JP2007037048A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus for preventing printing of a useless document image in the case where recycled paper is used. <P>SOLUTION: Images on one surface and ther other surface of a document are read (SP1, SP2, SP6) to determine whether the document images obtained are matched with the image of predetermined format (SP4). When such image is matched with the predetermined format image, it is inhibited (SP5) that the document image matched with such format is stored in a printing file. Thereby, it is possible to prevent that the document images already printed on the recycled paper are printed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and, for example, to an image forming apparatus that reads a document image such as a copier or a FAX to form an image.

  For example, in the environment of effective use of resources and resource saving in copiers, etc., in the office environment, paper that has been printed once is increasingly used for internal documents and meeting materials. Printing is already performed on the blank side of the paper that has already been printed on the back side. Hereinafter, such paper is referred to as recycled paper.

  On the other hand, the copying machine can read a manuscript image of a double-sided original in the double-sided copy mode, or can read a single-sided manuscript in the single-sided copy mode. Can be selected. When copying double-sided originals in the double-sided copy mode, if originals using recycled paper are mixed, an unnecessary original image is printed. For this reason, there is a problem that useless copying is performed.

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-21021 (Patent Document 1) describes embedding a print identification line “printed on this side” on the print side when printing on paper. When the document is read, when the print identification line is identified, the surface is not read. As a result, it is possible to prevent unnecessary original images from being read and printed when reading originals using recycled paper.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-21021 (paragraph numbers 0031 to 0038, FIG. 3)

  In the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to determine that printing is being performed when reading a document on a paper in which a print identification line is embedded, but other image formation in which the print identification line cannot be embedded. When the paper printed by the apparatus is printed on the other side as recycled paper and the paper is read as an original, an unnecessary original image is read.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing printing of useless original images when using recycled paper.

  The present invention is an image forming apparatus that reads an image of a document and forms an image, a reading unit for reading the document image, a storage unit that stores an image in a predetermined format in advance, and the read document image on a printing sheet. Printing means for printing, determination means for determining whether the read document image matches the image in the format stored in the storage means, and determining the document image matching the format image by the determination means Accordingly, the image forming apparatus includes control means for controlling the original image determined to be coincident not to be printed by the printing means.

  Further, the control means includes mode switching means for switching between a first mode in which determination is performed by the determination means and a second mode in which determination is not performed. The control means selects the first mode by the mode switching means. Only when it is determined by the determining means.

  Specifically, the document is a double-sided document, and the determining unit determines whether the document image on each side of the double-sided document read by the reading unit matches the format data stored in the storage unit.

  The present invention determines whether a read original image matches a format image stored in a storage unit, and determines that the original image matches the format image when the original image matches the format image. Is prevented from being printed, so that it is possible to prevent the original image of the printed side of the recycled paper from being printed and to eliminate waste.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an operation unit 2, a reading unit 3 as a reading unit, a memory 4, a hard disk 6 as a storage unit, a display unit 7, and a printing device 8 are connected to the control unit 1. . The operation unit 2 includes a numeric keypad for setting the number of copies, a copy key for instructing start of copying, a key for instructing double-sided or single-sided reading, a mode key, and the like.

  The mode key switches between a first mode for determining whether the read document image matches a predetermined format and a second mode for not determining. In the second mode, a document in a predetermined format may be copied during normal copying. At this time, it is not determined whether the document matches the predetermined format.

  The reading unit 3 reads an image of a document, and can read both sides and one side of the document. The memory 4 includes a print file 5 that stores print data to be printed by the printing device 8. The hard disk 6 stores image data in a predetermined format in advance. The predetermined format includes a format format in which only a number needs to be input into a commonly used print pattern, pattern data converted into a bitmap, and the like. The display unit 7 displays the number of copies. The printing device 8 prints the image data stored in the print file 5 on paper.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  When a document is set in the reading unit 3, the document is detected by a document sensor (not shown) provided in the reading unit 3. In step SP1, the control unit 1 determines whether or not there is a document. If it is determined that there is a document, the control unit 1 reads a document image on one side of the document and stores the read image data in the memory 4 in step SP2. Remember. In step SP3, it is determined whether or not the first mode is set. If it is determined that the first mode is set, it is determined in step SP4 whether or not the image data stored in the memory 7 matches a predetermined format stored in the hard disk 6 in advance. When it is determined that they do not match, the image data stored in the memory 4 is written into the print file 5 in step SP5.

