JP2001347707A - Image forming apparatus, overrun error control method, and recording medium recording overrun error control program - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To allow an operator to easily identify a page in which an overrun error has occurred in an image forming apparatus. SOLUTION: When an error is detected by an overrun detecting unit 203a, the output of the dot image during transfer is stopped, the blank image generated by the blank image generating unit 203b is output, and the paper monitoring unit 203c outputs the blank image. When it is detected that all the loaded sheets have been discharged, the generation of the blank image is stopped.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus which divides a page into a plurality of areas and prints a developed dot image, an overrun error control method, and a recording medium on which an overrun error control program is recorded. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of printing apparatus, higher resolution and multi-valued image information have been developed, and the memory required for developing image information such as characters and figures into a dot image has increased. The processing time required for deployment is increasing.

In order to speed up processing by expanding image information with a small memory, a dot image developed from image information of one area is transferred to an engine and printed at the same time. A method of generating a dot image of a next area using time is used.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram for explaining band processing in a printing apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 13, when a drawing area for one page is divided into, for example, eight, the drawing area is divided into eight areas (hereinafter, each divided area is referred to as a “band”).
).

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram for explaining a configuration of a band memory for developing dot images of each band shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 14, a dot image of each band is formed by using two memories A and B for developing dot image images (hereinafter referred to as "band memory A" and "band memory B"). expand.

FIG. 15 is a time chart for explaining the dot image development and dot image transfer process in the band memory. The eight bands shown in FIG.
4 shows a process of generating a dot image of each band by a controller in the printing apparatus and transferring data of the generated dot image of each band to an engine while expanding the band images into band memories A and B shown in FIG.

[0009] In FIG. 15, the rightward direction indicates the passage of time, the upper part indicates the processing time for developing a dot image from the image information for each band of the controller, and the lower part indicates the data transfer time to the engine.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 15, while the band which has been developed into a dot image immediately before is transferred to the engine,
By expanding the dot image to be printed next, it is possible to increase the print processing speed compared to developing the dot image for one page and then printing.

For example, data to be printed in the first band in FIG. 13 is developed as a dot image from the image information in the band memory A at timing T-1501 in FIG.
At the timing T-1502, while the dot image of the expanded band memory A is being transferred to the engine, the data to be printed in the second band of FIG. 13 is expanded to the band memory B at the timing T-1503 of FIG. In this way, while the image is being transferred at timing T-1504, the third band of FIG.
The page is printed by developing the band and repeating the processing in the same manner. Similarly, in the case of a plurality of pages, the processing is performed while selectively using the raster memories A and B.

In the above processing, in an electrophotographic printing apparatus such as a laser printer, it is difficult to stop the printing section halfway, so that when a page is divided and a dot image is generated, By the time the dot image is transferred to the engine and the printing of the dot image is completed (time t in FIG. 15), it is necessary to complete the generation of the dot image of the band to be printed next. There is a limit on the time to generate bands.

[0013]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, when the dot image development of the next band cannot be made in time within the transfer period of the band memory, that is,
If the development of the next band is not completed within the period of time t in FIG. 15, the dot image cannot be transferred to the engine, and a so-called "overrun error" has occurred.

When an overrun error occurs, the printing apparatus notifies the operator of the occurrence of the overrun error on a front panel or the like.

When an overrun error occurs,
On the paper on which an error has occurred, the band after the occurrence of the error cannot be converted into a dot image, so that normal printing cannot be performed. In particular, in a printing apparatus that performs the preceding sheet feeding during the printing (exposure) of the preceding sheet, the next sheet is fed when an overrun error occurs because the sheet conveyance path is long. In this case, after the paper next to the error occurred, the paper in the printing device is normally printed and discharged,
The operation of the printing device was stopped.

For this reason, if the printing apparatus stops operating after a plurality of sheets have been output normally after the occurrence of the overrun, it is difficult for the operator to recognize which sheet has an overrun error. .

