Image forming apparatus

Abstract

To allow a user to easily grasp the original size of an image even when formation of the image using a recording paper in a size matching the size of a document is not performed.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 10 comprises: an image reading unit 11 that reads an image of a document; an image forming unit 12 that forms the image of the document on a recording paper P; and a control unit 29 that determines the size of the document and the size of the recording paper P, and when the size of the document and the size of the recording paper P do not match each other, causes the image forming unit 12 to form, on the recording paper P, the document image obtained by the image reading unit 11 reading the document and a line showing an outer edge part of the document image.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image of an original on a recording sheet, and more particularly to a technique for printing the edges of the original on the recording sheet on which the image of the original has been formed when the size of the original does not match the size of the recording sheet. [Background technology]

[0002] In an image forming apparatus, an image of an original is read by an image reading unit, and the image of the original is formed on a recording sheet by an image forming unit. Usually, in an image forming apparatus, an image is formed on a recording sheet of a size that matches the size of the original.

[0003] In the printing device described in Patent Document 1, when paper of the size specified by the host computer cannot be fed from the paper feed means, the smallest size paper is selected from a set of paper sizes larger than the specified size, and the selected paper is fed to print the print information from the computer on the paper. This allows printing to be performed while reducing the waste of paper. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-347732 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the smallest size paper is selected from a set of paper sizes larger than the specified paper size, and the selected paper is fed to print the print information on the paper. This causes a problem in that the margin area of ​​the printed paper becomes large, making it difficult to know the original size of the print information.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to enable a user to easily grasp the original size of an image even when the image is not formed using recording paper of a size that matches the size of the original document. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention comprises an image reading unit that reads an image of an original document, an image forming unit that forms the image of the original document on a recording sheet, and a control unit that determines the size of the original document and the size of the recording sheet, and, if the size of the original document and the size of the recording sheet do not match, causes the image forming unit to form, on the recording sheet, an original image obtained by reading the original document with the image reading unit and lines indicating the outer edges of the original image. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, even if an image is not formed using recording paper of a size that matches the size of a document, the user can easily grasp the original size of the image. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 3] (A) is a diagram showing an image of a standard size A4 document and a standard size A3 recording sheet on which lines indicating the edges of the document are formed, and (B) is a diagram showing an image of a standard size B5 document and a standard size A3 recording sheet on which lines indicating the edges of the document are formed. [Figure 4] (A) is a diagram showing an image of a standard size A4 document and multiple standard size B5 recording sheets formed by dividing the lines indicating the edges of the document, and (B) is a diagram showing an image of a standard size A3 document and multiple standard size A4 recording sheets formed by dividing the lines indicating the edges of the document. [Figure 5A]10 is a flowchart showing a process for forming an image of an original on a recording sheet and forming lines indicating edges of the original on the recording sheet when the standard size of the original and the standard size of the recording sheet do not match. [Figure 5B] 5B is a flowchart showing the process following FIG. 5A. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a guide screen displayed on a display unit of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a selection screen displayed on a display unit of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a line setting screen displayed on a display unit of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 9] (A) is a diagram showing a recording sheet on which only the image of the original is formed, and no lines indicating the edges of the original are formed, and (B) is a diagram showing four recording sheets on which four image portions are formed, and no lines indicating the outer edges of the original are formed. [Figure 10] (A) is a diagram showing the positional relationship between an image of an original and a blank area following the image of the original when the image of the original is formed on the front side of a recording paper, and (B) is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the blank area and the image of the original following the blank area when the image of the original is formed on the back side of a recording paper. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] An image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment is an MFP (multi-function peripheral) having multiple functions such as a copy function and a printer function. The image forming apparatus 10 includes an image reading unit 11 and an image forming unit 12.

[0011] The image reading unit 11 has an imaging unit (CCD or the like) equipped with an imaging element that optically reads an image of a document, and image data (document image) showing an image of the document is generated by this imaging element. The image reading unit 11 has an automatic document feeder (ADF: automatic document feeder). The automatic document feeder continuously transports multiple documents placed on the document placement table 11A to the imaging unit for each document, and the imaging unit reads each document. The imaging unit of the image reading unit 11 also reads the image of the document placed on a flatbed provided in the image reading unit 11.

[0012] The image forming section 12 forms an image represented by the image data on the recording paper P, and includes an image forming unit 3M for magenta, an image forming unit 3C for cyan, an image forming unit 3Y for yellow, and an image forming unit 3Bk for black. In each of the image forming units 3M, 3C, 3Y, and 3Bk, the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 is uniformly charged, the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 is exposed to light, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4, the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 is developed into a toner image, and the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 5. As a result, a color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 5. This color toner image is secondarily transferred to the recording paper P transported from the paper feeder 14 through the main transport path 8 in the nip area N between the intermediate transfer belt 5 and the secondary transfer roller 6.

