JP5435200B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a program job function for collectively outputting a plurality of jobs.

2. Description of the Related Art Image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, facsimile machines, printers, and multifunction machines that perform image formation based on image data have been put into practical use having a program job function that outputs a plurality of jobs at once. With this program job function, job data created by different applications or job data read for each bundle of jobs by a scanner, the image type (line drawing, photo, etc.) differs for each job, single-sided or double-sided printing Multiple job data with different methods can be combined and output at once. By using this program job function, it is possible to collect various data and obtain user-friendly data, printed matter, and the like as conference materials and presentation materials (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-134413 JP 2003-177879 A

  In addition, as an image forming apparatus, a post-processing unit incorporated in the apparatus itself or a post-processing apparatus that can be post-processed by a post-processing device connected on the paper discharge side has been put into practical use. In this post-processing, stapling, saddle stitching, bookbinding, and the like can be performed as post-processing based on the bundle concept (hereinafter referred to as bundle post-processing). By the way, in the above-described program job, since the whole is output at once, if the post-bundling process is performed in the conventional image forming apparatus, the post-processing for the whole is performed. As a more convenient output product, it is desirable to be able to perform post-bundling processing in units of bundles, but there is a problem that it is difficult to realize this in the conventional program job function.

  The present invention has been made against the background of the above circumstances, and provides an image forming apparatus that can perform post-bundling processing in units of bundles in a program job function, and can arbitrarily set a separation at that time. The purpose is to do.

As described above, of the image forming apparatuses according to the present invention, the first aspect of the present invention includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet based on image data, and a post-process that performs post-processing on the image-formed sheet. An operation display unit capable of setting the presence / absence of bundle post-processing by the operator and / or an operation input for setting a separator, and a control unit that manages jobs and controls the image formation.
The control unit has a program job function for outputting a plurality of jobs at a time, and in the program job function, setting of presence / absence of post-bundling processing for each job bundle and setting of the separation of the post-bundling processing are performed. Possible and
When reading a job bundle with the program job function, it is determined whether the post-processing setting is the same for the previous job bundle and the job bundle to be read, and if the post-processing setting is the same, If it is determined by the operator through the operation display unit whether to set the separation of the bundle post-processing on the last page of the job bundle, and the post-processing setting is determined to be the same, It is characterized in that it is not possible to specify by the operator through the operation display section as to whether to set a delimiter for each.

According to the present invention, in the program job function, it is possible to set the presence / absence of post-bundling processing for each job bundle, so that a state in which post-bundling processing is performed for each job bundle and a non-bundled state are mixed Can be output all at once, and output that is easy to use according to the purpose can be obtained.
The setting of the presence / absence of post-bundling processing for each job bundle and / or the separation setting of post-bundling processing can be appropriately input by the operation display unit according to the will of the operator. The operation display unit can be configured by a touch panel using an LCD or the like, and the operation display unit may be configured by the operation unit and the display unit independently.
The post-processing unit may be attached to the image forming apparatus or may be attached to and connected to the image forming apparatus.

Further, when setting the post-bundling process for each job bundle , it is possible to set a separation of the post-bundling process on an arbitrary final page of the job bundle, and an output product with improved usability can be obtained.

The image forming apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the controller has a plurality of batch post-processing conditions that are the same when the plurality of job bundles are separated in the separation setting. It is possible to set only a delimiter that collects the job bundles.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when a plurality of job bundles are grouped and separated, only a plurality of job bundles having the same post-bundling processing condition are grouped and separated, so that the bundles having the same conditions are obtained. Processing is performed, and it is possible to avoid an unintended post-processing by mixing job bundles having different post-processing conditions.

Third image forming apparatus of the present invention, the first or second of the onset Oite bright, the control unit, the image data set and / or separated each job settings of whether the bundle postprocessing It is performed at the time of acquisition.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the setting of the presence / absence of post-bundling processing for each job bundle and / or the setting of separation of post-bundling processing can be performed at the time of image data acquisition such as reading of a document bundle. As a result, quick setting is possible, and the working time can be shortened.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect , wherein the image acquisition is image reading of a document.

The fifth image forming apparatus of the present invention, in any one of the first or second invention, the control unit may set the presence or absence of the bundle workup and / or the delimiting said program job settings Output It is performed at the start.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, by performing the above setting at the start of program job output, it is possible to efficiently set a plurality of jobs collectively.

