Image forming apparatus, computer program product, and image forming method

Abstract

The present application provides an image forming apparatus, a computer program product and an image forming method, in which, when performing printing processing on a plurality of pages of print data, and performing re-printing processing on unqualified pages of the print result to obtain re-printed pages, the qualified pages of the print result and the re-printed pages can be aligned in posture and output together. An image forming apparatus characterized by comprising a processor, which performs the following processing: performing printing processing on a plurality of pages of print media according to a plurality of pages of print data; performing re-printing processing on unqualified pages of the print result on another print media to obtain re-printed pages, with a printing setting determined according to the arrangement posture of the qualified pages on a re-use tray; and outputting the qualified pages and the re-printed pages together from the re-use tray.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a storage medium, and an image forming method. Background Technology

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus that compares the image data obtained by reading the printed paper after printing process with the RIP data used in the printing process to determine whether the printing result of each paper is qualified or not, and discharges the qualified paper and the unqualified paper to a separate discharge tray.

[0003] Patent document 2 discloses an image forming apparatus that inserts a plurality of labels with protrusions between a plurality of papers, reads the inserted plurality of labels, and determines whether the order of the inserted labels is correct based on the shape of the read labels.

[0004] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-008116

[0005] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent No. 5627222 Specification

[0006] Conventional image forming apparatuses that output printed media (e.g., paper) based on print data include those that perform a check process to determine the quality of the print processing for each print medium, i.e., whether the print result is acceptable or not. Print media deemed acceptable (i.e., acceptable pages) are ejected to the OK tray, while print media deemed unacceptable (i.e., unacceptable pages) are ejected to the NG tray. In this type of image forming apparatus, the following further processing is performed: after only reprinting the unacceptable pages, the reprinted pages and acceptable pages obtained through the reprint processing are output together (i.e., merged). Furthermore, in this specification, "page" refers to a physical page defined on the print media, which is a different concept from a logical page defined on the print data.

[0007] use Figures 7-10 The above-described processing in conventional image forming apparatuses will be explained in detail. Figures 7-10 The image shows a conventional image forming apparatus M equipped with an OK tray O, an NG tray N, and a reuse tray R.

[0008] After the image forming apparatus M performs printing processing on a plurality of printing media based on print data of a plurality of pages, it executes inspection processing of determining whether the print result of each printing medium is acceptable or not. For example, a scanner is used to optically read the printed printing medium to obtain inspection image data, the print data (raster data in more detail) can be compared with the inspection image data, and the acceptable / unacceptable determination can be performed. Acceptable pages with acceptable print results determined are discharged to an OK tray O by a conveying device (not shown) included in the image forming apparatus M, and unacceptable pages with unacceptable print results determined are discharged to an NG tray N by the conveying device. Figure 7 shows the following situation: 6 sheets of printing media are printed, the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th pages are acceptable pages and discharged to the OK tray O, and the 3rd and 6th pages are unacceptable pages and discharged to the NG tray N. In addition, the image forming apparatus M discharges the printed printing media in a back discharge manner in which the printed printing surface (the front surface in the case of double-sided printing) is discharged face down, therefore Figure 7 , Figure 8 and Figure 10 illustrate the printed printing media as viewed from the lower side.

[0009] A user who inputs print data into the image forming apparatus M takes out the acceptable pages discharged to the OK tray O from the OK tray O and places them on a reuse tray R. Then, when the user inputs an instruction to execute reprint processing into the image forming apparatus M, the image forming apparatus M performs reprint processing of printing only pages corresponding to the unacceptable pages on another printing medium based on the stored print data to obtain reprinted pages. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus M discharges both the acceptable pages and the reprinted pages to the OK tray O.

[0010] Specifically, the image forming apparatus M sequentially executes the following processing page by page with reference to the result of the aforementioned inspection processing for each printing medium: in the case of an acceptable determination, the acceptable page placed on the reuse tray R is conveyed and discharged to the OK tray O; in the case of an unacceptable determination, reprint processing is executed and the reprinted page is discharged to the OK tray O. In addition, it is set here that when performing conveying processing of acceptable pages from the reuse tray R to the OK tray O, conveyance is started from the uppermost acceptable page among the plurality of acceptable pages placed on the reuse tray R, and the acceptable pages are discharged to the OK tray O only after reversing the front-back orientation of the acceptable pages. For example, it is set that when a plurality of acceptable pages are placed on the reuse tray R with the printing surface facing up, the uppermost acceptable page among the plurality of acceptable pages is conveyed and discharged to the OK tray O with the printing surface facing down.

[0011] If the acceptable pages are placed on the reuse tray R in page order (in the order where the 1st page is on the upper side), in Figure 7In this example, according to the process, the inspection result of page 1 is qualified, so the image forming apparatus M transfers a qualified page arranged on the recycling tray R to the OK tray O. Here, the qualified page 1 is transferred from the recycling tray R and discharged to the OK tray O. Next, the inspection result of page 2 is qualified, so the image forming apparatus M transfers a qualified page arranged on the recycling tray R to the OK tray O. Here, the qualified page 2 is transferred from the recycling tray R and discharged to the OK tray O. Next, the inspection result of page 3 is unqualified, so the image forming apparatus M performs a reprinting process on page 3, and the resulting reprinted page 3 is discharged to the OK tray O. Similarly, the qualified page 4 is transferred from the recycling tray R and discharged to the OK tray O, the qualified page 5 is transferred from the recycling tray R and discharged to the OK tray O, and page 6 is a reprinted page after the reprinting process and discharged to the OK tray O. Additionally, assuming that the above-mentioned inspection process is performed on the reprinted page and the printing result of the reprinted page is determined to be unqualified, the reprinted page is discharged as an unqualified page to the NG tray N.