According to the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus capable of performing normal paper output even when an overrun error occurs, and enabling an operator to know at which time the error occurred. An object of the present invention is to provide an error control method and a recording medium on which an overrun error control program is recorded.

[0018]

According to the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus which divides a page into a plurality of print areas, develops the image into dot images, and prints the image. Overrun detection means for
A blank image generating means for generating a blank image, a paper monitoring means for monitoring the status of paper in the apparatus, and when the overrun detecting means detects an error, the output of the dot image being transferred is stopped; And a control means for outputting the blank image generated in step (1) and stopping the generation of the blank image when all the sheets in the apparatus have been discharged by the sheet monitoring means.

Thus, it is possible to obtain an image forming apparatus capable of performing normal paper output even when an overrun error occurs, and enabling the operator to know at which sheet the error occurred.

[0020]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 of the present application is an image forming apparatus that divides a page into a plurality of print areas, develops the image into dot images, and prints the image. Detecting means, a blank image generating means for generating a blank image, a paper monitoring means for monitoring the status of paper in the apparatus, and when the overrun detecting means detects an error, stops outputting the dot image being transferred; Control means for outputting the blank image generated by the blank image generating means and stopping the generation of the blank image when all the sheets in the apparatus have been discharged by the sheet monitoring means. After the overrun occurs, blank paper can be output for all papers in the apparatus until the engine stops, and the operator can It is possible to identify.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment) First, the configuration of an image forming apparatus suitable for the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The case where the printer engine is a laser beam printer is shown. The image forming apparatus to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to a laser beam printer,
A printer of another printing method may be used.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes an external device such as a host computer, which is connected to a laser beam printer main body 102 via a predetermined communication medium so as to be capable of two-way communication.

The laser beam printer main body 102 receives print data such as character codes and graphic data supplied in the form of a page description language from the external device 101 and creates corresponding character patterns and graphic patterns in accordance with the information. Then, an image is formed on a recording paper serving as a recording medium.

Reference numeral 103 denotes a controller which is a printer control unit.
It performs overall control and analysis of print data supplied from the external device 101.

The controller unit 103 is communicably connected to the printer engine unit 105, and is connected to the external device 101.
The print data supplied from the printer engine unit 10 is analyzed to generate an intermediate language, and further generates dot image data composed of dot data based on the intermediate language.
5, dot image data is sequentially transmitted as a video signal.

The printer engine unit 105 receives the video signal from the printer control unit 103 and performs printing on a paper according to a known electrophotographic process. 1
Reference numeral 04 denotes an operation panel on which switches for operation, an LED display, and the like are arranged. The operator (user) operates the operation panel 104 to designate a predetermined operation to the laser beam printer 102. Alternatively, the configuration is such that the printing environment can be set.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and corresponds to the configuration of the inside of the controller 103 and its peripheral portion shown in FIG.

As long as the functions of the present invention are executed, a single device or a system in which processing is performed via a network such as a LAN may be used.

In FIG. 2, the controller unit 103
It is connected to the external device 101 via a predetermined interface 208, and is configured to execute a predetermined print process according to print data sent from the external device 101. The print data is first temporarily stored in the reception buffer 207.

Reference numeral 201 denotes a printer CPU (CPU), which is based on a program ROM 203 stored in a ROM 202 which is a read-only memory.
06, read and analyze the print data stored in the reception buffer 207, create an intermediate language for one page, while comprehensively controlling access to various devices connected to the
Further, dot image data is generated from the intermediate language.

The ROM 202 stores the program RO
In addition to the M203, a font ROM 204 which is also used as a memory for storing font data composed of dot fonts and scalable fonts used for character output is provided.