[0013] The paper feed device 14 includes three paper feed cassettes 7A, 7B, and 7C, and a manual feed tray 19, and the recording paper P is fed from one of the paper feed cassettes 7A, 7B, and 7C to the main transport path 8, or the recording paper P is fed from the manual feed tray 19 to the main transport path 8. The recording paper P is sent to the main transport path 8, and the color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 5 is secondarily transferred to the recording paper P in a nip area N between the intermediate transfer belt 5 and a secondary transfer roller 6.

[0014] Thereafter, the recording paper P is heated and pressed in the fixing device 15 so that the toner image on the recording paper P is fixed by thermocompression, and the recording paper P is then discharged onto a discharge tray 17 via discharge rollers 16 .

[0015] Furthermore, when an image of the original M is to be recorded on the reverse side of the recording paper P, the recording paper P is transported to the discharge rollers 16 just before the discharge tray 17, the discharge rollers 16 are stopped once and then rotated in the reverse direction in a switchback transport, the recording paper P is returned to the main transport path 8 from the transport rollers 18 via the reversing transport path 9, the recording paper P is turned over, the image of the original M is formed on the reverse side of the recording paper P by the image forming unit 12, and the recording paper P is discharged to the discharge tray 17 via the discharge rollers 16.

[0016] Next, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the main internal configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 2, the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment includes an image reading unit 11, an image forming unit 12, a paper feeder 14, a display unit 21, an operation unit 22, a touch panel 23, paper sensors 24A, 24B, and 24C, an image memory 26, a storage unit 27, and a control unit 28. These components are capable of transmitting and receiving data or signals to and from each other via a bus.

[0017] The display unit 21 is configured with a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display.

[0018] The operation unit 22 includes physical keys such as a numeric keypad, a decision key, a start key, etc. In response to the operation of each key, an instruction corresponding to each key is input to the operation unit 22.

[0019] A touch panel 23 is disposed on the screen of the display section 21. The touch panel 23 is a so-called resistive film type or capacitive type touch panel, which detects a contact (touch) made by a user's finger or the like on the touch panel 23 together with the contact position, and outputs a detection signal indicating the coordinates of the contact position to a control section 29 (described later) of the control unit 28, etc.

[0020] The paper sensor 24A is provided in the paper feed cassette 7A of the paper feed device 14, the paper sensor 24B is provided in the paper feed cassette 7B, and the sensor 24C is provided in the paper feed cassette 7C. The paper sensor 24A detects the presence or absence of recording paper P stored in the paper feed cassette 7A. The paper sensor 24B detects the presence or absence of recording paper P stored in the paper feed cassette 7B. The paper sensor 24C detects the presence or absence of recording paper P stored in the paper feed cassette 7C. For example, each of the paper sensors 24A, 24B, and 24C is a reflective optical sensor that includes a light-emitting element that emits light to the recording paper P stored in each paper feed cassette and a light-receiving element that receives the light reflected by the recording paper P, and detects the presence of the recording paper P when the light-receiving element receives the light reflected by the recording paper P, and detects the absence of the recording paper P when the light-receiving element does not receive the light reflected by the recording paper P.

[0021] The storage unit 27 is a large-capacity storage device such as a solid state drive (SSD) or a hard disk drive (HDD), and stores various application programs and various data.

[0022] The control unit 28 is composed of a processor, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), etc. The control unit 28 functions as a control unit 29 by the processor executing a control program stored in the ROM or the storage unit 27.

[0023] The control unit 29 comprehensively controls the image forming apparatus 10. The control unit 28 is connected to the image reading unit 11, the image forming unit 12, the paper feeder 14, the display unit 21, the operation unit 22, the touch panel 23, the paper sensors 24A, 24B, and 24C, the image memory 26, and the storage unit 27. The control unit 29 controls the operation of these components and transmits and receives signals or data between these components.

[0024] The control unit 29 serves as a processing unit that executes various processes required for image formation by the image forming apparatus 10.

[0025] Furthermore, the control unit 29 has a function of controlling the display operation of the display unit 21. Furthermore, the control unit 29 accepts instructions input by the user based on a detection signal output from the touch panel 23 or an operation of a physical key of the operation unit 22. For example, the control unit 29 accepts a touch operation on a GUI (Graphical User Interface) or the like displayed on the screen of the display unit 21 through the touch panel 23.