[0012] If all reprinted pages are deemed acceptable, such as Figure 8 As shown, the qualified pages and reprinted pages are assembled, and more specifically, the qualified pages and reprinted pages are discharged into the OK tray O in page order.

[0013] Here, it is assumed that during the transfer of qualified pages from the recycling tray R to the OK tray O, no changes to the orientation other than the aforementioned face-to-back reversal are performed. The orientation of the print media in this specification includes the orientation of the print media (portrait or landscape), the front and back sides of the print media (front facing up or back facing up), and the orientation of the image within the print media (in other words, rotation angle, 0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees). Therefore, a mismatch between the configuration orientation of the qualified pages on the recycling tray R and the printing settings for reprinting unqualified pages (especially the settings for determining the orientation of the output reprinted pages) may result in misalignment between the orientation of the output qualified pages and the reprinted pages.

[0014] For example, the following situations can be considered: Figure 8 The reprinted pages shown are pages 3 and 6. The print settings during the reprint process are set to output the reprinted pages in a portrait orientation (where the transport direction of the print media is parallel to the long side of the print media), with the back side facing up and the image facing upwards (in this case, with the positive Y-axis side facing up). Figure 9 As shown, the user places the qualified page onto the recycling tray R with the orientation vertical, front side up, and image facing up (opposite to the upright direction, in this case, with the negative Y-axis side up). Additionally, in Figure 9 In the middle, the qualified pages configured on the reuse tray R are shown in their state as viewed from above.

[0015] At this time, as Figure 10 As shown, the qualified page ( Figure 10 In the example, pages 1, 2, 4, and 5) are only reversed in front and back and ejected into the OK tray O. Therefore, they are ejected into the OK tray O in a portrait orientation, with the back side facing up and the image facing inverted direction. On the other hand, each reprinted page ( Figure 10 In the examples (pages 3 and 6), the pages are printed in a portrait orientation, with the back side facing up and the image facing upwards, onto the OK tray O. That is, the qualified pages are printed with the image facing downwards, while the reprinted pages are printed with the image facing upwards. Therefore, the orientation of the qualified pages and the reprinted pages printed onto the OK tray O differ. Summary of the Invention

[0016] The purpose of this invention is to align the positions of the acceptable pages and the reprinted pages when performing printing processing related to multiple pages of printing data, and reprinting unacceptable pages to obtain reprinted pages, and output them together.

[0017] The invention involved in Solution 1 is an image forming apparatus, characterized in that it includes a processor that performs the following processing: printing multiple pages of printing media according to printing data of multiple page quantities; reprinting unqualified pages of the printing process on another printing medium to obtain reprinted pages, based on printing settings determined according to the configuration posture of qualified pages that are qualified as a result of the printing process on a recycling tray; and outputting the qualified pages and the reprinted pages transferred from the recycling tray together.

[0018] The invention involved in Scheme 2, in the image forming apparatus described in Scheme 1, is characterized in that the processor outputs a notification to the user when it is unable to perform the reprinting process according to the determined print settings.

[0019] The invention involved in Scheme 3, in the image forming apparatus described in Scheme 2, is characterized in that the processor notifies the user of the reason why the reprinting process cannot be performed according to the determined print settings.

[0020] The invention involved in Scheme 4, in the image forming apparatus described in Scheme 1, is characterized in that the processor outputs a notification to the user when it detects that the postures of the plurality of qualified pages arranged on the recycling tray are different.

[0021] The invention involved in embodiment 5, in the image forming apparatus described in embodiment 4, is characterized in that the processor restarts the reprinting process when the user instructs the user to continue processing in response to the notification.

[0022] The invention involved in Scheme 6 is a storage medium, characterized in that it stores an image forming program for causing a computer to perform the following steps: printing a plurality of pages of printing media according to printing data of a plurality of pages; reprinting unqualified pages of the printing process on another printing medium to obtain reprinted pages, based on printing settings determined according to the configuration posture of qualified pages on a reuse tray as a result of the printing process; and outputting the qualified pages and the reprinted pages transferred from the reuse tray together.

[0023] The invention involved in Scheme 7 is an image forming method, characterized by comprising the following steps: printing multiple pages of printing media according to printing data of multiple pages; reprinting unqualified pages of the printing process on another printing medium to obtain reprinted pages, based on printing settings determined according to the configuration posture of qualified pages that are qualified as a result of the printing process on a reuse tray; and outputting the qualified pages and the reprinted pages transferred from the reuse tray together.

[0024] Invention Effects

[0025] According to the first, sixth, or seventh embodiment of the present invention, when printing processing related to printing data of a plurality of pages is performed, and unqualified pages with unqualified printing results are reprinted to obtain reprinted pages, the orientations of qualified pages with qualified printing results and reprinted pages can be aligned and output together.

[0026] According to the second aspect of the present invention, the user is able to identify situations where reprinting is not possible with the determined print settings.

