JP2019123102A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

To reduce occurrences in which a user forgets to take out printed paper that has been output.SOLUTION: An image forming device includes: an image acquisition part for acquiring printing document information consisting of one or plural pages; a printing execution part for printing each page of the printing document information respectively on paper; an output part for outputting printed paper on which information is printed; a storage part for storing in beforehand printing setting information containing an order in which to print plural pages, and a direction of a printing surface when outputting printed paper; a printing order setting part for setting a printing order of the acquired printing document information, by utilizing the printing setting information; and a printing surface direction setting part for setting a direction of the printing surface when outputting printed paper on which the printing document information is printed, by utilizing the printing setting information. The printing execution part prints the acquired printing document information on paper, according to the set printing order, whereas the output part outputs the printed paper that has been printed according to the set printing surface direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and in particular, when printing information such as an image on a plurality of sheets, it is possible to set the printing order of the sheets on which the information is printed and the orientation of the printing surface of the sheet on which the information is printed. The present invention relates to a possible image forming apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in stores such as convenience stores, and public facilities such as city halls and libraries, an image forming apparatus that can be used by unspecified users is installed, and services for printing and reading documents are used.
In such stores and public facilities, charge restriction is performed, and for example, when an unspecified number of users pay a predetermined charge corresponding to the number of printed sheets, the user can use the image forming apparatus. . The image forming apparatus is provided with an authentication function, and when a specific person such as a person in charge of management of the image forming apparatus uses the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus performs an authentication process using a unique card or the like. There is also.

  For example, in patent document 1, an authentication device and a charge collection device are provided, and a management table in which functions usable by a card authentication user and a coin vendor user are set is stored in advance, and user authentication is performed using the authentication device. In the case where is performed, only the function authorized for the card authentication user can be used, and when the charge is collected by the toll collection device, only the function authorized for the coin vendor user can be used. There is described an image forming apparatus which is prevented from being used by a plurality of users.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, a discharge sheet detection sensor for detecting whether or not there is a discharge sheet on a discharge tray for discharging a sheet after printing is provided, and after printing of the set original is completed, the discharge sheet detection sensor There is disclosed an image forming apparatus which prevents a user from forgetting to take out a discharge sheet by displaying a warning message indicating that the user has forgotten to take the discharge sheet when the sheet has been detected.

JP, 2011-59448, A JP 2005-82339 A

However, in an image forming apparatus installed in a store or the like, when printing takes a long time, or due to the user's carelessness, the user often forgets to take the original to be printed or forgets to take out the printed output sheet doing.
In particular, when using an image forming apparatus installed in a store or the like for business purposes, a document to be printed may include personal information or secret information, and an output sheet on which personal information or the like is described If you forget it, important information may be leaked, which can be very serious.

  For example, when a document including a plurality of pages is obtained from a server via a network and printed, when it takes time to print the final page, the user may finish printing to the page before the final page. Then, it is determined that the printing is completed, and only the printing paper up to the page before the final page is taken out and brought back, and then the final page is output and there is a case where the final page is forgotten.

Also, like the above-described conventional image forming apparatus, even if the authentication device and the charge collection device are provided and the functions that can be used are restricted in response to user authentication and charge collection, printing is performed by the user's carelessness. There is a risk that you may forget to take out the output sheet.
Furthermore, even if a warning message indicating that the user has forgotten to take out the output sheet is displayed, the user may not notice the warning message, and similarly, there is a possibility that the user may forget to take out the printed output sheet.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and by devising the printing order of the printing paper to be output and the direction of the printing surface of the output paper, It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of reducing forgetfulness.

  According to the present invention, an image acquiring unit for acquiring printing document information consisting of one or a plurality of pages, a printing execution unit for printing each page of the printing document information on a sheet, and a printing sheet on which the printing document information is printed Using an output unit for outputting the print setting information, a storage unit storing in advance print setting information including the order in which the plurality of pages are printed, and the orientation of the printing surface when the printing paper is output, and the print setting information A printing order setting unit for setting the printing order of the printing document information acquired by the image acquiring unit; and outputting the printing paper on which the printing document information is printed by the printing execution unit using the print setting information Printing direction setting unit for setting the orientation of the printing side when printing, and the printing execution unit prints the acquired printing document information on a sheet based on the set printing order, Output unit, based on the orientation of the set printing surface, there is provided an image forming apparatus and outputs the printed printing paper.

  Further, the print setting information includes an order of printing each page of the print document information, information of a print order specifying a print top page to be outputted first, and a print final page to be outputted finally, When printing paper is output, it is characterized in that it includes information on a printing surface in which a page to be output upward and a page to be output downward are set.