The program ROM 203 has an overrun detecting section 2 for detecting the occurrence of an overrun error.
03a, blank image generation unit 2 for generating a blank image
03b, a paper monitoring unit 203c that monitors the status of paper in the image forming apparatus, an intermediate language generating unit 203d that generates an intermediate language that is an internal code of the image forming apparatus from print data from a host computer, and converts one page into a strip shape. It comprises a dot image generation unit 203e for interpreting an intermediate language registered in the link list for each divided band and generating dot image data.

A printing unit interface unit (printing unit I / F unit) 209 synchronizes a video signal corresponding to ON / OFF of each bit of dot image data developed in the band memory 205c with the printer engine unit 105. While outputting.

In this embodiment, a plurality of band memories 205c are prepared so that the generation of dot image data and the output to the printer engine unit 105 are performed simultaneously in parallel.

This is a process in which, out of a plurality of (two in the present embodiment) band memories, one of the band memories that has been drawn is output and the intermediate language belonging to the other band is drawn in parallel. , Alternately, so that drawing processing can be performed in a memory less than a full raster for one page.

Next, the overrun detection section 203a and the blank image generation section 20 included in the program ROM 203
3b, a paper monitoring unit 203c, an intermediate language generation unit 203d,
The configuration of the dot image generation unit 203e will be described.

The intermediate language generation unit 203d interprets the print data in the reception buffer 207, generates various types of intermediate languages such as bitmaps, straight lines, curves, and fonts corresponding to the print data drawing request. Language storage unit 205
Write in a.

The dot image generator 203e interprets the intermediate language generated by the intermediate language generator 203d and draws the intermediate language on the band memory 205c specified by the host program.

The RAM 205 functions as a main memory, a work memory, and the like of the CPU 201, and is configured so that the re-memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an additional port (not shown).

The overrun detection unit 203a monitors whether the dot image generation unit 203e has completed the drawing of the dot image on the band memory 205c within the period of time t in FIG. Notify the upper-level program that an overrun error has occurred.

The blank image generation unit 203b generates a dot image of a blank dot image (all white) in the band memory 205c by generating a dot image from the intermediate language generated by the intermediate language generation unit 203d.

The paper monitoring unit 203c monitors the start of paper feeding and the completion of paper discharging in order to grasp the number of papers being conveyed in the image forming apparatus, and discharges a counter incremented when paper is fed. Decrement when paper is completed.

The RAM 205 includes an intermediate language storage unit 205a for storing an intermediate language, a link list storage unit 205b for storing a link list, a band memory 205c for storing two bands of band rasters, and a control program 2.
Work memory 205 temporarily used by the server 03
d, used for a print environment data storage memory or the like (not shown).

It goes without saying that the laser beam printer main body 102 is supplied with power from a power supply unit (not shown).

The means stored in the program ROM 203 are not limited to those stored in the ROM, but are supplied by a computer-readable recording medium such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk or a hard disk, and are loaded into a RAM or the like. The configuration may be such that the processing is executed after the execution.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a drawing process of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
The drawing process on the AM 205 is shown.

FIG. 3A shows a memory map for one page in the link list storage unit 205b shown in FIG.
FIG. 3B shows the link format of the list in the link list, and FIG. 3C shows the structure of one list. When print data is received, a link list for one page shown below is generated.

In FIG. 3A, reference numeral 301 denotes a header section for storing various information of each page, which is a page number which is sequentially counted up from power-on,
Print resolution of the page, paper size, number of band rasters,
It is composed of information indicating the state of the page such as drawing / exposing / discharging the page.

Reference numeral 302 denotes a band table, which is prepared in a number determined by the page size and resolution, and the height of one band. That is, in the case of paper size = A4 landscape feed, resolution = 600 dpi, and band height = 600 dots, if the effective print area is 200 × 287 mm, the page height is 4725 dots, and the band table is 4725/600 = 8 ( Rounded up) is prepared.

As shown in FIG. 3B, each table of the band table 302 has a head address of a list 304 corresponding to each drawing object to be printed in each band (indicated by M1 to M6 in the drawing). ) Is set.