An image forming apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to the fifth aspect , wherein the control unit can set the separation instruction for each job bundle at the start of the program job.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, setting the separation instruction for each job bundle at the start of the program job eliminates the need for setting for each job bundle, thereby simplifying the setting operation.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects of the invention, the control unit combines a plurality of job data files stored in a storage unit as the program job function. In the combination of the job data files, it is possible to set post-bundling processing and / or set a delimiter for any one or a plurality of job data files.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to combine a plurality of job data files already stored in the storage unit and combine them by a program job, and set or / and delimit post-bundling processing for each file. By making it possible to set, it is possible to separate the job bundle into a concept.

An image forming apparatus according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in any one of the first to seventh aspects of the present invention, the post-bundling process is one of stapling, saddle stitching, and bookbinding.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, any one of stapling, saddle stitching, and bookbinding exemplified as post-bundling processing can be selected, and a plurality of types of post-bundling processing can be performed by a program job. Good.

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet based on the image data, the post-processing unit that performs post-processing on the image-formed sheet, and the operator An operation display unit capable of performing operation input for setting the presence / absence of bundle post-processing and / or setting for separation, and a control unit that manages jobs and controls the image formation. A program job function for collectively outputting jobs, wherein in the program job function, setting of presence / absence of post-bundling processing for each job bundle and setting of the separation of the post-bundling processing are possible, and the program When reading a job bundle with the job function, it is determined whether the post-processing setting is the same between the previous job bundle and the job bundle to be read. If it is determined that the post-processing setting is the same, When it is determined by the operator through the operation display unit whether to set the separation of the bundle post-processing on the last page of the job bundle, and the post-processing setting is determined to be the same, Since it is not possible to specify by the operator through the operation display section whether or not to set the delimiter for the subset, it is possible to perform post processing of the bundle of subsets at the time of the program job, and to provide a user-friendly output according to the purpose. It becomes possible.
Accordingly, it is possible to perform output such as stapling for each bundle, stapling of a plurality of bundles, or a bundle without stapling.

Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus A and a post-processing apparatus B attached to the image forming apparatus A. In this example, the image forming apparatus and the post-processing apparatus are described as separate apparatuses, but the post-processing apparatus may be included in the image forming apparatus.

The image forming apparatus A is provided with a scanner unit 130 on the upper side thereof, thereby reading a document. The read image data is stored in the storage unit as job data together with the print condition setting data. The storage unit includes the HDD 123 shown in FIG. 1, the image memory DRAM 120, the system memory RAM 113, the program memory 112, and the nonvolatile memory 114 shown in FIG.
Further, an operation panel 140 is provided as an operation display unit on the upper side of the image forming apparatus 1 so that an operation input by an operator is possible.

  Further, on the lower side of the image forming apparatus A, a paper feed unit 155 having a plurality of paper feed trays (Trays 1 to 3) in which sheets are stored is provided. At the paper feed destination of the paper feed unit 155, an image forming unit composed of an LD 152 or the like is disposed. In the vicinity of the LD 152, a photoconductor, a charger, a developing device, a fixing device, and the like (not shown) are arranged to constitute an image forming unit. A post-processing apparatus B is installed on the downstream side of the image forming unit and connected to the image forming apparatus main body 1 so that post-processing (stapling) can be performed on the paper on which the image has been formed.

Next, functional configurations of the image forming apparatus A and the post-processing apparatus B according to the present invention are shown in the block diagram of FIG.
The image forming apparatus A includes an image control unit 110, an automatic document feeder (ADF) 135, a scanner unit 130, an operation panel 140, and a printer unit 150. The image forming apparatus A can control the post-processing device B. It is connected.

  The image control unit 110 includes an image control CPU 111 that controls the entire image forming apparatus A. The image control CPU 111 includes a program memory 112 that stores a program for operating the image control CPU 111, and a program operation time. A system memory (RAM) 113, a non-volatile memory 114, an IO unit 116, and the like that are used as temporary storage locations and the like are connected. The nonvolatile memory 114 stores initial print setting information of the image forming apparatus 1, machine setting information such as process control parameters, and setting data such as paper information (paper size, paper type, etc.) of each paper feed tray. Yes. The IO unit 116 operates as an interface that exchanges information with each unit in the image forming apparatus A.

