JP2009232316A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mechanism enabling an image forming apparatus to process image data while an attribute of image data designated by a processing instruction has been changed even after issuance of the processing instruction of the image data to the image forming apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus 1 includes a receiving section 3 for receiving a processing instruction which designates an attribute to be applied to printing or fax transmission/reception of image data, and an attribute changing section 4 for changing the attribute of the image data designated by the processing instruction received by the receiving section 3 according to an attribute changing request from a user before the end of the printing processing or fax transmission/reception of the image data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  In general, as a process performed between a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”) capable of bidirectional communication via a network and an image forming apparatus, a processing command (print instruction) specifying an attribute to be applied to image data printing. Etc.) from the personal computer to the image forming apparatus to cause the image forming apparatus to print image data. In an image forming system using such a network, one image forming apparatus is often shared by a plurality of PCs. For this reason, if a processing command is received from another PC while the image forming apparatus is printing image data in accordance with a processing command sent from a certain PC, a waiting for printing occurs.

  As a prior art related to image formation, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228707 describes an invention relating to an image forming system in which job execution order can be changed or canceled, and execution priority can be set. Patent Document 2 below compares the print priority of image data that is currently being printed with the print priority of image data that is waiting to be printed, and determines whether to permit or reject interrupt printing. Accordingly, an invention relating to an apparatus and method for controlling interrupt printing is described.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 3 below, change control is performed so as to lower the printing order of image data that the user has determined is not urgent based on the attribute information included in the print job information of the image data waiting to be printed. An invention relating to an apparatus and method is described. Further, in Patent Document 4 below, when the order of print processing is set according to the priority order information attached to the print data, and the print data is printed according to the order, the highest priority print data is received. The invention relates to a printing system that saves the print data being printed, executes the printing of the highest priority print data in that state, and resumes printing of the saved print data when the printing ends. Has been.

JP 7-295767 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-224168 JP-A-11-224170 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-325685

  An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism that allows an image forming apparatus to process image data in a state in which the attribute of the image data specified by the processing instruction is changed even after the image forming apparatus has performed the image data processing instruction. It is to provide.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a receiving unit that receives a processing command that specifies an attribute to be applied to image data printing or fax transmission / reception, and an attribute of the image data that is specified by the processing command received by the receiving unit. An image forming apparatus comprising: an attribute changing unit configured to change according to an attribute change request from a user before the image data printing process or fax transmission / reception process ends.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the accepting unit accepts the processing command from a user who operates an external device.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the accepting unit accepts the processing command from a user who operates the operating unit of the own device.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first, second, or third aspect, the attribute change unit accepts the attribute change request from a user who operates the operation unit of the own device. To do.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first, second, or third aspect, the attribute changing unit receives the attribute change request from a user who operates an external device.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the attribute changing unit is a processing instruction selected by a user from a list of processing instructions capable of changing the attribute. Means for presenting an operation screen for accepting input of information necessary for changing the attribute of the image data specified in the above, and means for changing the attribute of the image data based on information input by a user using the operation screen It is characterized by having.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the attribute is an attribute related to confidential printing, and the attribute changing unit specifies execution of confidential printing. It is characterized in that the attribute is changed so that the printing process of the image data or the fax reception process which is not performed is the target of confidential printing.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, even after the image data processing command is issued to the image forming apparatus, the image data is processed in the image forming apparatus in a state in which the attribute of the image data specified by the processing command is changed ( Printing processing, fax transmission processing, or fax reception processing).

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus changes the attribute of the image data specified by the processing command received from the user who operates the external apparatus according to the attribute change request from the user. be able to.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus designates the attribute of the image data specified by the processing instruction received from the user who operates the operating means of the own apparatus according to the attribute change request from the user. Can be changed.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, even after the processing command is received by the image forming apparatus, the attribute of the image data specified by the processing command is received from the user who operates the operating means of the own apparatus. It can be changed according to the attribute change request.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, even after the processing command is received by the image forming apparatus, the attribute of the image data specified by the processing command is received from the user operating the external device. Can be changed according to

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the attribute of the image data specified by the processing instruction selected from the list of processes whose attributes can be changed is changed based on the input information received from the user. can do.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the printing process or the fax receiving process of the image data for which the execution of the confidential printing is not originally designated even after the processing instruction is received by the image forming apparatus is the target of the confidential printing. As described above, the attribute of the image data can be changed.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and various modifications and improvements have been made within the scope of deriving specific effects obtained by the constituent requirements of the invention and combinations thereof. Also includes form.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The illustrated image forming apparatus 1 includes a main control unit 2, a reception unit 3, an attribute change unit 4, a fax communication unit (FAX communication unit) 5, a network communication unit 6, an operation display unit 7, and image processing. The configuration includes a unit 8, a scanner unit 9, a printer unit 10, a data storage unit 11, and a job management unit 12.