[0026] Furthermore, the control unit 29 controls the drive of each drive source (such as a motor) that operates each of the paper feed cassettes 7A to 7C of the paper feed device 14, and transports and supplies the recording paper P to the main transport path 8 from each of the paper feed cassettes 7A to 7C.

[0027] In the image forming apparatus 10 having such a configuration, the control unit 29 causes the image reading unit 11 to read the image of the original M, stores the original image of the original M obtained by the original reading in the image memory 26, inputs the original image to the image forming unit 12, and also causes recording paper to be supplied from one of the paper feeding cassettes 7A to 7C of the paper feeding device 14, and causes the image forming unit 12 to form the original image of the original M on the recording paper P.

[0028] Here, when the image of the original M is formed on the recording paper P, in principle, a recording paper P of a size matching the size of the original M is used. Therefore, if the original M is a standard size B5, the control unit 29 controls the paper feeder 14 to supply the recording paper P of the standard size B5, if the original M is a standard size A4, the control unit 29 controls the paper feeder 14 to supply the recording paper P of the standard size A4, and if the original M is a standard size A3, the control unit 29 controls the paper feeder 14 to supply the recording paper P of the standard size A3.

[0029] Here, it is assumed that the paper feed cassette 7A contains recording paper P of standard size B5, the paper feed cassette 7B contains recording paper P of standard size A4, and the paper feed cassette 7C contains recording paper P of standard size A3. The user places recording paper P of each standard size in each of the paper feed cassettes 7A, 7B, and 7C. The user operates the operation unit 22 to input the standard size B5 as the size of the recording paper contained in the paper feed cassette 7A, the standard size A4 as the size of the recording paper contained in the paper feed cassette 7B, and the standard size A3 as the size of the recording paper contained in the paper feed cassette 7C. The control unit 29 accepts the sizes of the recording paper contained in each paper feed cassette inputted to the operation unit 47, and stores them in a non-volatile memory built into the control unit 28, for example. Alternatively, a sensor may be provided for each paper feed cassette 7A, 7B, 7C to detect the standard size of the recording paper P stored in the paper feed cassette, and the sensor may output the detected standard size to the control unit 29, and the control unit 29 may store the standard size received from the sensor in the non-volatile memory as the standard size of the recording paper stored in the paper feed cassette in which the sensor is provided.

[0030] Furthermore, when setting the document M of standard size B5, A4, or A3 in the image reading unit 11, the user operates the operation unit 22 to input size information indicating the standard size B5, A4, or A3 of the document M. The control unit 29 receives the input size information from the operation unit 22 and accepts the standard size indicated by the size information as the standard size B5, A4, or A3 of the document M set in the image reading unit 11. Alternatively, a document size sensor that detects the size (standard size) of the document M may be provided around the document placement table or flatbed facing the automatic document feeder of the image reading unit 11, and the document size sensor may output the detected standard size to the control unit 29, and the control unit 29 may accept the standard size received from the document size sensor as the standard size of the document M to be read.

[0031] The control unit 29 receives the standard size B5, A4, or A3 of the original M as described above, and selects one of the paper feed cassettes 7A, 7B, or 7C that accommodates recording paper P of the same standard size B5, A4, or A3 as the standard size of the received original M. Then, the control unit 29 causes the image reading unit 11 to read the image of the original M, and causes the image forming unit 12 to supply the recording paper P from one of the selected paper feed cassettes 7A, 7B, or 7C, and causes the image forming unit 12 to form an image on the recording paper P based on the original image of the original M obtained by the original reading. As a result, an image is formed using the recording paper P of a size that matches the size of the original M.

[0032] However, there are cases where image formation cannot be performed using recording paper P of a size that matches the size of the original M. For example, there are cases where the original M is a standard size A4, but the paper feed cassette 7B does not have standard size A4 recording paper P, and only standard size B5 or A3 recording paper P can be supplied from the paper feed cassette 7A or 7C. In this case, even if the original image of the original M of the standard size A4 is formed on the recording paper P of the standard size A3, the entire original image can be formed, but the margin area on the recording paper P where the original image is not formed becomes wide, and the original size of the original image of the original M becomes unclear. Alternatively, the original image of the standard size A4 may be divided and each divided image may be formed on a plurality of recording papers P of the standard size B5, but this also causes the original size of the original M to be unclear.