The area for storing each list is shown in FIG.
This is stored in the link information storage unit 303 shown in FIG.

These link lists correspond to the RA shown in FIG.
It is secured in the link list storage unit 205 (b) in M205.

The structure of one list shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3C, the following information is included as information for drawing the intermediate language.

That is, the print position (x coordinate, y coordinate from the upper left corner of the band) 305 in the band, the drawing logic 306 with the band, the start address 307 of the intermediate language, and the intermediate language when the intermediate language is drawn from the middle (The x-coordinate and y-coordinate from the upper left corner of the drawing object) 308, the start address of the following list (NULL is set at the end of the link) 309, etc. (the size of each information is , As long as there are enough bits to represent the maximum paper).

Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, only the list belonging to the band is linked to each band table.

The band table indicates in which band each drawing object exists. If one drawing object extends over a plurality of bands, one list contains a plurality of band tables. (M1 in FIG. 3B).

Whether the address designation indicates an absolute address on the memory or a relative address can be recognized by, for example, an offset from the head address of the RAM 205 in the case of a relative address portion. I just need.

Accordingly, in FIG. 2, the intermediate language storage unit storage unit 205a and the link list storage unit 205b are described as separate areas for convenience, but memory addresses may be mixed.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams of the structure of the intermediate language in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A shows the structure of the intermediate language, and FIG. 4B shows the structure of the intermediate language header. Is shown.

In FIG. 4A, reference numeral 401 denotes a header part of the intermediate language. As shown in FIG. 4B, the intermediate language indicates any format of the intermediate language such as a bit map, a straight line, a curve, and a font. A type area 403, a size area 404 (number of bytes) indicating the capacity of the intermediate language, a width area 405 when the intermediate language is drawn as a dot image,
A height area 406 (the number of pixels and the number of rasters, respectively) and the like are stored.

Reference numeral 402 denotes a data part of the intermediate language, which has a different structure depending on the value of the intermediate language type 403. Each intermediate language area is secured in the intermediate language storage unit 205 (a) in the RAM 205 shown in FIG.

In the above configuration, if a link list and an intermediate language for one page are generated, the drawing objects belonging to each band can be easily identified.
The process of generating a dot image from an intermediate language for each band can be performed at high speed by the banding method.

First, a link list and an intermediate language for one page are created. When the creation of the intermediate language is completed, the lists 304 linked from the band 1 of the band table 302 are sequentially read, and then the intermediate language is read from the intermediate language head address set in each list.

Further, after determining the type of the intermediate language from the header information part of the intermediate language, the print position information /
According to the drawing logic or the like, a dot image corresponding to the intermediate language type is generated in one of the band memories 205c.

The dot image drawn on one of the band memories 205c is transferred to the printer engine via the printing unit I / F unit 209, and is converted from the intermediate language linked to the band 2 to the other band memory. 205
Generate a dot image in c. When the transfer of the dot image of the band 1 is completed, the dot image of the band 2 is transferred to the printer engine, and the dot image of the intermediate language linked to the band 3 is stored in the band memory 205c that has generated the dot image of the band 1. Is generated. By repeating the above process up to the last band n, one page is printed at high speed.

The operation of the present embodiment in the apparatus configured as described above will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The overall operation includes an overrun detecting section 203a for detecting an overrun error, a blank image generating section 203b for generating a blank image, and a sheet monitoring section 203c for monitoring the status of sheets in the image forming apparatus. When the overrun detection unit 203a detects an overrun error, the output of the dot image that is currently being transferred is stopped as recovery processing for the overrun error, and the blank image generation unit 203b is output for the subsequent output. The blank monitor is used to output a blank image, and when the sheet monitoring unit 203c confirms that all sheets in the image forming apparatus have been discharged, the blank image generation is stopped, and the recovery process is completed. It is possible to output blank paper for all paper in the printing device until the engine is stopped. An overrun error can be identified paper that has occurred.