  The main control unit 2 controls the overall processing operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The receiving unit 3 is input using a processing command sent from an external device (such as a PC) to the own device (image forming device 1) via the network or the operation display unit 7 of the own device (image forming device 1). -The processing instructions to be set are received in order. The processing command received by the receiving unit 3 includes a print processing command for instructing printing of image data, a fax transmission processing command for instructing fax transmission of image data, and a fax reception processing command for instructing reception of fax data. In the image data to be processed by the processing command, at least one attribute applied to printing or fax transmission / reception (fax transmission / fax reception) of the image data is specified by the processing command.

  The image data to be processed by the processing command includes fax data transmitted and received by the fax communication unit 5 and other image data, for example, image data received by the network communication unit 6 from an external device, Image data read from a portable (small) storage medium such as a connected USB memory, document image data read by the scanner unit 9 of the own device, image data read from the data storage unit 11 of the own device, etc. Is included.

  There are various types of information in the attribute of the image data specified by the processing instruction. For example, attributes applied to image data printing include confidential printing designation, priority printing designation, printing priority designation, and toner save designation. Confidential printing refers to a printing mode in which printing of image data is permitted only to users who are permitted to print by user authentication through an operation using the operation display unit 7 of the image forming apparatus 1. Therefore, for image data for which confidential printing is designated, user authentication using a password or the like (or an ID card is possible) is performed before printing of the image data is started. Priority printing refers to a printing mode in which printing of specific image data is prioritized in an order different from the order in which processing instructions are received by the receiving unit 3. For this reason, image data for which priority printing is specified is printed before image data for which priority printing is not specified. The print priority is an attribute that is referred to when the job management unit 12 controls the job execution order (printing order). For example, two levels of “high” and “low”, or “high” and “medium” are used. ”,“ Low ”, or four or more levels. Toner save is designated when printing is performed with the consumption of toner used for printing image data being suppressed below the standard.

  On the other hand, attributes applied to image data fax transmission / reception include fax transmission date / time designation, confidential transmission designation, confidential reception designation, and data transfer destination designation. Confidential transmission refers to a fax transmission mode in which printing of fax data is permitted only to users who are permitted to print by user authentication on the receiving device side that has received the fax data. Therefore, for image data (fax data) for which confidential transmission is designated, user authentication using a password or the like is performed when printing is started on the fax receiving apparatus side that has received the image data. In confidential reception, printing of image data (fax data) received by the fax communication unit 5 is performed only for a user who is permitted to print by user authentication through an operation using the operation display unit 7 of the image forming apparatus 1. This is the type of fax reception that is allowed. Therefore, for image data for which confidential reception is designated, user authentication using a password or the like (or an ID card is possible) is performed before printing of the image data is started. The data transfer destination indicates the transfer destination of the image data received by the fax communication unit 5 by, for example, a network address or an e-mail address. Therefore, the image data for which the data transfer destination is specified is transferred from the network communication unit 6 to the specified address without being printed by the printer unit 10.

  Also, attributes that apply to both printing of image data and fax transmission / reception include printing mode designation, printing date designation, printing paper designation, n-up printing designation, reduced printing designation, printing magnification designation, and the like. is there. The print mode designates either the monochrome mode or the color mode. The printing paper mainly specifies the paper type, more specifically, the paper size, paper quality, thickness (basis weight), and the like. The n-up printing is a form in which image data for n pages (the values of n are “2”, “4”, etc.) are printed side by side on a single sheet. For this reason, for example, image data for which 2-up printing is designated prints image data for 2 pages side by side on one sheet, and image data for which 4-up printing is designated is an image for 4 pages. Data is printed side by side on a single sheet. Reduced printing refers to a form in which image data is reduced and printed at an equal magnification. The print magnification is designated as an arbitrary magnification value in the range from the minimum magnification to the maximum magnification that can be handled by the enlargement / reduction processing in the image processing unit 8. Note that the attributes of the image data listed here are merely examples, and other attributes may be designated by processing instructions.