[0027] According to the third aspect of the present invention, the user is able to understand the reason why reprinting cannot be performed with the determined print settings.

[0028] According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the user is able to know the situation where other qualified pages with different configuration postures are detected.

[0029] According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when another qualified page with a configuration posture different from the previously detected qualified page is detected, the reprinted page obtained up to the detection of the other qualified page can be effectively used for reprinting. Attached Figure Description

[0030] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following figures.

[0031] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment;

[0032] Figure 2 This is a diagram showing the condition of the qualified pages being arranged on the recycling tray in this embodiment;

[0033] Figure 3 This diagram illustrates the situation in this embodiment where the qualified page and the reprinted page are output together after the alignment posture;

[0034] Figure 4 This is an example image showing a screen informing the user that reprinting is not possible;

[0035] Figure 5 This is an example of a screen showing a situation where the display configurations of qualified page groups on the reuse tray are different.

[0036] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating the processing flow of the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment;

[0037] Figure 7 This diagram illustrates the situation in the relevant technology where qualified pages are discharged to the OK tray and unqualified pages are discharged to the NG tray;

[0038] Figure 8 This diagram illustrates the process of reprinting defective pages in related technologies, and simultaneously outputting both the acceptable and reprinted pages.

[0039] Figure 9 This diagram illustrates a situation where, in related technologies, qualified pages are configured on a recycling tray in a configuration that does not correspond to the printing settings.

[0040] Figure 10 This diagram illustrates a situation where, in related technologies, a qualified page is configured on a reuse tray in a way that does not correspond to the print settings, and both the qualified page and the reprinted page are output simultaneously.

[0041] Symbol Explanation

[0042] 10-Image forming apparatus, 12-OK tray, 14-NG tray, 16-Reuse tray, 18-Communication interface, 20-Input interface, 22-Display, 24-Memory, 26-Printer, 28-Scanner, 30-Posture detection sensor, 32-Processor, 34-Print processing unit, 36-Inspection processing unit, 38-Posture detection unit, 40-Reprint setting determination unit, 42-Output control unit, 44-Notification processing unit. Detailed Implementation

[0043] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram showing the image forming apparatus 10, which is an information processing device according to this embodiment. The image forming apparatus 10 according to this embodiment is a multifunction printer that has printing, scanning (image reading), copying, and image data transmission functions.

[0044] OK tray 12 and NG tray 14 are both discharge trays for discharging printed media such as paper that has been printed. Printed media, i.e., qualified pages, determined by the inspection and processing unit 36 ​​(described later) to have acceptable printing results, are discharged to OK tray 12 via a transport device (not shown) included in the image forming apparatus 10. Printed media, i.e., unacceptable pages, determined by the inspection and processing unit 36 ​​to have unacceptable printing results, are discharged to NG tray 14 via the transport device.

[0045] The reuse tray 16 is a manual paper feed tray for the user to configure printing media. As described later, qualified pages are placed on the reuse tray 16, and during the reprinting process described later, the qualified pages placed on the reuse tray 16 are conveyed by a conveying device and discharged to the OK tray 12. Similar to conventional image forming apparatuses, in the image forming apparatus 10, when the qualified pages are conveyed from the reuse tray 16 to the OK tray 12, the conveying begins with the topmost qualified page among the plurality of qualified pages placed on the reuse tray 16, and the qualified pages are discharged to the OK tray 12 only by reversing the orientation of the front and back sides. Furthermore, during the qualified page conveying process, no changes to the orientation other than the aforementioned reversal of the front and back sides are performed.

[0046] The communication interface 18 may be configured to include, for example, a network adapter. The communication interface 18 functions to communicate with other devices (such as a user terminal) via a communication line such as a LAN (Local Area Network). The communication interface 18 receives print jobs as print requests from the user terminal.

[0047] A print job is data containing setting information representing print settings and the object to be printed, i.e., print data. For example, print settings are set by the user, and print data is selected by the user.

[0048] The print settings displayed in the setting information consist of setting values ​​for various setting items. In particular, in this embodiment, the print settings include setting values ​​for setting items that determine the ejection posture of the print media after printing. As described above, the posture of the print media includes the orientation of the print media (vertical or horizontal), the front and back sides of the print media (front facing up or back facing up), and the orientation of the image within the print media (in other words, rotation angle, 0 degrees (upright direction), 90 degrees, 180 degrees (inverted direction), 270 degrees).

[0049] For example, as a setting to determine the orientation of the printing media, the printing settings include paper size settings. For instance, if the paper size setting is A4S, the printing media ejection posture is portrait orientation; if the paper size setting is A4L, the printing media ejection posture is landscape orientation. Here, assuming the printing media is rectangular, the orientation where the printing media's transport direction is parallel to its long side is called portrait orientation, and the orientation where the printing media's transport direction is parallel to its short side is called landscape orientation.

[0050] Furthermore, as a setting to determine the front and back sides of the print media, there is an ejection face setting. When the ejection face setting is set to front ejection, the print media is ejected with the front side facing up; when the ejection face setting is set to back ejection, the print media is ejected with the back side facing up. In addition, in the front ejection case, the ejected multiple print media will be arranged in reverse order of the page order (the last page facing up is on top), which has the advantage of making it easy to identify the print side of the ejected print media.