Next, an example of an error recovery procedure when an overrun error occurs will be described with reference to the operation flowcharts of FIGS.

FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of the dot image generation unit according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart of the printing unit I / F unit according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 8 is an operation flowchart of the blank image generation unit according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a sheet monitoring unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. Flowchart of FIG. 10 and FIG.
5 is an operation flowchart illustrating a processing procedure when an overrun occurs in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The procedures shown in FIGS. 5 to 11 are realized by each control program stored in the program ROM 203.

As shown in FIG. 5, first, when the dot image generation unit 203e is started, in Step 5-1 the designated band memory is read from all intermediate languages linked to the link list of the band to be drawn. It is determined whether or not the generation of the dot image for the image 205c has been completed.

If not completed, the process proceeds to step 5-2 where the next intermediate language dot image is generated for the designated band memory 205c. When the process has been completed, a completion notification of the dot image generation is transmitted to the host program of the image forming apparatus and the overrun detection unit 203a in step 5-3.

As shown in FIG. 6, a printing unit I / F unit 209
Is activated each time the transfer of the printer engine of each band is started, and monitors as to whether or not the transfer of the dot image generated in the band memory 205c to the printer engine is completed as step 6-1.

If the transfer has been completed, a dot image formation completion notice is transmitted to the host program and the overrun detection section as step 6-2.

As shown in FIG. 7, the overrun detecting section 2
03a is also activated each time the transfer of the printer engine of each band is started.
The polling of the transfer completion notification (transmitted in step 6-2) from the F unit 209 is performed.

When the transfer completion notice is received, step 7-2
It is determined whether or not there is a band for performing dot imaging, that is, a band that needs to be transferred to the printer engine unit 105.

As a result of the determination, if there is no band that needs to be transferred, the process is completed. If there is, the process proceeds to step 7-3, where a dot image formation completion notification from the dot image generation unit 203e is transmitted (transmitted in step 5-3). It is determined whether or not is received.

As a result of the judgment, if it has been received, the process is terminated. If it has been received, it means that a dot image to be transferred to the printer engine unit 105 has not been generated, so that an overrun error occurrence flag is set in step 7-4.

As shown in FIG. 8, the blank image generation unit 2
When 03b is activated, a blank image is generated in the designated band memory 205c as Step 8-1. When the generation is completed, a transfer completion notification is transmitted to the higher-level program and the overrun detection unit as Step 8-2.

As shown in FIG. 9, the paper monitoring unit 203c
Is started periodically by the host program,
In Step 9-1, it is determined whether or not the sheet feeding has been started before the current start after the previous end.

If paper feeding has started, the paper counter is incremented by one as step 9-2. Further, as step 9-3, it is determined whether or not the discharge has been completed by the time of this activation. When the paper discharge is completed, the paper counter is decremented by one in step 9-4.

As shown in FIG. 10, the upper program activates the overrun detecting section 203a as step 10-1 when generating a dot image for each band in the page. Thereafter, as step 10-2, a check is made as to whether or not an overrun has occurred, by checking an overrun occurrence flag (the one set in step 7-4 when the overrun has occurred).

If the overrun has not occurred, the process proceeds to step 10-3 where the dot image generation unit 203a is started, and if the overrun has occurred, the process proceeds to step 10-4.
The blank image generation unit 203b is activated.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, when the overrun error occurs,
When the overrun occurrence flag is set, as step 11-1, the sheet monitoring unit 203c is started periodically to acquire the number of sheets in the image forming apparatus. At this time, the activation interval of the paper monitoring unit 203c is set shorter than the paper supply and paper discharge interval during continuous printing.

The number of sheets acquired as the next step is 0
It is determined whether or not this is the case (step 11-2). Steps 11-1 and 11-2 are repeated until the number of sheets becomes zero.