  The attribute changing unit 4 sets the attribute of the print data specified by the processing instruction received by the receiving unit 3 in accordance with an attribute change request from the user before finishing the printing process or fax transmission / reception process of the print data. To change. Further, the attribute changing unit 4 changes the attribute of the image data in accordance with an attribute change request from the user only during a preset “predetermined period”. The “predetermined period” described here is a period in which the attribute of the image data can be changed, and is defined as follows, for example.

  That is, with regard to the image data print processing command, first, after receiving the print processing command in the receiving unit 3, input (reception, reading, etc.) of image data to be printed is started, and printing is performed during the input. Start data conversion (decompose). Thereafter, if the printer unit 10 is printing other image data, the print job corresponding to the print processing command is in a waiting state, and when the order is changed, the printer unit 10 starts printing image data. In this case, the “predetermined period” is that the image data print processing command is received by the receiving unit 3 and then the image data print processing is terminated by the printer unit 10 (strictly speaking, the last page of the image data is printed). It will be the period until the start). Incidentally, when the attribute changing unit 4 changes the attribute while printing the image data composed of a plurality of pages, the image data is printed in accordance with the changed attribute for the remaining pages.

  Regarding the fax transmission command of image data, first, after receiving the fax transmission processing command in the receiving unit 3, the input (reception, reading, etc.) of the image data to be faxed is started, and during the input Start data conversion for fax transmission. Thereafter, if the fax communication unit 5 is transmitting another image data by fax, the fax job corresponding to the fax transmission processing command is in a waiting state, and when the order is changed, the fax communication unit 5 sends a fax of the image data. Start sending. In the “predetermined period” in this case, after receiving a fax transmission command for image data at the receiving unit 3, the fax transmission processing for the image data is terminated at the fax communication unit 5 (strictly speaking, the final page of the image data is This is the period until fax transmission is started).

  Regarding the fax reception command for image data, first, after receiving a fax reception processing command in the receiving unit 3, reception of image data (fax data) that is a target of fax reception is started, and a fax is output during the reception. Data conversion for (image printing) is started. Thereafter, if the printer unit 10 is printing other image data, the fax job corresponding to the fax reception processing command is in a waiting state, and when the order is changed, the printer unit 10 performs image data (fax communication unit 5 Starts printing the received fax data. In the “predetermined period” in this case, after receiving a fax reception command of image data by the receiving unit 3, a series of processes related to the reception of the fax of the image data is terminated (strictly, the fax communication unit 5 receives the received data). This is the period until the printer unit 10 starts printing the last page of the fax data.

  The fax communication unit 5 receives fax data sent to the own device via a public line such as a telephone line, and transmits fax data from the own device to an external device. Fax transmission processing using the fax communication unit 5 is performed by using fax transmission image data (for example, image data of a document read by the scanner unit 9 or external data) designated by the processing command of the fax transmission processing received by the reception unit 3. Image data transmitted together with a fax processing command from the apparatus and received by the network communication unit 6 or image data stored in the data storage unit 11 or a USB memory, etc. Data), and the converted data is transmitted from the fax communication unit 5 according to the attributes (including the destination fax number) specified by the processing instruction. Also, in the fax reception process using the fax communication unit 5, the fax communication unit 5 receives fax data transmitted from an external device to the own device, and the received fax data is designated by the processing instruction. According to the attribute, for example, printing is performed on a sheet by the printer unit 10 or it is stored in a predetermined memory address area (such as a confidential reception box) of the data storage unit 11.

  The network communication unit 6 communicates with an external device (such as a PC) connected to the network. The network is a communication network that enables bidirectional communication between a plurality of apparatuses (PC, image forming apparatus, etc.) having a network communication function, and is constructed by, for example, a LAN (local area network). is there. One or a plurality of external devices (PC, server, etc.) may be connected to the network, or one or a plurality of image reading devices such as scanners may be connected. One or a plurality of image forming apparatuses such as a printer, a copier, and a multifunction machine different from the image forming apparatus 1) may be connected. The “multifunction machine” described here refers to an image forming apparatus having both a copying function realized by a combination of a scanner function and a printer function, and a fax communication function. For this reason, the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to a multifunction peripheral.