[0051] Furthermore, as a setting item for determining the orientation of the image within the print media, there is an image rotation angle setting. The rotation angle setting is used to indicate the rotation angle of the image printed onto the print media, and can be set to values ​​such as 0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, and 270 degrees.

[0052] The input interface 20 may be configured to include, for example, a touch panel or buttons. The input interface 20 is used by the user to input various instructions into the image forming apparatus 10.

[0053] The display 22 is configured to include, for example, a liquid crystal panel. Various images are displayed on the display 22. For example, the display 22 displays images used to notify the user of various information through processing by the notification processing unit 44, which will be described later.

[0054] The memory 24 may be configured to include, for example, an HHD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), ROM (Read Only Memory), or RAM (Random Access Memory). The memory 24 may be disposed separately from the processor 32 (described later), or at least a portion may be disposed within the processor 32. The memory 24 stores image forming programs for operating the various parts of the image forming apparatus 10.

[0055] The printer 26 is configured to include, for example, a charging device, a photosensitive drum, or toner. The printer 26 performs printing processing on print media conveyed via a transport device from a print media tray (e.g., a paper tray) (not shown) containing accumulated print media, according to instructions from the processor 32 (especially the print processing unit 34 described later). This printing processing prints print data included in a print job input by the user. In this embodiment, the printer 26 processes multiple pages of print media based on print data for multiple page quantities.

[0056] Furthermore, printer 26 performs a reprint process on defective pages that are determined to be defective by the inspection processing unit 36 ​​(described later) to obtain reprinted pages. This reprint process is performed on another printing medium. Details of the reprint process will be described later.

[0057] The scanner 28 is composed of, for example, a light source and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device). The scanner 28 optically reads the print media processed by the printer 26 to form inspection image data. The inspection image data is used by the inspection processing unit 36.

[0058] The posture detection sensor 30 is a sensor that detects the orientation of the printed media, i.e., the qualified pages, arranged on the recycling tray 16. The posture detection sensor 30 is configured, for example, to include a light source and a CCD that optically reads the qualified pages imported from the recycling tray 16 into the image forming apparatus 10 via a transport device. While not limited to this, in this embodiment, the posture detection sensor 30 reads the upper surface of the qualified pages arranged on the recycling tray 16. The posture detection image data acquired by the light source and CCD is used by the posture detection unit 38, described later. Based on the posture detection image data, the posture of the qualified pages, including the orientation of the qualified pages, the front and back sides of the qualified pages, and the orientation of the image within the qualified pages, can be detected.

[0059] Processor 32 refers to a processor in a broad sense, comprising at least one of general-purpose processors (such as CPUs (Central Processing Units)) and dedicated processing devices (such as GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), or programmable logic devices). Processor 32 can be constituted by the cooperation of a plurality of processing devices located in physically distant locations, rather than being based on a single processing device. Figure 1As shown, the processor 32 performs the functions of the print processing unit 34, the inspection processing unit 36, the posture detection unit 38, the reprint setting determination unit 40, the output control unit 42, and the notification processing unit 44 through the image forming program stored in the memory 24.

[0060] The print processing unit 34, based on print data comprising multiple pages included in a print job accepted by the image forming apparatus 10, causes the printer 26 to perform print processing to print an image corresponding to the print data on a multiple-page print medium. Specifically, the print processing unit 34 performs rasterization processing to convert print data in vector form, which is not recognizable by the printer 26, into a raster form (e.g., a bitmap image) that is recognizable by the printer 26. Then, the generated raster form print data is sent to the printer 26, causing the printer 26 to perform the print processing.

[0061] Furthermore, the print processing unit 34 retains the print data until the inspection processing unit 36, described later, determines that all print results of the print media are qualified. Then, if the user inputs an instruction to perform reprint processing, the print processing unit 34 performs reprint processing on the unqualified pages determined to be unqualified by the inspection processing unit 36 ​​based on the retained print data. This reprint processing is performed on another print media to obtain reprinted pages.

[0062] If the printing process performed by printer 26 is completed, inspection processing unit 36 ​​performs inspection processing to determine whether the printing result is qualified or not for each print medium. This inspection processing can be done using any method, but in this embodiment, inspection processing unit 36 ​​performs the inspection processing based on inspection image data acquired by scanner 28 optically reading the printed print medium. Specifically, inspection processing unit 36 ​​performs the inspection processing by comparing the raster-format print data generated by print processing unit 34 with the inspection image data. More specifically, inspection processing unit 36 ​​determines that the printing result of the print medium is qualified when the similarity between the two data is above a predetermined threshold, and determines that the printing result of the print medium is unqualified when the similarity between the two data is below the predetermined threshold.

[0063] Print media deemed acceptable by the inspection and processing unit 36, i.e., acceptable pages, are ejected to the OK tray 12 via the conveyor. The ejection posture of the acceptable pages to the OK tray 12 is determined by the print settings of the print job. Print media deemed unacceptable by the inspection and processing unit 36, i.e., unacceptable pages, are ejected to the NG tray 14 via the conveyor.

[0064] If one or more defective pages are ejected to the NG tray 14, the user removes a qualified page from the OK tray 12 and places it on the reuse tray 16 for reprinting. In this embodiment, a group of qualified pages, comprising multiple qualified pages, is placed on the reuse tray 16. Alternatively, only one qualified page may be placed on the reuse tray 16. Here, the qualified page group is placed on the reuse tray 16 by the user, therefore the qualified page group can be placed on the reuse tray 16 in various configurations. After placing the qualified page group on the reuse tray 16, the user inputs an execution instruction for reprinting to the image forming apparatus 10 using the input interface 20 or the like.