  The image control CPU 111 performs operations such as control of each part in accordance with a program stored in the program memory 112 while referring to data on the system memory 113. The image control CPU 111 can read non-volatile data in the non-volatile memory 114 and can write desired data into the non-volatile memory 114 as non-volatile data. The image control CPU 111 controls the operation of each unit of the image forming apparatus 1 in accordance with the machine setting information and the print setting information. The image processing control CPU 111 controls the entire image forming apparatus 1, and the image processing control CPU 111 and the storage unit constitute a control unit of the present invention.

A DRAM control IC 115 is connected to the image control CPU 111, and an image memory 120 including a compression memory 121 and an HDD 123 are connected to the DRAM control IC 115.
A write processing unit 125 is connected to the DRAM control IC 115. The write processing unit 125 is connected to an LD (laser diode) 152 included in the printer unit 150 and processes write data used for the operation of the LD 152. The printer unit 150 includes the paper feeding unit 155, an image forming unit, a paper transport unit (not shown), and the like, and includes a printer control unit 151 that controls the entire printer unit 150. The printer control unit 151 is connected to the image control CPU 111 described above.

  The printer control unit 151 controls the printer unit 150 by operating according to the control command of the image control CPU 111 while performing serial communication with the image control CPU 111. A paper feed mechanism, a transport mechanism, and the like are connected to the printer control unit 151 so as to be controllable. The printer control unit 151 performs paper transport, image formation, and the like in accordance with instructions from the image control CPU 111. Further, a post-processing control unit 161 of an FNS (post-processing unit) 160 is connected to the printer control unit 151, and the post-processing apparatus B is controlled via the printer control unit 151. Therefore, information such as stapling breaks, stapling settings (stapling position, stapling direction, number of stapling locations, etc.) set in the image forming apparatus A is transmitted to the image control CPU 111, the printer control unit 151, and the FNS control unit 161. Based on the information, the FNS 160 staples the sheet bundle.

  Next, the scanner unit 130 includes a CCD 131 that performs optical reading, and a scanner control unit 132 that controls the entire scanner unit 130. The scanner control unit 132 is connected to the image control CPU 111 so as to be capable of serial communication. The CCD 131 is connected to a reading processing unit 117 that processes image data read by the CCD 131. The reading processing unit 117 is connected to a DRAM control IC 115. The DRAM control IC 115 further receives image data. A compression / decompression IC 124 for performing compression processing and decompression processing is connected.

  An automatic document feeder (ADF) 135 that automatically sends a document loaded for reading has an ADF control unit 136, and the ADF control unit 136 is connected to the image control CPU 111. Control is performed by the image control CPU 111.

  The operation panel 140 serves as both a display unit and an operation unit, and includes an LCD 140a and an operation unit control unit 140b that controls the entire operation unit. The operation unit control unit 140b can communicate serially with the image control CPU 111. And is controlled by the image control CPU 111. On the operation panel 140, the LCD 140a can display machine setting input such as print settings and operation control conditions in the image forming apparatus 1, setting input related to output, display of setting contents, information such as required remaining time in image formation, and the like. It has become. Therefore, the operation panel 140 is capable of selecting a program job function, setting the presence / absence of post-bundling processing for each job bundle of post-bundling processing at the time of a program job, and operating input for setting a delimiter for post-bundling processing.

Next, the basic operation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described.
First, a procedure for storing image data in the image forming apparatus 1 will be described.
In the image forming apparatus 1, a case where an image is read by the scanner unit 130 and image data is generated for a document fed by an automatic document feeder (ADF) 135 or a document placed on a platen will be described. The scanner unit 130 optically reads an image from a document by the CCD 131. At this time, the operation of the CCD 131 is controlled by the scanner control unit 132 that receives a command from the image control CPU 111.

  The image control CPU 111 operates according to a program and issues a command to the scanner unit 130 based on an operation by the operation panel 140. The image read by the CCD 131 is subjected to data processing by the reading processing unit 117, and the processed image data is compressed by the compression / decompression IC 124 by a predetermined method and stored in the compression memory 121 via the DRAM control IC 115. The

  When image output is performed by the image forming apparatus 1, output setting conditions are determined based on settings made by the operation panel 140 or initial conditions. The image control CPU 111 controls each unit according to the output setting condition. Examples of the output setting conditions include output setting parameters for input images such as “paper tray designation”, “paper size”, “magnification”, “single / double-sided”, “number of copies”, and “post-processing operation conditions”. When the document is read by the image control CPU 111 when reading the original, an output setting condition is determined and stored in the compression memory 121 or the HDD 123 as job data together with the image data.

