device 1 includes at least one of the modules described above, and in terms of actual hardware, the CPU reads the program from the above storage device and executes it, causing each of the above modules to be loaded and generated on the main storage device.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Image forming device 2 Upper device 10 Control device 20 Optical scanning device 30, 30a to 30e Photoconductor drum 31, 31a to 31e Cleaning unit 32, 32a to 32e Charging device 33, 33a to 33e Development roller 34, 34a to 34e Toner cartridge 40 Transfer belt 42 Transfer roller 45 Density detector 46, 46a to 46e Home position sensor 50 Fixing roller 54 Paper feed roller 56 Registration roller pair 58 Paper discharge roller 60 Paper feed tray 70 Paper discharge tray 80 Communication control device 101 Acquisition unit 102 Determination unit 103 Print control unit 201 CPU
202 ROM
203 RAM
204 External I/F
211 Optical scanning control circuit 212 Image formation control circuit 213 Paper feed drive circuit 214 Paper discharge drive circuit 250 Host P Printing paper PA1, PA2 Insertion paper PF Printing paper

JP 2010-181639 A

Claims (5)

an image forming unit that prints on a print medium using at least one developer including at least an invisible toner;
a determination unit that determines whether or not image information included in a print job includes invisible information that is information printed with the invisible toner;
a print control unit that, when the determination unit determines that the image information includes the invisible information, visualizes information related to the invisible information and causes the image forming unit to print the information as an inserting sheet at least either before the image information is printed on a print medium or after the image information is printed;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming device according to claim 1, wherein, when the determination unit determines that the image information includes the invisible information, the print control unit causes the image forming unit to print information about the invisible information on a first interleaf sheet, print the image information on a print medium, and print information about the invisible information on a second interleaf sheet. the print job includes print setting information used to print the image information,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the determination unit determines whether or not the image information includes the invisible information based on the print setting information. The image forming device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the print control unit causes the image forming unit to print the image information on the print medium without printing it as the slip sheet when the determination unit determines that the image information does not include the invisible information. The image forming device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the information relating to the invisible information includes at least one of the invisible information itself, reduced image data showing the invisible information, image data in which the invisible information is two-dimensionally coded, the page number of the invisible information, or information indicating that the invisible information is printed on a print medium together with an inserting sheet.

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