  When it is determined in step SP3 that the first mode is not set, that is, a predetermined format is often used, and the second mode is set so as not to prevent printing of image data in that format. If YES in step SP4, the image data stored in the memory 4 is written in the print file 5 in step SP5 without performing the process of checking in step SP4.

  If it is determined in step SP4 that the image data stored in the memory 4 matches the predetermined format, the process proceeds to step SP6 without transferring the image data stored in the memory 4 to the print file 5. The image data is not printed.

  In step SP6, it is determined whether or not the other side of the document has been read, that is, whether or not double-sided reading has been designated. The double-sided reading may be designated by a key of the operation unit 2 or may be automatically determined. If double-sided scanning is designated, the process returns to step SP 2, the original image on the other side of the original is read by the reading unit 3, and the read image data is stored in the memory 4.

  Thereafter, the operations in steps SP3 to SP6 are repeated, and the same processing as the image reading on one side is performed. As a result, it is not determined whether the image data on the other side of the document matches the predetermined format unless the first mode is set. In step SP7, it is determined whether or not the image data of all the originals have been read. If all the originals have not been read, the process returns to step SP1, and if complete, the print file 5 is returned in step SP8. Print all the stored image data at once.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, if the image data of the read document matches the predetermined format, the read image data is not transferred to the print file 5, and thus printing can be prevented. Therefore, even if a plurality of double-sided originals are mixed with originals printed on recycled paper on which the other side has been printed, waste of printing an image on the other side of the recycled paper can be eliminated.

  At the time of double-sided reading, the similarity between the images on one side and the other side of the read original may be monitored for each sheet based on dot count data and layout information based on image recognition. The layout information based on the image recognition is preferably determined based on the result of the region separation process, and classified into a plurality of predetermined categories based on the composition ratio of the character region / photo region / background region.

  General double-sided originals tend to have a high similarity between one side and the other side. If the similarity between one side and the other side is low, the scanning operation is temporarily stopped and a warning message is displayed. Control as shown in FIG.

  Further, the number of documents having low similarity between the one side and the other side may be counted, and control may be performed so that a warning message is displayed when a predetermined count value is exceeded. Alternatively, a document having a low similarity between one side and the other side is stored, and after reading of all the documents is completed, it can be visually recognized on the display unit 6 as a thumbnail that there is a possibility that recycled paper is mixed. May be displayed as follows.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described with reference to drawings, this invention is not limited to the thing of embodiment shown in figure. Various modifications and variations can be made to the illustrated embodiment within the same range or equivalent range as the present invention.

1 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control part, 2 Operation part, 3 Reading part, 4 Memory, 5 Print file, 6 Hard disk, 7 Display part, 8 Printing apparatus.

Claims (3)

An image forming apparatus that reads a document image and forms an image,
Reading means for reading the document image;
Storage means for storing an image in a predetermined format in advance;
Printing means for printing the read original image on printing paper;
Determining means for determining whether the read document image matches an image of a format stored in the storage means;
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a control unit configured to control the original image determined to be coincident with the image to be printed by the printing unit in response to determining the original image matching the image of the format by the determining unit. Furthermore, it includes mode switching means for switching between a first mode in which the determination by the determination means is performed and a second mode in which the determination is not performed.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs the determination by the determination unit only when the first mode is selected by the mode switching unit. The original is a double-sided original,
3. The image formation according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether or not the document image on each side of the double-sided document read by the reading unit matches data in a format stored in the storage unit. apparatus.

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