  When forming an image, image data stored in the compression memory 121 or HDD 123 is sent to the compression / decompression IC 122 via the DRAM control IC 115 to decompress the data, and the decompressed data is sent to the image control CPU 111 via the DRAM control IC 115. Sent.

  Further, the decompressed image data is sent to the write processing unit 125 through the DRAM control IC 115 to generate write data, and the LD 152 performs writing on the photoconductor. In the printer unit 150, each unit of the printer unit 150 is controlled by the printer control unit 151 that receives a command from the image control CPU 111. In the printer unit 150, image formation, transfer to paper, fixing, conveyance to the post-processing apparatus B, post-processing in the FNS 160, and the like are sequentially performed to perform print output.

  The image control CPU 111 can execute a program job function. The program job function allows various settings (tray designation, single-side / double-side designation, etc.) for each job bundle such as a read bundle, and outputs each job as a single job. If this concept is shown in FIG. 3, each original bundle having different job conditions is read. In the figure, in job A, an original is read on the platen, and in jobs B and C, the original is read by ADF, and image data is acquired. These are output collectively as a single job. At this time, settings such as tray designation and single-side / double-side designation can be performed for each job.

The above shows a general program job function. In the present invention, it is possible to set the presence / absence of post-bundling processing for each job bundle and / or set separation of post-bundling processing.
FIG. 4 shows an example in which three jobs are output together as a program job. As shown in FIG. 4A, the first bundle of documents includes pages 1-1 to 1-3, and the second bundle of documents includes pages 2-1 and 2-2. The bundle manuscript consists of pages 3-1 to 3-4.
When batch processing is performed by a program job, stapling is set for each job bundle, and if this is separated, bundle processing is performed in which each job bundle is stapled as shown in FIG. Made. In the figure, the delimiter is indicated by a thick frame.

Further, in FIG. 4C, stapling is set for each job bundle, and further, the separation of bundle post-processing is set to the first bundle and the third bundle. As a result, a bundle that is stapled only in the first bundle, and a bundle that is stapled by combining the second bundle and the third bundle.
Further, in FIG. 4D, the first bundle is set without stapling, the second and third bundles are set with stapling, and the post-processing separation is divided into the second and third bundles, respectively. Is set. As a result, a bundle that is not stapled in the first bundle, a bundle that is stapled only in the second bundle, and a bundle that is stapled only in the third bundle are obtained.

<Procedure 1>
The procedure for making the above settings when reading the original will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5 and the operation panel screens of FIGS.
In this procedure, the presence or absence of stapling is set when selecting a program job function, and stapling separation is set for each bundle when reading a document.

Hereinafter, description will be made based on the flowchart of FIG.
First, in the operation of the image forming apparatus A, it is determined whether or not the program job function has been selected (step s1). Here, if the program job function is not selected (step s1, NO), the routine proceeds to normal processing (step s11).

  The selection of the program job function is performed by an operation on the screen shown in FIG. That is, when the application setting button 141a is pressed on the basic screen 141 displayed on the operation panel 140, the screen changes to the application setting screen 142 and can be operated. When the program job button 142a displayed on the application setting screen 142 is pressed, the program job function is selected, the screen returns to the basic screen 141, and the program job is displayed in the application setting column 141b.

When a program job is selected as described above (step s1, YES), it is determined whether or not stapling is specified (step s2). If there is no stapling designation (step s2, NO), the routine proceeds to normal processing (step s11).
Staple designation can be performed by pressing the staple button 141c while the program job function is selected on the basic screen 1.

  If the stapling is specified (step s2, YES), it waits for the reading start button provided in the image forming apparatus main body or the like to be pressed (step s3). When the reading start button is pressed, reading of one document bundle is started and is performed until reading is completed (step s4). When the reading is completed, a bundle confirmation screen 143 is displayed. In this example, the bundle confirmation screen 143 is popped up on the basic screen 141 as shown in FIG. On the bundle confirmation screen 143, a job confirmation button 143a, a job is confirmed, a reading completion confirmation & reading completion button 143b, a cancel button 143c, and a staple separation check button 143d are displayed in an operable manner, and input is requested (step s6).