  The operation display unit 7 functions as an “operation unit” of the own apparatus, and the user of the image forming apparatus 1 performs various input operations and displays various operation screens for the user. It is something to do. The operation display unit 7 is configured by combining, for example, a liquid crystal display with a patch panel and various operation buttons.

  The image processing unit 8 performs predetermined image processing (for example, color conversion, color correction, gradation correction, enlargement / reduction, image editing, image rotation, screen generation, etc.) on the image data to be printed. Is. The scanner unit 9 optically reads an image of a document. The printer unit 10 prints out the above-described various image data (fax data, other image data, etc.) on a sheet serving as a recording medium. Here, as an example, it is assumed that the printer unit 10 prints out image data on paper according to an electrophotographic method.

  The data storage unit 11 stores various data including the various image data described above. The data storage unit 11 is configured using, for example, a non-volatile memory (such as EPROM) or a hard disk device. The job management unit 12 manages jobs (print job, copy job, fax job, scan job, etc.) processed by the image forming apparatus 1 and controls the job execution order. Each time the receiving unit 3 receives one processing command, the job management unit 12 generates and manages one job corresponding to the processing command. For this reason, the processing command received by the receiving unit 3 and the job managed by the job management unit 12 have a 1: 1 relationship.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, the main control unit 2 uses the operation display unit 7 to monitor whether the user has instructed the display of the job list “in execution / waiting” (step S1). When an instruction to display a job list is given on the operation display unit 7, the main control unit 2 reads from the job management unit 12 jobs that are currently being executed and jobs that are waiting. Then, the job list is displayed on the operation display unit 7 (step S2). The “execution / waiting” job list is currently being executed among jobs corresponding to the processing instructions received in order by the receiving unit 3 (printing, copying, fax transmission, fax reception, scanning, etc.) A list of jobs that are in the state of and jobs that are currently waiting to be executed. This job list is presented as a list of processing instructions whose attributes can be changed to the user who operates the operation display unit 7 of the own apparatus.

  FIG. 3 shows a state in which a job list of “in execution / waiting” is displayed on the operation screen of the operation display unit 7. This job list is displayed when the user presses the “executing / waiting” tab on the operation screen displayed on the operation display unit 7. The “document number” is a unique number assigned to each document to be processed in order for the job management unit 12 to manage a job. A job related to “fax transmission” of document number 0616 is displayed as a “executing” job indicating that it is currently being executed by the fax communication unit 5, and related to “fax transmission” of document number 0030. The job is displayed as a “waiting transmission” job indicating that the job is currently waiting in the fax communication unit 5. A job related to “copy” of the document number 00002 is displayed as a “copying” job indicating that the printer unit 10 is currently executing, and a job related to “print” of the document number 0024 is displayed. Is displayed as a “print waiting” job indicating that the printer unit 10 is currently in a waiting state. Further, the job relating to “scan” of the document number 0206 is displayed as a “accumulating” job indicating that the scanner unit 9 is currently executing.

  In the job list display screen illustrated in FIG. 3, a maximum of five jobs are simultaneously displayed on the operation display unit 7 as “in progress / waiting” jobs. If there are six or more jobs corresponding to “execution / waiting”, pressing the upward arrow portion Pu or the downward arrow portion Pd in the operation screen causes the job display range to be set in the vertical direction. It is designed to shift.

  Next, the main control unit 2 monitors whether the user has selected any one of the jobs displayed in the list using the operation display unit 7 (step S3). The job selection operation by the user is, for example, a part of a character string clearly indicating a plurality of (five in the illustrated example) jobs displayed in the job list illustrated in FIG. 3 and a frame surrounding the character string. This is done when the user presses this part. For example, when selecting a job related to “copy” of document number 00002, the character string portion of “00022” indicating the document number, the character string portion of “copy” indicating the type of job, or those characters When the user presses a portion of another character string displayed in the same column as the column or an arbitrary portion within a frame surrounding the column, a job selection operation is performed.