[0065] If the user inputs an instruction to perform the reprinting process, the posture detection unit 38 detects the configuration posture of the qualified pages on the reuse tray 16.

[0066] First, the posture detection unit 39 can detect the orientation of the qualified page arranged on the recycling tray 16 based on the shape of the qualified page represented by the posture detection data.

[0067] Next, the posture detection unit 38 detects the front and back sides and the orientation of the image of the qualified pages on the recycling tray 16 by comparing the raster-format print data generated by the print processing unit 34 with the posture detection image data acquired by the posture detection sensor 30. For example, if the first page is a qualified page as a result of the inspection processing by the inspection processing unit 36, the conveying device introduces the qualified page located at the top of the qualified page group arranged on the recycling tray 16 into the image forming apparatus 10, and the posture detection sensor 30 acquires the posture detection image data of the qualified page. Then, the posture detection unit 38 compares the posture detection image data acquired by the posture detection sensor 30 with the raster-format print data of the first page. Here, the qualified page located at the top of the qualified page group arranged on the recycling tray 16 is assumed to be the first page. The case where this page is not the first page will be described later.

[0068] The orientation of the posture detection image data may change depending on the reading direction of the posture detection sensor 30. For example, if the printed data and posture detection image data are consistent, the posture detection unit 38 can determine that the front is facing up and the orientation (rotation angle) of the image is 0 degrees. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the posture detection image data is obtained by reading the top surface of a qualified page, if the posture detection image data represents data for a blank page (if the qualified page is a single-sided printed page) or if the posture detection image data is consistent with the printed data of other pages (e.g., the page after the page being checked) (if the qualified page is a double-sided printed page), the posture detection unit 38 can determine that the qualified page is facing down. Moreover, the rotation angle of the image can be determined based on the orientation (rotation angle) of the posture detection image data for the printed data.

[0069] The reprint setting determination unit 40 determines the printing settings involved in the reprinting process of unqualified pages determined by the inspection processing unit 36 ​​based on the configuration posture of qualified pages on the recycling tray 16 detected by the posture detection unit 38. Specifically, the reprint setting determination unit 40 determines the printing settings for the reprinting process (in particular, the setting for determining the ejection posture of the reprinted pages) so that the ejection posture of qualified pages conveyed from the recycling tray 16 to the OK tray 12 is the same as the ejection posture of reprinted pages obtained through the reprinting process of the printing processing unit 34 to the OK tray 12. The printing settings for the reprinting process can be the same as or different from the printing settings for printing qualified and unqualified pages.

[0070] For example, firstly, the printing processing unit 34 performs printing with the paper size set to A4S, the ejection surface set to back ejection, and the rotation angle set to 0 degrees, and pages 1, 2, 4, and 5 are considered as qualified pages. Figure 2 The qualified pages are discharged into the OK tray 12 in the indicated orientation. The qualified page set discharged into the OK tray 12 is shown in a bottom view. Note that when the rotation angle is set to 0 degrees, the image orientation within the qualified page is with the positive Y-axis side facing upwards (here referred to as the upright orientation). Next, the user places the qualified page set onto the reuse tray 16. Here, the orientation of the qualified page set on the reuse tray 16 is assumed to be portrait orientation, with the front side facing upwards and the image orientation being inverted (here, the orientation of the printed image is with the negative Y-axis side facing upwards). The qualified page set placed on the reuse tray 16 is shown in a top view. At this time, during the reprinting process, the conveyor flips the front and back sides of the qualified page while maintaining other orientations and discharges it into the OK tray 12. Therefore, the discharge orientation of the qualified page into the OK tray 12 is portrait orientation, with the back side facing upwards and the image orientation being inverted. Therefore, the reprint setting determination unit 40 determines the print settings for the reprint process so that the reprinted page is ejected onto the OK tray 12 in a vertical orientation, with the back side facing up and the image facing inverted. For example, the print settings at this time might be set to A4S for the paper size, back side ejection for the ejection surface, and 180 degrees for the rotation angle.

[0071] The print processing unit 34 performs reprint processing on the defective page according to the print settings determined by the reprint setting determination unit 40, and obtains a reprinted page.

[0072] The output control unit 42 performs ejection control related to the re-ejection process accompanying the reprinting process performed by the print processing unit 34. This ejection control sequentially ejects qualified page sets from the reuse tray 16 to the OK tray 12, and sequentially ejects reprinted pages obtained through the reprinting process to the OK tray 12. Specifically, the output control unit 42 controls the ejection of qualified page sets and reprinted pages together to the OK tray 12 in a page order defined by the print data. Furthermore, the inspection processing unit 36 ​​can perform an inspection process on the reprinted pages, or it can eject only the reprinted pages that have passed the inspection process to the OK tray 12.

[0073] The specific process of the discharge control performed by the output control unit 42 is as follows. First, the output control unit 42 refers to the results of the inspection processing performed by the inspection processing unit 36 ​​and performs the following processing page by page: if the page is deemed acceptable, the acceptable page placed on the reuse tray 16 is sent and discharged to the OK tray 12; if the page is deemed unacceptable, the reprinted page obtained through the reprinting process is discharged to the OK tray 12.