  Here, when the job confirmation button 143a is pressed, the read document bundle is confirmed, and it is determined whether or not the staple separation check is performed (step s7). This check is performed when a staple separation check button 143d is pressed on the bundle confirmation screen 143, and a staple separation check is performed on the bundle. Alternatively, as an initial setting, when a bundle is confirmed, a separation check on the bundle may be automatically performed. Also in this case, by pressing the staple separation check button 143d, it is possible to alternately switch between checking and unchecking.

  If the staple separation is not made (step s7, NO), the process returns to step s3 to wait for the push of the reading start button to read the next original bundle. If it is determined in step s7 that the staple separation has been made, the staple separation information is set for the bundle (step s8), the process returns to step s3 to read the next original bundle, and the read start button is pressed. wait.

  If the cancel button 143c is pressed in step s6, the current bundle information is discarded, and the process returns to step s3 for reading a new document or again. In step s6, when the confirm & read completion button 143b is pressed to confirm the program job, it is determined whether or not the staple separation is checked in the final bundle (step s9). If there is no stapling check (step s9), the setting process is terminated. Thereafter, image formation, post-processing, and the like are performed in accordance with setting contents such as staple delimiter information. On the other hand, if the staple separation check has been performed on the final bundle (step s9, YES), the staple separation information is set on the final bundle (step s10), and the setting process ends. Thereafter, image formation, post-processing, and the like are performed in accordance with setting contents such as staple delimiter information.

  Note that when stapling is specified for each document bundle in the above procedure, stapling is performed for each output bundle according to the document bundle, as shown in FIG. 4B. Also, when stapling is specified for bundle 1, stapling is specified for bundle 2 (no separation), and stapling is specified for bundle 3, stapling is specified for bundle 1 and bundle 2 and bundle 2 are specified. 3 is stapled together.

  Further, in the above procedure 1, it has been described that stapling is set for the entire job. However, according to the present invention, stapling can be set for each job bundle. For example, in the above-described procedure 1, stapling may or may not be set every time reading of a document bundle is completed.

This example will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the same steps as those in the flowchart of FIG.
After displaying the bundle confirmation screen in step s6, in the case of bundle confirmation or job confirmation, it is determined whether or not stapling is designated for the bundle (steps s6a and 6b). If there is no designation, the process proceeds to step s3 in step s6a, and the setting process is terminated in step s6b. When stapling is specified in a bundle (step s6a, YES; step s6b, YES), the process proceeds to step s7 or s9 for determining whether or not there is a separation check. Whether or not stapling is specified for each bundle can be set by, for example, displaying a button or the like that can set whether or not stapling is specified on the bundle confirmation screen.

  When it is determined whether or not post-processing is performed for each bundle as described above, as shown in FIG. 4D, stapling is performed for each appropriate bundle according to the document bundle. For example, if stapling is set for bundle 1, stapling is set for bundle 2, and setting is set for separation, and stapling is set for bundle 3 and setting is set for separation, output is performed for bundle 1 without stapling. Then, stapling is performed with the bundle 2 and stapling is performed again with the bundle 3.

<Procedure 2>
Next, a procedure at the time of outputting a program job with a stapling break in a job bundle will be described with reference to FIG.

Hereinafter, description will be given based on the flowchart of FIG.
First, in the operation of the image forming apparatus A, it is determined whether or not the program job function is selected (step s20). If the program job function is not selected (step s20, NO), the process proceeds to normal processing (step s27).

  If a program job is selected (step s20, YES), it is determined whether or not stapling is specified for the document bundle (step s21). If there is no stapling designation (step s21, NO), the bundle is output without stapling up to the last page of the bundle (steps s28, 29), and the process proceeds to a procedure for determining whether or not the bundle is the final bundle (step s26).

  On the other hand, if stapling is specified for the bundle, printing is performed in preparation for stapling until the last page of the bundle is reached (steps s22 and 23). Next, it is determined whether or not the bundle has a staple break (step s24). If there is no staple separation, the process proceeds to the final bundle determination procedure (step s26). If there is a stapling delimiter, a stapling delimitation instruction is added, and stapling is executed by the FNS 160 (step s25). At this time, if a plurality of bundles are provided in the staple and printed, these are stapled together. Thereafter, the process proceeds to the final bundle determination procedure (step s26). In step s26, it is determined whether or not it is the final bundle. If it is not the final bundle (step s26, NO), the process proceeds to step s21, and the determination of the presence or absence of stapling designation for the next bundle is repeated. If it is the last bundle in step s26 (step s26, YES), the output is terminated.