  Next, when a job is selected by the user, the main control unit 2 determines whether or not the type of the selected job is a type whose attributes can be changed (step S4). Here, among the various jobs processed by the image forming apparatus 1, the print job, the copy job, and the fax job are all “jobs whose attributes can be changed”, and the other jobs (for example, scan jobs) are “attributes”. "Unchangeable job". For this reason, if the type of job selected (pressed) by the user is one of a print job, a copy job, and a fax job, “Yes” is determined in step S4, and if it is any other job, in step S4. It determines with No and complete | finishes a process as it is.

  Next, the main control unit 2 causes the operation display unit 7 to display a “job status confirmation screen” indicating the current status of the job selected by the user (step S5). FIG. 4A shows an example of a “job status confirmation screen”. In the “Job Status Confirmation Screen” shown in the figure, the titles of “Division Meeting Minutes” and “Report” are assigned as the documents (equivalent to image data) to be processed in the job selected by the user. Two documents are displayed in a list format.

  Next, the main control unit 2 monitors whether the user has selected any one document from the list of documents displayed on the “job status confirmation screen” (step S6). When it is determined that the user has selected any document in the list, a pop-up specifying processing options is displayed on the screen of the operation display unit 7 (step S7). The user selects a document by pressing the part of the character string indicating the title of the document displayed in the list. FIG. 4B shows an example of pop-up display. In this pop-up, two options of “cancel” and “attribute change” are specified as processing options.

  Next, the main control unit 2 determines whether or not the user has selected “change attribute” among the processing options specified in the pop-up (step S8). The user selects “Change Attribute” by the user pressing a character string portion of “Change Attribute” displayed in the pop-up. The user selects “cancel” by pressing the “cancel” character string portion displayed in the pop-up. If the user selects “Cancel” or presses a part other than the “attribute change” and “cancel” character strings, the pop-up is closed (step S9), and the process ends. When the user selects “Cancel” at this stage, the job management unit 12 deletes the corresponding job from the jobs recognized as “executed / waiting”.

  Next, when the main control unit 2 determines that the user has selected “attribute change” in the pop-up displayed in step S7, the attribute change unit 4 receives a notification to that effect, and the attribute change unit 4 requests an attribute change from the user. If the attribute change request is received, the image data attribute is changed according to the following procedure. The attribute changing unit 4 includes attributes to be applied to the above-described image data printing (confidential printing designation, priority printing designation, printing priority designation, toner save designation, etc.) and attributes to be applied to image data fax transmission / reception. (Specify fax transmission date and time, specify confidential transmission, specify confidential reception, specify data transfer destination, etc.) and attributes that apply to both printing of image data and fax transmission and reception (print mode specification, printing date specification) , Printing paper designation, n-up printing designation, reduced printing designation, printing magnification designation, etc.) can be changed, but here, for convenience of explanation, an example of changing some of the attributes is shown as an example Will be described.

  Although the case where the user of the image forming apparatus 1 makes an attribute change request using the operation display unit 7 will be described here, for example, a device driver for the image forming apparatus 1 is incorporated on the network. However, when there is an external device (PC), a user who operates the external device may make an attribute change request by remote operation via a network. In that case, the operation screen shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and the operation screen (see FIG. 5) for receiving input of information necessary for changing the attribute of the image data are displayed on the display of the external device. Become.

  First, the attribute changing unit 4 determines whether or not the job type of the document (image data) to be changed is a print job (step S10). If it is a print job, a pop-up specifying the print job attribute change candidates is displayed on the operation display unit 7 (step S11). FIG. 5A shows an example of pop-up display. In this pop-up, three candidates of “confidential printing”, “priority printing”, and “toner save” are specified as examples of attribute change candidates for the print job. The user selects an attribute change candidate by pressing one of the character strings of “confidential printing”, “priority printing”, and “toner save” displayed in the pop-up. This is done.

  Next, the attribute changing unit 4 determines whether the user has selected “confidential printing” from the attribute change candidates displayed in the pop-up (step S12). If it is determined that the user has selected “confidential printing”, an operation screen (see FIG. 5B) for inputting an authentication password required for confidential printing is displayed on the operation display unit 7. (Step S13). When an input of a password is received from the user via the operation display unit 7, the password is stored in the data storage unit 11 in association with the document (image data) selected by the user in step S6 (step S6). S14).