[0033] Therefore, in the image forming device 10, when the control unit 29 cannot supply recording paper P of a size matching the size of the document M (standard size), the control unit 29 causes the image forming unit 12 to form a line L indicating the outer edge of the document M on the recording paper P (when the size of the recording paper P is larger than the size of the document M), or to divide the line L indicating the outer edge of the document and form it on multiple recording papers P (when the size of the recording paper P is smaller than the size of the document M). The control unit 29 stores the position where the line L indicating the outer edge of the document M should be formed and the image for each standard size of the document M.

[0034] For example, as shown in FIG. 3(A), when an image of a document M of standard size B5 is formed on a recording sheet P of standard size A4, under the control of the control unit 29, the document image of the document M of standard size B5 and a line L indicating the outer edge of the document M are formed on the recording sheet P of standard size A4.

[0035] Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3(B), when an image of a standard size A4 document M is formed on a standard size A3 recording paper P, under the control of the control unit 29, the document image of the standard size A4 document M and a line L indicating the outer edge of the document M are formed on the standard size A3 recording paper P.

[0036] 4(A), when an original image of an original M of a standard size A4 is divided and each divided original image is formed on a plurality of recording sheets P of a standard size B5, the original image of the original M of a standard size A4 and the line L indicating the outer edge of the original M are divided and formed on four recording sheets P of a standard size B5 under the control of the control unit 29. Alternatively, when an original image of an original M of a standard size A3 is divided and formed on a plurality of recording sheets P of a standard size A4 as shown in FIG. 4(B), the original image of the original M of a standard size A3 and the line L indicating the outer edge of the original M are divided and formed on four recording sheets P of a standard size A4 under the control of the control unit 29.

[0037] Next, a process for forming an original image of the original M on the recording paper P and forming a line L indicating the outer edge of the original M on the recording paper P when the standard size of the original M and the standard size of the recording paper P do not match will be explained with reference to the flowcharts shown in Figures 5A and 5B.

[0038] For example, a user sets an original M of standard size A4 in the image reading unit 11 and operates the start key of the operation unit 22. When a copy operation execution instruction associated with the start key is input to the operation unit 22, the control unit 29 accepts the copy operation execution instruction and further determines which standard size the size of the original M set in the image reading unit 11 accepted as described above is (S101). Here, it is assumed that the control unit 29 has determined the standard size A4. The control unit 29 selects the paper feed cassette 7B that supplies recording paper P of the standard size A4, which is the same size as the original M (S102), and determines the presence or absence of recording paper P in the selected paper feed cassette 7 based on the detection output of the paper sensor 24B (S103).

[0039] When the control unit 29 determines that there is recording paper P stored in the selected paper feed cassette 7B (S103 "Yes"), it causes the image reading unit 11 to read the original document M, and causes the selected paper feed cassette 7B to supply the recording paper P to the image forming unit 12, and causes the image forming unit 12 to form the original document image obtained by reading the original document M on the recording paper P (S104).

[0040] Next, the control unit 29 determines whether another document M is present on the document placement plate of the image reading unit 11 based on a signal output from an original detection sensor installed on the document placement plate, or determines whether a further document M has been placed on the flatbed by the user and an instruction to continuously read documents has been input by the user operating the operation unit 22 (S105). When it determines that another document M is present on the document placement plate based on the signal output from the original detection sensor, or when it determines that an instruction to continuously read documents has been input, it determines that the next document M will be read (S105 "Yes") and repeats the processes of S103 to S105. When the control unit 29 determines that the next document M will not be read (S105 "No"), the process ends.

[0041] On the other hand, when the control unit 29 determines that there is no recording paper P contained in the paper feed cassette 7B selected in S102 (S103 "No"), it causes the display unit 21 to display a guide screen G1 as shown in Fig. 6 (S106). The guide screen G1 displays a message E1 that, since there is no recording paper P in the paper feed cassette 7B, prompts the user to select whether to replenish the recording paper P or to substitute recording paper P of another standard size, a refill key K11 for receiving a refill selection instruction for selecting refilling the recording paper P, and a substitute key K12 for receiving a substitute selection instruction for selecting to substitute recording paper P of another standard size.

[0042] Here, it is assumed that the user sees the message E1, touches the refill key K11, and refills the paper feed cassette 7B with standard size A4 recording paper P. In this case, the control unit 29 accepts a refill selection instruction associated with the refill key K11 via the touch panel 23 (S107 "Refill"), and waits until the paper sensor 24B detects the presence of recording paper P in the paper feed cassette 7B (S108 "No"). When the control unit 29 detects the presence of recording paper P in the paper feed cassette 7B (S108 "Yes"), that is, when the paper feed cassette 7B has been refilled with recording paper P, it repeats the processes of S103 to S105.