<Procedure 3>
Next, a procedure in consideration of post-processing conditions between bundles when stapling a plurality of bundles will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, it is determined whether or not the program job function is selected in the operation of the image forming apparatus A (step s30). If the program job function is not selected (step s30, NO), the process proceeds to normal processing (step s37).

When a program job is selected (step s30, YES), it is determined whether or not stapling is specified (step s31). If there is no stapling designation (step s31, NO), the routine proceeds to normal processing (step s37).
If the stapling is designated (step s31, YES), it waits for the reading start button to be pressed (step s32). When the reading start button is pressed, it is determined whether or not the staple setting (position, location, etc.) of the previous job bundle is the same as the staple setting of the current job bundle (step s33).

If the settings are the same, a confirmation screen as to whether or not to divide by the front bundle is displayed as shown in FIG. 11 (step s38). In this example, a confirmation screen 144 is popped up on the basic screen 141. On the confirmation screen 144, a YES button 144a and a NO button 144b separated by the previous bundle are displayed so as to be operable. If the selection to divide the front bundle, that is, the YES button 144a is selected (step s39, YES), the staple separation information is set to the front bundle (step s40), and reading is performed until the reading of the bundle is completed (step s34). ). If the selection to divide the front bundle is not made in step s39, that is, if the NO button 144a is pressed (step s39), reading is performed until the reading of the bundle is completed without setting the staple separation information (step s34).
In step s33, if the previous job bundle and the staple setting are not the same (step s33, NO), the current bundle is read (step s34).

  When the reading of the current bundle is completed, the bundle confirmation screen 143 shown in FIG. 7 pops up on the basic screen 141. In the bundle confirmation screen 143, as in the procedure 1, the job confirmation button 143a, the job is confirmed, the reading completion / reading completion button 143b, the cancel button 143c, and the staple separation button 143d are displayed to be operable. An input is requested (step s35).

  When the job confirmation button 143a is pressed, the read original bundle is confirmed, and the push operation of the reading start button for reading the next bundle is waited (to step s32). If the cancel button 143c is pressed in step s36, the current bundle information is discarded, and the reading start button is pressed for reading the next document bundle or the current document bundle (to step s32). Furthermore, when the confirmation & reading completion button 143b is pushed in step s36 and the program job is confirmed, the setting process is terminated. Thereafter, image formation, post-processing, and the like are performed in accordance with setting contents such as staple delimiter information.

In addition, the setting of the staple separation for each bundle can be performed at the start of the program job. This procedure will be described with reference to FIG.
When the application setting 141a is selected on the basic screen 141 on the operation panel 140 (FIG. 12 (a)), a transition is made to the application setting screen 142 (FIG. 12 (b)), and the program job button 142a in the application setting item is displayed. Is displayed as operable. When this program job button 142a is selected, a separator confirmation screen 145 is popped up on the application setting screen 142 (FIG. 12 (c)).

On the separation confirmation screen 145, a selection button 145a for stapling separation for each bundle, a selection button 145b for instructing separation at the time of reading, and an OK button 145c are displayed. When one of the selection buttons 145a and 145b is pressed and the OK button 145c is pressed, the selection is confirmed and the screen changes to the application setting screen 142 again.
Note that if “staple partition for each bundle” is selected and confirmed, for example, the separation instruction is not requested on the bundle confirmation screen in FIG. 7, and the staple partition is automatically determined every time the bundle is read. Output. Further, when “specify instructions at the time of reading” is selected / confirmed, a staple partition can be set for each bundle as shown in the bundle confirmation screen of FIG.

  When the above selection / confirmation is made, the program job button 142a is highlighted on the application setting screen 142 because the program job is selected and the delimiter is set (FIG. 12D). Here, if the program job is pushed again, the separation confirmation screen 145 can be popped up. When the OK button 142b is pressed while the program job button 142a is highlighted on the application setting screen 142, the setting content of the program job is confirmed and the screen transitions to the basic screen 141.

  In each of the above examples, a description has been given of the form of a program job that collectively outputs a job that has read a document. However, job data including image data of a document that has already been read, or an image created by another application, etc. In some cases, job data including data is stored as an independent file in a storage unit such as an HDD. In the program job of the present invention, it is possible to combine these files and output them as one file. At that time, whether or not to perform post-bundling processing is set for each arbitrary file, or any file is selected. You can also set a separator between them.