When the number of sheets becomes 0, step 11-3
, A recovery process such as clearing of an overrun error occurrence flag is performed.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a memory map of a recording medium storing various control programs readable by the image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Although not shown, information for managing a group of programs stored in the storage medium, for example, version information, a creator, etc. are also stored, and information dependent on the OS or the like on the program reading side, for example, a program is stored in the storage medium. An icon or the like for identification display may also be stored.

Further, data dependent on various programs is also managed in the directory. Further, a program for installing various programs on a computer or a program for decompressing a program to be installed when the program to be installed is compressed may be stored.

The functions shown in FIGS. 5 to 11 in the present embodiment may be executed by a host computer by a program installed from the outside.
In this case, a group of information including a program may be supplied to the image forming apparatus from a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flash memory, or an FD, or from an external recording medium via a network.

As described above, the storage medium storing the program codes of the software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to the system or the apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MP) of the system or the apparatus is supplied.
The object of the present invention is also achieved when U) reads out and executes the program code stored in the recording medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the novel function of the present invention, and the recording medium on which the program code is recorded constitutes the present invention.

Computer-readable storage media for supplying program codes include, for example, floppy disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, magnetic tapes, nonvolatile memory cards, ROMs , EEPROM and the like.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. System) performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the present embodiment described above.

Further, after the program code read from the recording medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, The CPU provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing,
The case where the above-described function is realized by the processing is also included.

[0098]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus which divides a page into a plurality of print areas, develops the image into dot images, and prints the image. And blank image generating means for generating a blank image, paper monitoring means for monitoring the status of paper in the apparatus, and when the overrun detecting means detects an error, stops outputting the dot image being transferred,
Control means for outputting the blank image generated by the blank image generating means and stopping the generation of the blank image when the discharge of all the sheets is confirmed by the sheet monitoring means. After the occurrence of the error, blank sheets can be output for all sheets in the apparatus until the engine is stopped, and the operator can specify the sheet on which the error has occurred, thereby improving the efficiency of dealing with the error.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a drawing process of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an intermediate language configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of a dot image generation unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart of a printing unit I / F unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an operation flowchart of an overrun detection unit according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an operation flowchart of a blank image generation unit according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an operation flowchart of a sheet monitoring unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an operation flowchart illustrating a processing procedure when an overrun occurs in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is an operation flowchart showing a processing procedure when an overrun occurs in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a memory map of a recording medium storing various control programs that can be read by the image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of conventional band processing.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a conventional band memory.

FIG. 15 is a time chart of a conventional dot image development and dot image transfer process for each raster memory.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 external device (host computer) 103 controller unit 105 printer engine unit 203a overrun detection unit 203b blank image generation unit 203c paper monitoring unit 203d intermediate language generation unit 203e dot image generation unit 205a intermediate language storage unit 205b link list storage unit 205c band Memory 205d Work memory 209 Printing unit I / F unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] An image forming apparatus which divides a page into a plurality of print areas, develops the image into dot images, and prints the image, comprising: an overrun detecting means for detecting an overrun error; and a blank image generating means for generating a blank image. Means, a paper monitoring means for monitoring the status of paper in the apparatus, and when the overrun detecting means detects an error, the output of the dot image being transferred is stopped, and the blank image generated by the blank image generating means is stopped. And output
An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit for stopping generation of a blank image when all the sheets in the apparatus have been discharged by the sheet monitoring unit. 2. A method for controlling an overrun error in an image forming apparatus which divides a page into a plurality of print areas, develops the image into dot images, and prints the image. An overrun error control method, comprising: stopping output, generating and outputting a blank image, and stopping the generation of a blank image when all sheets in the apparatus have been discharged. 3. A recording medium storing an overrun error control program in an image forming apparatus for dividing a page into a plurality of print areas, developing the image into dot images, and performing printing when an overrun error is detected. Overrun error, characterized in that the output of the dot image is stopped, a blank image is generated and output, and the blank image is stopped when all the paper in the device is discharged. A storage medium storing a control program.