[0043] Alternatively, the user sees the message E1 and touches the substitute key K12. In this case, the control unit 29 accepts a substitute selection instruction associated with the substitute key K12 through the touch panel 23 (S107 "Substitute"), and causes the display unit 21 to display a selection screen G2 such as the example shown in Fig. 7 (S109). The selection screen G2 displays a message E2 prompting the user to select the standard size of the other recording paper P to be substituted, a selection box TX11 for selecting the standard size of the other recording paper P to be substituted, and an OK key K21.

[0044] When the user touches the selection box TX11, the control unit 29, in response to this touch operation, causes the selection screen G2 to display a pull-down display showing other standard sizes of the substituted recording paper P. When the user touches a portion of the pull-down display showing other standard sizes to be used for image formation, the control unit 29 accepts, via the touch panel 23, a size selection instruction to select the standard size displayed in the display portion that was touched.

[0045] The control unit 29 determines the standard size indicated by the received size selection instruction (S110).

[0046] 8, on the display unit 21 (S111). The line L setting screen G3 displays a message E3 prompting the user to set a line L indicating the outer edge of the document M to be printed on the recording paper P, a check box CB21 for selecting no line L, a check box CB22 for accepting the selection of the default line L, a selection box TX21 for selecting an existing line L (described later), a selection box TX22 for selecting the type of line L, a selection box TX23 for selecting the thickness of the line L, and a selection box TX24 for selecting the color of the line L.

[0047] For example, when the user sees message E3 and touches check box CB21, the control unit 29 accepts a no-line instruction, which is associated with check box CB21 via the touch panel 23, to not show line L indicating the outer edge of document M on recording paper P ("no" in S112). When the control unit 29 accepts a no-line instruction, it displays check box CB22, select boxes TX21, TX22, TX23, and TX24 related to setting line L in a grayed-out state, and does not accept any instructions accompanying these operations.

[0048] Then, the control unit 29 compares the size of the original M determined in S101 with the standard size of the substitute recording paper P determined in S110 (S114). For example, if the substitute recording paper P has been determined to be a standard size A4 and it is determined that the standard size A4 of the original M determined in S101 is smaller than the standard size A3 of the substitute recording paper P determined in S110 (S114 "Yes"), it causes the image reading unit 11 to read the image of the original M of the standard size A4, selects the paper feed cassette 7B that contains the recording paper P of the standard size A3 determined in S110, causes this paper feed cassette 7B to supply the recording paper P of the standard size A3 to the image forming unit 12, and causes the image forming unit 12 to form the original image obtained by the above original reading, i.e., the original image of the original M of the standard size A4, on the recording paper P of the standard size A3 (S115). At this time, the control unit 29 transports the recording paper P along a specified path, while causing the image forming unit 12 to align one edge forming the outer edge of the original image with one edge of the recording paper P and form the original image from the leading edge of the recording paper P.

[0049] As a result, under the control of the control unit 29, the position of one edge of the document image of the standard size A4 document M is aligned with the position of one edge of the standard size A3 recording paper P as shown in Fig. 9(A), and only the document image of the standard size A4 document M is formed on the standard size A3 recording paper P. In this case, the line L indicating the outer edge of the document M is not formed on the standard size A3 recording paper P.

[0050] The control unit 29 determines whether the image of the next document M will be read by the image reading unit 11 (S116), in the same manner as in S105 above, and if it determines that the image of the next document M will be read (S116 "Yes"), repeats S115 and S116.

[0051] When the control unit 29 determines that the image of the next document M is not to be read (S116 "No"), the process ends.

[0052] Also, in S114, for example, when the standard size B5 of the substitute recording paper P is determined, and the control unit 29 determines that the standard size A4 of the document M determined in S101 is larger than the standard size B5 of the substitute recording paper P determined in S110 (S114 "No"), the control unit 29 causes the image reading unit 11 to read the image of the document M, and divides the document image obtained by this document reading, that is, the document image of the document M of the standard size A4, into four image parts of the standard size B5. Then, the control unit 29 selects the paper feed cassette 7A that supplies the recording paper P of the standard size B5 determined in S110, and causes the paper feed cassette 7A to sequentially supply four sheets of recording paper P of the standard size B5 to the image forming unit 12, and causes the image forming unit 12 to form each of the divided four image parts on a different recording paper P of the standard size B5 (a total of four sheets) (S117).