  FIG. 13 shows a stapling delimitation setting screen 146 on which delimitation can be set when combining files by a program job. In the file combination setting screen 146, when the file combination button 146a is pressed, a file to be combined can be selected from the files displayed in the file list 146b. When a file to be combined is selected and the transition button 146c is pressed, files to be combined are displayed in a list in the combined file list 146d. When a file in the combined file list 146d is selected and the shift button 146e is pressed, the file can be deleted from the combined file list 146d.

  Further, for each file displayed in the combined file list 146d, it is possible to select whether or not to check in the staple delimiter check column 146f for each file. If the check is made here and the stapling is performed, the contents of the file are stapled. Further, when the delimiter setting is performed on the file displayed below the list of files having no delimiter setting, the contents of the previous file and the contents of the delimiter-set file are collected and stapled. The setting is confirmed by pressing the OK button 146g.

  In the display example of the staple delimitation setting screen 146, the files 11, 22, and 33 are set to be combined and output as one job. If all the files 11, 22, and 33 are set to be stapled, the file 11 is stapled. The files 22 and 33 are stapled together.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on the said embodiment, this invention is not limited to description of each said embodiment, Of course, an appropriate change is possible within the scope of the present invention. It is.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus and a post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Similarly, it is a control block diagram. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a program job in the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example output by the program job in one Embodiment of this invention. Similarly, it is a flowchart showing a procedure for setting a staple delimiter when reading a document. Similarly, it is a figure which shows the bundle confirmation screen displayed in the said procedure. Similarly, it is a figure which shows the job confirmation screen displayed in the said procedure. Similarly, it is a flowchart showing a procedure for setting a stapling instruction and a stapling delimiter for each bundle during document reading. Similarly, it is a flowchart showing a procedure for setting a staple delimiter at the time of image formation output. Similarly, it is a flowchart showing a delimitation setting procedure based on the difference in staple setting between successive bundles. Similarly, it is a figure which shows the separation presence / absence confirmation screen when the front bundle and the staple setting are the same. Similarly, it is a diagram showing a transition of a screen for instructing stapling for each bundle when setting a program job. Similarly, it is a figure which shows the staple division | segmentation setting screen at the time of file combination.

Explanation of symbols

A image forming apparatus, B post-processing apparatus 111 image control CPU
114 Non-volatile memory 130 Scanner unit 140 Operation panel 142 Application setting screen 143 Bundle confirmation screen 145 Separation confirmation screen 146 Staple separation setting screen 150 Printer unit 155 Paper feeding unit

Claims (8)

An image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet based on image data, a post-processing unit that performs post-processing on the image-formed sheet, and an operation input for setting whether to perform post-bundling processing and / or setting a separator by an operator An operation display unit capable of managing a job and controlling the image formation by managing a job,
The control unit has a program job function for outputting a plurality of jobs at a time, and in the program job function, setting of presence / absence of post-bundling processing for each job bundle and setting of the separation of the post-bundling processing are performed. Possible and
When reading a job bundle with the program job function, it is determined whether the post-processing setting is the same for the previous job bundle and the job bundle to be read, and if the post-processing setting is the same, If it is determined by the operator through the operation display unit whether to set the separation of the bundle post-processing on the last page of the job bundle, and the post-processing setting is determined to be the same, The image forming apparatus is characterized in that it is not possible for an operator to specify whether to set a delimiter for the user through the operation display unit . The control unit can set only a delimiter in which a plurality of job bundles having the same post-batch processing condition are combined when the delimiter is combined into a plurality of job bundles. Item 2. The image forming apparatus according to Item 1 . 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs setting of presence / absence of the bundle post-processing and / or setting of a separation when acquiring an image of each job. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image acquisition is image reading of a document. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs the setting of the presence / absence of the bundle post-processing and / or the setting of the separation at the start of output of the program job. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the control unit is capable of setting the separation instruction for each job bundle at the start of the program job. The control unit can combine and output a plurality of job data files stored in a storage unit as the program job function, and in the combination of the job data files, any one or a plurality of job data the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that to enable the setting and / or delimited set of bundles workup for each file. The bundle post-treatment, stapling, saddle stitching, an image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that any one of bookbinding.

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