  For example, when “print date / time” (not shown) is selected by the user as an attribute change candidate, an operation screen for inputting the print date / time is displayed on the operation display unit 7 instead of the password described above. The user inputs the date and time desired. In step S10, when the job type of the document (image data) that is the target of attribute change is other than a print job (fax transmission job, fax reception job, etc.), the job type corresponds to the job type. A pop-up prepared in advance is displayed on the operation display unit 7, and input of information necessary for attribute change is accepted.

  Thereafter, the attribute changing unit 4 changes the attribute of the image data based on the input information (information such as the attribute change candidate and the password) received from the user at the time of the attribute change request (step S15), and then the changed attribute. Accordingly, the screen of the operation display unit 7 is updated (step S16). That is, when the user selects “confidential printing” among the three “attribute change candidates” described above, confidential printing is designated as the attribute of the image data that is the target of attribute change, and the user When “Priority printing” is selected, priority printing is designated as the attribute of the image data whose attribute is to be changed. When the user selects “Toner save”, the attribute is to be changed. Toner save is specified as an attribute of image data. Thus, for example, when “confidential printing” is designated as the attribute of the image data in accordance with the attribute change request from the user, the image data printing process or the fax receiving process for which the confidential printing is not originally designated is performed. Therefore, the attribute of the image data is changed so as to be the target of confidential printing. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5 (C), the “Division meeting minutes” displayed before the attribute change is transferred from the normal (not confidential print) job status confirmation screen in accordance with the attribute change. Since it is moved to the job status confirmation screen, it disappears from the normal job status confirmation screen and cannot be confirmed.

  When changing the attribute of image data specified by a job (processing instruction) whose processing status is “waiting”, the image data must be changed before the series of processing and operations related to the attribute change is completed. So that the attribute change unit 4 prohibits the start of the process for the processing command specified as the attribute change target at the stage where the user selects “attribute change” in step S8. It may be controlled so that the locked state is released when a series of processes and operations related to attribute change are completed. In this case, the job management unit 12 controls (changes) the job execution order so as to skip the locked job and execute the next job.

  In addition, when changing the attribute of image data specified by a job (processing instruction) whose processing status is “executing”, the image is changed before the series of processing and operation related to the attribute change is completed. In order to prevent the data processing from being completed, the attribute change unit 4 sets the image data processing page for the processing command specified as the attribute change target when the user selects “attribute change” in step S8. Control may be performed so that processing is interrupted (temporarily stopped) at the timing of switching, and processing that has been interrupted is resumed when a series of processing and operation related to attribute change is completed. In that case, the image data processed before the interruption is processed by applying the attribute before the change, and the image data processed after the restart is processed by applying the attribute after the change.

  The present invention is widely applied to image forming apparatuses such as printers, fax machines, copiers, and multi-function machines which accept processing instructions specifying image data attributes and process the image data.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performed by the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a job list of “execution / waiting” is displayed on the operation screen. FIG. 6 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating transition of an operation screen. It is FIG. (2) explaining the transition of an operation screen.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus, 2 ... Main control part, 3 ... Reception part, 4 ... Attribute change part, 5 ... Fax communication part, 6 ... Network communication part, 7 ... Operation display part, 8 ... Image processing part, 9 ... Scanner , 10 ... printer unit, 11 ... data storage unit, 12 ... job management unit

Claims (7)

Receiving means for receiving a processing instruction specifying an attribute to be applied to printing of image data or fax transmission and reception;
Attribute changing means for changing the attribute of the image data specified by the processing command received by the receiving means in accordance with an attribute change request from the user before finishing the printing process or fax transmission / reception process of the image data. An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
The image forming apparatus, wherein the receiving unit receives the processing command from a user who operates an external device. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
The image forming apparatus, wherein the receiving unit receives the processing command from a user who operates an operation unit of the apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3.
The image forming apparatus, wherein the attribute change unit receives the attribute change request from a user who operates an operation unit of the own apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3.
The image forming apparatus, wherein the attribute changing unit receives the attribute change request from a user who operates an external device. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The attribute changing means is a means for presenting an operation screen for accepting input of information necessary for attribute change of image data specified by a processing instruction selected by a user from a list of processing instructions capable of changing an attribute; An image forming apparatus comprising: means for changing an attribute of the image data based on information input by a user using an operation screen. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The attribute is an attribute related to confidential printing,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute changing unit changes the attribute so that a print process or a fax reception process of image data for which execution of confidential printing is not specified is targeted for confidential printing.

Images