[0053] At this time, the control unit 29 determines one edge forming the outer edge of the side edge of the document image of the document M and another edge perpendicular to the one edge, and allocates the document image of the document M to each recording sheet in a state in which the positions of the two perpendicular edges determined to be mutually perpendicular coincide with the positions of the two perpendicular edges of a rectangular area consisting of four recording sheets P arranged vertically and horizontally, thereby dividing the document image of the document M into the above-mentioned respective image portions. The image forming unit 12 forms each image portion from the leading edge of each recording sheet P by overlapping one edge forming the outer edge of each divided image portion with one edge of each recording sheet P while sequentially transporting each recording sheet P along a specified path.

[0054] As a result, under the control of the control unit 29, the position of one edge forming the outer edge of the four image portions formed by dividing the document image of the standard size A4 document M is aligned with the position of one edge of the four standard size B5 recording sheets P, as shown in Fig. 9(B), and the four image portions are formed on the four standard size B5 recording sheets P. In this case, the line L indicating the outer edge of the document M is not formed on any of the four standard size B5 recording sheets P.

[0055] The control unit 29 determines whether the image of the next document M is to be read by the image reading unit 11 (S118), and if it is determined that the image of the next document M is to be read (S118 "Yes"), it repeats S117 and S118. On the other hand, if the control unit 29 determines that the image of the next document M is not to be read (S118 "No"), the process ends.

[0056] A case will now be described in which the user sees message E3 and touches check box CB22 without touching check box CB21. In this case, control unit 29 accepts a line presence instruction (S112 "Yes") and also accepts a default instruction to use the default line L associated with check box CB22, and sets the default line L image as the line L image to be used for image formation (S119).

[0057] Furthermore, when the user sees message E3 and touches select box TX22 without touching check box CB21, control unit 29 causes selection screen G2 to display a pull-down display showing a plurality of preset types of lines L (solid lines, dotted lines, dashed dotted lines, etc.) in response to this touch operation. When the user touches a portion of the pull-down display that displays the line type to be used for image formation, control unit 29 accepts, via touch panel 23, a line type selection instruction to select the line type displayed in the display portion that was touched.

[0058] Furthermore, when the user touches the selection box TX23, the control unit 29 causes a pull-down display showing a plurality of preset thicknesses to be displayed on the selection screen G2 in response to the touch operation. When the user touches a portion of the pull-down display showing the thickness to be used in image formation, the control unit 29 receives, via the touch panel 23, a thickness type selection instruction to select the thickness displayed in the portion where the touch operation was performed.

[0059] Furthermore, when the user touches the selection box TX24, the control unit 29 causes a pull-down display showing a plurality of preset colors to be displayed on the selection screen G2 in response to the touch operation. When the user touches a display portion showing the colors to be used in image formation in the pull-down display, the control unit 29 receives, via the touch panel 23, a color selection instruction to select the color displayed in the display portion that has been touched.

[0060] Here, the control unit 29 assumes that the user has not touched the check box CB21, but has touched the select box TX22, and has received a line presence instruction based on this (S112 “Present”), and further that the control unit 29 has received all of the line type selection instruction, thickness type selection instruction, and color selection instruction (S119). The control unit 29 sets a line L of any type (solid line, dotted line, dashed dotted line, etc.), thickness, and color as the line L to be used for image formation in accordance with the received instructions. The control unit 29 stores the line L of any type (solid line, dotted line, dashed dotted line, etc.), thickness, and color set in this way in a non-volatile memory built into the control unit 28 as an existing line L. Then, the control unit 29 displays each of the stored existing lines L in a pull-down display on the selection screen G2 in accordance with a pull-down display instruction input to the operation unit 22 by touching the select box TX21.

[0061] When the selection screen G2 is displayed, the user looks at the message E3, and touches the select box TX21 without touching the check box CB21, and when a pull-down display instruction is input to the operation unit 22, the control unit 29 causes each of the stored existing lines L to be displayed in a pull-down on the selection screen G2. When the user touches a display portion showing the existing line L to be used for image formation in the pull-down display, the control unit 29 accepts, via the touch panel 23, a line selection instruction to select the existing line L displayed in the display portion touched, and sets it as the line L to be used for image formation (S119).

[0062] Furthermore, when the control unit 29 receives a line selection instruction, it may further receive one or more of a line type selection instruction, a thickness type selection instruction, and a color selection instruction, and customize the existing line L indicated by the line selection instruction by changing the line type, thickness, or color in accordance with one or more of the received line type selection instruction, thickness type selection instruction, and color selection instruction.