[0074] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the user places the qualified page set in the recycling tray 16 with the front side facing up. Furthermore, as described above, the qualified page set arranged on the recycling tray 16 is conveyed starting with the topmost qualified page. Therefore, when the printing process performed by the printing processing unit 34 is back-side ejection (i.e., when the qualified pages are ejected back-side to the OK tray 12), the ejection control performed by the output control unit 42 is executed page by page from the first page to the last page; when the printing process performed by the printing processing unit 34 is front-side ejection (i.e., when the qualified pages are ejected front-side to the OK tray 12), the ejection control performed by the output control unit 42 is executed page by page from the last page to the first page. Here, the case where the ejection control performed by the output control unit 42 starts from the first page will be explained.

[0075] exist Figure 2In this example, the printed media output by the printing process consists of 6 pages. Pages 1, 2, 4, and 5 are acceptable pages, while pages 3 and 6 are unacceptable pages. Therefore, the output control unit 42 first causes the conveyor to transport page 1 from the recycling tray 16 and discharge it to the OK tray 12. During this process, the posture detection unit 38 and the reprint setting determination unit 40 perform the aforementioned processing. The discharge posture of acceptable pages after page 1 to the OK tray 12 is as described above: vertical, with the back side facing up and the image facing upside down. Next, the output control unit 42 causes the conveyor to transport page 2 from the recycling tray 16 and discharge it to the OK tray 12. Then, page 3 is an unacceptable page, so the output control unit 42 discharges the reprinted page, which has undergone reprint processing by the printing processing unit 34, to the OK tray 12. Based on the printing settings of the reprint processing performed by the reprint setting determination unit 40, the discharge posture of the reprinted pages 3 and 6 to the OK tray 12 is as described above: vertical, with the back side facing up and the image facing upside down. Subsequently, similarly, the output control unit 42 ejects the qualified pages of pages 4 and 5 to the OK tray 12, and ejects the reprinted page of page 6 to the OK tray 12. Figure 3 The image shows the alignment of the qualified page group and the reprinted page, and how they are output together. Additionally, in... Figure 3 The example shows the state of the qualified page group and the reprinted page when viewed from below.

[0076] Thus, the output control unit 42 determines the insertion position of the reprinted page relative to the qualified page group based on the inspection processing result performed by the inspection processing unit 36. Consequently, the qualified page group and the reprinted page are discharged together into the OK tray 12 in page order.

[0077] The notification processing unit 44 sends various notifications to the user, who instructs the image forming apparatus 10 to reprint. In this embodiment, the notification screen is displayed on the display 22 as a method of notification via the notification processing unit 44, but the notification method is not limited to this. For example, instead of displaying the notification screen on the display 22, sound can be output from a speaker (not shown) provided with the image forming apparatus 10. Furthermore, the same notification screen can also be displayed on the display of a user terminal used by the user.

[0078] Specifically, the notification processing unit 44 notifies the user when it is unable to perform reprinting according to the print settings determined by the reprinting setting determination unit 40. For example, if the posture detection unit 38 detects that the configuration posture of the qualified page set on the reuse tray 16 is landscape, the reprinting setting determination unit 40 may set the paper size A4L as the print setting for reprinting. However, if the image forming apparatus 10 does not have a paper tray corresponding to the A4L paper size, the print processing unit 34 cannot perform reprinting with that print setting. In this case, the notification processing unit 44 notifies the user that reprinting cannot be performed. For example, as... Figure 4 As shown, a message such as "Unable to perform reprint processing." is displayed on the monitor 22. At this time, the print processing unit 34 stops the reprint processing, and the output control unit 42 also stops the discharge control accompanying the reprint processing.

[0079] Furthermore, except in cases where reprinting is not possible, the notification processing unit 44 can also notify the user of the reason why reprinting cannot be performed according to the print settings determined by the reprinting setting determination unit 40. For example, in the above example, the reason why reprinting is not possible is that the image forming apparatus 10 does not have a paper tray corresponding to the A4L paper size. Therefore, for example, Figure 4 As shown, the notification processing unit 44 displays a message on the display 22 such as "There is no paper tray in this printer that corresponds to A4L paper."

[0080] As described above, in this embodiment, when the qualified page group is correctly arranged face up on the recycling tray 16 and the printing process performed by the printing processing unit 34 is back-side out, the output control unit 42 performs output control starting from the first page. When the printing process performed by the printing processing unit 34 is front-side out, the output control unit 42 performs output control starting from the last page. Therefore, the notification processing unit 44 notifies the user when the page order of the qualified page group, such as the qualified page group arranged face up, on the recycling tray 16 is inappropriate. For example, if the printing process performed by the printing processing unit 34 is back-side out, and the first qualified page delivered from the recycling tray 16 is not the page with the smallest page number in the qualified page group (i.e., the qualified page that was first deemed qualified in the inspection process performed by the inspection processing unit 36), the notification processing unit 44 notifies the user. Furthermore, if the printing process performed by the printing processing unit 34 results in front-side output, and the first qualified page delivered from the recycling tray 16 is not the page with the highest page number in the qualified page group (i.e., the qualified page that was last deemed qualified in the inspection process performed by the inspection processing unit 36), the notification processing unit 44 will notify the user. Similarly, the printing processing unit 34 will stop the reprinting process, and the output control unit 42 will also stop the output control accompanying the reprinting process.