[0063] Then, the control unit 29 compares the size of the document M determined in S101 with the standard size of the substitute recording paper P determined in S110 (S121). For example, if the standard size A3 of the substitute recording paper P was determined in S110, the control unit 29 determines that the standard size A4 of the document M determined in S101 is smaller than the standard size A3 of the substitute recording paper P determined in S110 (S121 "Yes"), and causes the image reading unit 11 to read the document M to obtain a document image, generates an image of the line L set in S119, and arranges the image of the line L at a position indicating its outer edge in the document image, thereby generating a document image with lines in which the image of the line L is arranged (S122).

[0064] The control unit 29 selects the paper feed cassette 7C that supplies the recording paper P of the standard size A3 determined in S110, and causes this paper feed cassette 7C to supply the recording paper P of the standard size A3 to the image forming unit 12, and causes the image forming unit 12 to form the lined original image generated in S122 on the supplied recording paper P of the standard size A3 (S123). At this time, the control unit 29 causes the image forming unit 12 to align one edge forming the outer edge of the lined original image with one edge of the recording paper P, while transporting the recording paper P along a specified path, and causes the image forming unit 12 to form the lined original image from the leading edge of the recording paper P.

[0065] As a result, as shown in FIG. 3B, an original image of an original M of standard size A4 and a line L indicating the outer edge of the original M are formed on a recording sheet P of standard size A3.

[0066] Next, the control unit 29 determines whether or not the image of the next document M will be read by the image reading unit 11 (S124), and if it determines that the image of the next document M will be read (S124 "Yes"), it repeats the processes of S122 to S124.

[0067] Then, when the control unit 29 determines that the image of the next document M is not to be read (S124 "No"), the control unit 29 ends the process.

[0068] Furthermore, for example, if the standard size B5 of the substitute recording paper P was determined in S110, the control unit 29 determines that the standard size A4 of the original document M determined in S101 is larger than the standard size B5 of the substitute recording paper P determined in S110 (S121 "No"), and causes the image reading unit 11 to read the original document M to obtain an original document image, while generating an image of the line L set in S119 and arranging the image of the line L at a position that indicates its outer edge in the original document image, thereby generating a lined original document image in which the image of the line L is arranged (S125).

[0069] The control unit 29 divides the lined original image generated in S125 into four image portions of standard size B5. Then, the control unit 29 selects the paper feed cassette 7A that supplies the recording paper P of the standard size B5 determined in S110, and causes the paper feed cassette 7A to sequentially supply the four sheets of recording paper P of the standard size B5 to the image forming unit 12, and causes the image forming unit 12 to form each of the four divided image portions on a separate sheet of recording paper P of standard size B5 (a total of four sheets) (S125).

[0070] At this time, the control unit 29 determines one edge forming the outer edge of the side edge of the lined original image and another edge perpendicular to the one edge, and allocates the lined original image to each recording sheet in a state in which the positions of the determined two perpendicular edges coincide with the positions of the two perpendicular edges of a rectangular area consisting of four recording sheets P arranged vertically and horizontally, thereby dividing the lined original image into each image portion. The image forming unit 12 conveys each recording sheet P sequentially along a specified path, and overlaps one edge of each divided image portion with one edge of each recording sheet P to form each image portion from the leading edge of each recording sheet P.

[0071] As a result, as shown in FIG. 4A, the document image of document M of standard size A4 and line L indicating the outer edge of document M are divided and formed on four sheets of recording paper P of standard size B5.

[0072] Next, the control unit 29 determines whether or not the image of the next document M is to be read by the image reading unit 11 (S127), and if it is determined that the image of the next document M is to be read (S127 "Yes"), the processing of S125 to S127 is repeated.

[0073] Then, when the control unit 29 determines that the image of the next document M is not to be read (S127 "No"), the process ends.

[0074] In this embodiment, when the standard size of the document M is smaller than the standard size of the recording paper P, the image forming unit 12 forms the line L indicating the outer edge of the document image of the document M on the recording paper P. Therefore, even if the margin area of ​​the recording paper P on which the image has been formed becomes large, the presence of the line L makes it easier for the user to recognize the original size of the document image. In addition, by cutting the recording paper P on which the image has been formed along the line L, the size of the recording paper P can be made to match the size of the document M.

[0075] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, when the standard size of the document M is larger than the standard size of the recording paper P, the line L indicating the outer edge of the document image of the document M is divided and formed on multiple recording papers P. Therefore, by arranging the multiple recording papers P in accordance with the line L image-formed on the multiple recording papers P on which the image has already been formed, the user can easily grasp how to arrange the multiple recording papers P to reproduce the document image.