[0081] Furthermore, the page number of a qualified page can be detected using various methods. For example, the page number can be detected by comparing the posture detection image data acquired by the posture detection sensor 30 with the printed data. Also, if a page number is recorded on the qualified page, it can be detected by reading that page number.

[0082] When a set of qualified pages, including a plurality of qualified pages, is arranged on the recycling tray 16, in this embodiment, as described above, the posture detection unit 38 detects the posture of one qualified page (in this embodiment, the topmost qualified page) in the qualified page set, and the reprint setting determination unit 40 determines the print settings for the reprint process based on the detected posture of the qualified page. Here, the posture detection unit 38 can also detect the posture of qualified pages after the second page, not just the first qualified page. In this case, the posture detection unit 38 may sometimes detect that the postures of the plurality of qualified pages arranged on the recycling tray 16 are different from each other. For example, the image of the first qualified page is oriented upright, while the image of the second qualified page is oriented upside down. In this case, the postures of the qualified pages are different from each other from the beginning, so it is impossible to align the postures and output the qualified page set and the reprinted page together.

[0083] Therefore, when the posture detection unit 38 detects that the postures of the plurality of qualified pages arranged on the recycling tray 16 are different, the notification processing unit 44 can output a notification to the user. For example, such as Figure 5 As shown, the notification processing unit 44 displays a message on the display 22 such as "The paper placed on the recycling tray is not aligned. Please correct the alignment."

[0084] The reprinting process performed by the print processing unit 34 and the transfer process of the qualified and reprinted pages performed by the output control unit 42 can be interrupted during the output of the notification after the qualified page whose posture was last detected by the posture detection unit 38 is discharged to the OK tray 12 before the notification is output by the notification processing unit 44. Then, the user can input an instruction to continue the reprinting process into the image forming apparatus 10 after aligning the posture of the qualified page whose posture was last detected and the qualified page remaining on the reuse tray 16 with the posture of the qualified page that has been transferred from the reuse tray 16 and discharged to the OK tray 12. For example, as Figure 5 As shown, the notification processing unit 44 displays messages such as "Should we restart the reprinting process?", along with "Yes" and "No" buttons, and notifications indicating that the positions of multiple qualified pages configured on the reuse tray 16 are different, on the display 22.

[0085] Then, if the user wishes to continue the reprinting process, they can operate the "Yes" button after arranging the qualified pages in the alignment position described above on the reuse tray 16 to instruct the image forming apparatus 10 to continue the reprinting process. If the user instructs to continue the reprinting process, the print processing unit 34 restarts the reprinting process, and the output control unit 42 restarts the transfer of the print media accompanying the reprinting process. If the posture detection unit 38 detects that the postures of the plurality of qualified pages arranged on the reuse tray 16 are different, the reprinting process can be restarted according to the user's instruction. This allows for the efficient utilization of the results of the process up to the detection of the different postures of the plurality of qualified pages arranged on the reuse tray 16, including the transfer of qualified pages from the reuse tray 16 to the OK tray 12, the reprinting process, and the transfer of the reprinted pages obtained through the reprinting process to the OK tray 12. Therefore, compared to restarting the reprinting process from scratch, the processing volume of the reprinting process and the accompanying transfer process can be reduced, and qualified pages and reprinted pages can be output together more quickly.

[0086] On the other hand, if the user does not wish to continue the reprinting process, they can instruct the image forming apparatus 10 to stop the reprinting process by operating the "No" button. If the user instructs to stop the reprinting process, the print processing unit 34 stops the reprinting process, and the output control unit 42 stops the transmission of the print media accompanying the reprinting process.

[0087] Furthermore, it can be considered that the initial page controlled by the output control unit 42 (page 1 if the printing process by the print processing unit 34 is back-side out, and page 1st if the printing process by the print processing unit 34 is front-side out) is a defective page. In this case, it is necessary to perform a reprint process on the initial page before the posture detection unit 38 detects the posture of a qualified page. At this time, the reprint setting determination unit 40 sets the print setting of the reprint process to be the same as the print setting of the print process. The print processing unit 34 performs the reprint process with this print setting and ejects the reprinted page to the OK tray 12. Then, when the posture detection unit 38 detects the configuration posture of the qualified page on the reuse tray 16, if the print setting of the reprint process does not correspond to the detected configuration posture of the qualified page on the reuse tray 16 (in other words, if the ejection posture of the reprinted page to the OK tray 12 is different from the ejection posture of the qualified page to the OK tray 12), the processing unit 44 is notified to output a notification to the user. At this time, similarly, the printing processing unit 34 stops the reprinting process, and the output control unit 42 also stops the discharge control that accompanies the reprinting process.

[0088] The outline of the image forming apparatus 10 according to this embodiment is as described above. Hereinafter, reference will be made to... Figure 6 The flowchart shown illustrates the processing flow of the image forming apparatus 10.

[0089] In step S10, the print processing unit 34 prints multiple pages of print media according to print data for multiple pages input by the user. The inspection processing unit 36 ​​determines whether the print result of each print media is qualified or not. The conveying device discharges qualified pages to the OK tray 12 and unqualified pages to the NG tray 14. The user arranges the qualified page group discharged to the OK tray 12 into the reuse tray 16 and inputs an instruction for reprint processing to the image forming apparatus 10.