[0076] In addition, in the image forming unit 12, after forming an image of the document M on the front side of the recording paper P, an image of another document M may be recorded on the back side of the recording paper P (double-sided printing). In this case, under the control of the control unit 29, the recording paper P is conveyed to the discharge roller 16 in front of the discharge tray 17, and the discharge roller 16 is stopped once and then rotated in the reverse direction, so that the recording paper P is returned to the main conveying path 8 through the conveying roller 18 and the reverse conveying path 9, and the front and back of the recording paper P are reversed, and the image of the other document M is formed on the back side of the recording paper P by the image forming unit 12, and the front and back of the recording paper P are switched. For this reason, the control unit 29 reverses the front and back of the document image of the other document M formed on the back side of the recording paper P, and causes the image forming unit 12 to form the document image of the other document M on the back side of the recording paper P from the rear end side. As a result, the document images of the respective documents M formed on the front and back sides of the recording paper P overlap each other, and the forming positions and orientations of the document images of the respective documents M match.

[0077] In addition, when dividing the document image of the document M and forming images on a plurality of recording sheets P on both sides of the recording sheet P, as shown in FIG. 10(A), when forming the document image of the document M on the front side of the recording sheet P, the control unit 29 conveys the recording sheet P in the direction of the arrow, forms the document image of the document M from the leading edge of the front side of the recording sheet P, and forms a blank area following the line L of the rear outer edge of the document image of the document M. In addition, as shown in FIG. 10(B), when forming the document image of another document M on the rear side of the recording sheet P, the front and rear of the recording sheet P are switched. For this reason, the control unit 29 conveys the recording sheet P in the direction of the arrow, forms a blank area from the rear end of the rear side of the recording sheet P, and forms the document image of another document M on the rear side of the recording sheet P following this blank area. As a result, the images of the documents M formed on the front and rear sides of the recording sheet P and the lines L indicating the outer edges of the images of the documents M overlap, and the image forming positions and orientations of the document images of the documents M match.

[0078] In the above embodiment, the default line L, the existing line L, or the line L of any type (solid line, dotted line, dashed line, etc.), thickness, and color are set, but the control unit 29 may change the thickness or density of the set line L according to the remaining amount of toner of each color consumed by the image forming unit 12. For example, a sensor is provided to detect the remaining amount of toner of each color consumed by the image forming unit 12, and the control unit 29 determines whether the remaining amount of toner of each color detected by each sensor is equal to or less than a preset threshold, and when the remaining amount of toner of at least one color used to form the line L is equal to or less than the threshold, the control unit 29 reduces the thickness of the line L or reduces the density of the line L. This reduces the consumption of the toner of that color.

[0079] In addition, in the above embodiment, an image forming apparatus is taken as an example, but the image forming method of the present invention can also be applied to a facsimile machine, a copy machine, etc., or a system combining a PC, a scanner, a printer, etc.

[0080] Moreover, the configurations and processes of the above-described embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10 are merely examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these configurations and processes. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 10 Image forming device 11 Image reading unit 12 Image forming section 14 Paper feeder 21 Display section 22 Control section 23 Touch Panel 24A Paper Sensor 24B Paper sensor 24C Paper Sensor 26 Image Memory 27 Memory section 28 Control Unit 29 Control Unit

Claims

1. an image reading unit that reads an image of a document; an image forming section for forming an image of the document on a recording sheet; An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that determines the size of the original document and the size of the recording paper, and if the size of the original document and the size of the recording paper do not match, causes the image forming unit to form an original image obtained by reading the original document using the image reading unit and a line indicating the outer edge of the original image on the recording paper.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit causes the image forming unit to form the document image and a line indicating the outer edge of the document image on one sheet of recording paper when the size of the document is smaller than the size of the recording paper.

3. 2 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when the size of the document is larger than the size of the recording paper, the control unit divides the document image and a line indicating the outer edge of the document image and forms the divided image on a plurality of recording papers.

4. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein when the image reading unit reads images on both sides of the document and the size of the document does not match, the control unit causes the image forming unit to form an image of the document image obtained by reading the document by the image reading unit and a line indicating the outer edge of the document image on both sides of the recording paper by matching the positions of the document images and lines formed on both sides of the recording paper.

5. An operation unit into which an instruction is input by a user based on an operation, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit sets the type, thickness, or color of the line in accordance with an instruction input to the operation unit.

6. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit reduces the thickness of a line or the density of a line when a remaining amount of toner used for image formation by the image forming unit falls below a preset threshold value.

Images