[0090] In step S12, the posture detection unit 38 imports the topmost qualified page from the qualified page group arranged on the recycling tray 16 into the image forming apparatus 10.

[0091] In step S14, the posture detection unit 38 determines whether the page order of the qualified page group arranged on the recycling tray 16 is appropriate based on the page number of the qualified page imported in step S12. Specifically, if the printing process in step S10 is back-side outgoing and the first qualified page delivered from the recycling tray 16 is the page with the smallest page number in the qualified page group, or if the printing process in step S10 is front-side outgoing and the first qualified page delivered from the recycling tray 16 is the page with the largest page number in the qualified page group, the posture detection unit 38 determines that the page order of the qualified page group arranged on the recycling tray 16 is appropriate. On the other hand, if the printing process in step S10 is back-side outgoing and the first qualified page delivered from the recycling tray 16 is not the page with the smallest page number in the qualified page group, or if the printing process in step S10 is front-side outgoing and the first qualified page delivered from the recycling tray 16 is not the page with the largest page number in the qualified page group, the posture detection unit 38 determines that the page order of the qualified page group arranged on the recycling tray 16 is inappropriate. If the page order of the qualified page group configured on the reuse tray 16 is determined to be appropriate, proceed to step S18; if it is determined to be inappropriate, proceed to step S16.

[0092] In step S16, the notification processing unit 44 outputs a notification to the user. Then, the processing ends.

[0093] In step S18, the posture detection unit 38 detects the posture of the qualified page imported in step S12.

[0094] In step S20, the reprint setting determination unit 40 determines the print setting of the reprint process based on the posture of the qualified page detected in step S18, so that the discharge posture of the qualified page conveyed from the reuse tray 16 and discharged to the OK tray 12 is the same as the discharge posture of the reprinted page obtained by the reprint process discharged to the OK tray 12.

[0095] In step S22, the processing unit 44 is notified to determine whether the printer 26 can perform a reprint process with the print settings determined in step S20. If it can be performed, the process proceeds to step S24. If it cannot be performed, the process proceeds to step S16, and the processing unit 44 is notified to output a notification to the user.

[0096] In step S24, the printing processing unit 34 performs a reprinting process on the defective pages determined in step S10 using the printing settings determined in step S20. Through the discharge control performed by the output control unit 42 accompanying this reprinting process, the qualified pages from the reuse tray 16 and the reprinted pages with the alignment obtained through the reprinting process are discharged together into the OK tray 12.

[0097] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0098] For example, in this embodiment, during the transfer process of qualified pages from the recycling tray 16 to the OK tray 12, only the orientation of the front and back of the qualified pages is reversed, and no other changes in posture are made. However, this method is not always necessary. For example, if the qualified pages are arranged vertically on the recycling tray 16, the orientation of the front and back of the qualified pages and the orientation of the image can be changed. Even in this case, the reprint setting determination unit 40 only needs to determine the print setting of the reprint process so that the discharge posture of the qualified pages discharged from the recycling tray 16 to the OK tray 12 is the same as the discharge posture of the reprinted pages discharged from the OK tray 12, taking into account the posture changes of the qualified pages during the transfer process from the recycling tray 16 to the OK tray 12.

[0099] The embodiments of the present invention described above are provided for illustrative purposes. Furthermore, these embodiments do not encompass the entirety of the invention, nor do they limit the invention to the disclosed methods. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations will be readily understood. These embodiments were chosen and described to most readily explain the principles and applications of the invention. Thus, those skilled in the art can understand the invention through various modifications that are assumed to be optimized for specific uses of various embodiments. The scope of the invention is defined by the foregoing claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus, characterized in that, Equipped with a processor The processor performs the following processing: Print multiple pages of printing media based on the print data for multiple page counts; The qualified pages resulting from the printing process are imported into the image forming apparatus using a recycling tray. Using print settings determined based on the configuration of the qualified page on the reuse tray, a reprinted page is obtained by reprinting the unqualified page (which failed the print process) on another print medium; and The qualified page and the reprinted page, which are transferred from the reuse tray, are output together.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, If the processor is unable to perform the reprint process according to the determined print settings, it outputs a notification to the user.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The processor informs the user of the reason why the reprint process cannot be performed according to the determined print settings.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the processor detects that the orientations of a plurality of qualified pages arranged on the recycling tray are different, it outputs a notification to the user.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that, The processor restarts the reprinting process if the user continues processing in response to the notification instruction.

6. A computer program product, characterized in that, Includes an image forming program for enabling the computer to perform the following steps: Print multiple pages of printing media based on the print data for multiple page counts; The qualified pages resulting from the printing process are imported into the image forming apparatus using a recycling tray. Using print settings determined based on the configuration of the qualified page on the reuse tray, a reprinted page is obtained by reprinting the unqualified page (which failed the print process) on another print medium; and The qualified page and the reprinted page, which are transferred from the reuse tray, are output together.

7. An image forming method, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Print multiple pages of printing media based on the print data for multiple page counts; The qualified pages resulting from the printing process are imported into the image forming apparatus using a recycling tray. Using print settings determined based on the configuration of the qualified page on the reuse tray, a reprinted page is obtained by reprinting the unqualified page (which failed the print process) on another print medium; and The qualified page and the reprinted page, which are transferred from the reuse tray, are output together.

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