Further, the printing surface orientation setting unit is configured to set the orientation of the printing surface of the printing final page to be upward.
According to this, since the orientation of the printing side of the printing final page to be outputted last is set to be upward, the user does not have to turn over or rearrange the printed sheet, and the printing is finally outputted. The print side of the final page can be easily viewed, and by confirming the contents described on the final print final page, it is possible that all pages of the print document information to be printed have been output. It can be judged and it is possible to reduce forgetting of a part of the printing paper.

In addition, the printing order setting unit sets the printing order of the acquired printing document information in reverse order, sets the last page of the acquired printing document information as the printing top page, and the acquired printing The first page of the document information is set as a print final page, and the print orientation setting unit is configured to set the orientation of the print surface of all the pages of the print document information to upward.
According to this, since the page to be printed last (print final page) is the first page of the printing document information and the printing surface of the page to be printed last is upward, the user is in a state where printing is completed. The printing surface of the first page of the printed writing information can be easily confirmed. Also, the user who understands that the final page of printing is the first page of the printed document information indicates that the printing surface of the topmost sheet of the plurality of sheets of printed paper is the first page of the printed document information By confirming that the print side is the print side, it can be recognized that printing of all the sheets is completed, so that it is possible to prevent the sheets from being removed while some print sheets have not been output yet.

The printing order setting unit sets the printing order of the acquired printing document information in the normal order, sets the second page of the acquired printing document information as the printing top page, and the acquired printing The first page of the document information is set as the printing final page, and the print orientation setting unit sets the orientation of the printing surface downward from the second page of the printing document information to the last page of the printing document information And setting the orientation of the printing surface of the first page of the printed document information to upward.
According to this, the user who understands that the final page of printing is the first page of the printed document information indicates that the printing surface of the uppermost sheet of the plurality of sheets of printed paper is the printed document information. By confirming that it is the printing side of the first page, it is possible to recognize that printing of all the sheets is completed, so it is possible to prevent the sheets from being removed without some of the printing sheets having been output yet. it can.

Further, the printing order setting unit sets the printing order of the acquired printing document information in the normal order, sets the first page of the acquired printing document information as the printing top page, and specifies the printing document information. A print information page in which information for printing is described is set as a print final page, and the print orientation setting unit sets the print surface from the first page of the print document information to the last page of the print document information The orientation is set to be downward, and the orientation of the printing surface of the written information page is set to be upward.
According to this, the user who understands that the printing final page is the written information page is that the printing surface of the uppermost sheet of the plurality of output sheets is the printing surface of the written information page By confirming that it is possible to recognize that the printing of all the sheets is completed, it is possible to prevent the sheets from being removed while some of the printing sheets have not been output yet.

In addition, the printing order setting unit sets the printing order of the acquired printing document information in the normal order, sets the first page of the acquired printing document information as the printing top page, and prints a colored sheet, In the final page, the printing orientation setting unit sets the orientation of the printing surface from the first page of the printing document information to the last page of the printing document information in the downward direction, and the colored sheet is the printing It is characterized in that it is a sheet of a color different from the color of the sheet on which the written information is printed.
According to this, the user who understands that the printed final page is a colored sheet confirms that the color of the topmost sheet among the plurality of sheets output is different from the other printing sheets. This makes it possible to recognize that printing of all the sheets has been completed, so that it is possible to prevent the sheets from being removed while some of the printing sheets have not yet been output.

  The printing order setting unit further includes an authentication processing unit that authenticates the user, and when the user authentication is successful by the authentication processing unit, the print order setting unit uses the print setting information stored in the storage unit. Setting the printing order of the print document information acquired by the image acquisition unit, and the print orientation setting unit using the print setting information stored in the storage unit; Sets the orientation of the printing side when printing the printed printing paper, and the printing execution unit prints the acquired printing document information on the paper based on the printing order set, and the output The printing apparatus may output the printed printing sheet based on the set printing surface orientation.

  The image forming apparatus may further include a communication unit that communicates with a print server in which the print document information is stored, and the image acquisition unit acquires the print document information transmitted from the print server and received by the communication unit. .

  Further, according to the present invention, an authentication processing unit for authenticating a user, an image acquisition unit for acquiring printing document information consisting of one or a plurality of pages, and a printing execution unit for printing each page of the printing document information on paper And storing, in advance, print setting information including an output unit for outputting a print sheet on which the print document information is printed, an order of printing the plurality of pages, and an orientation of a print surface when the print sheet is output. The print execution unit using the print setting information, the print order information setting unit configured to set the print order of the print document information acquired by the image acquisition unit using the stored storage unit; An image processing method of an image forming apparatus comprising: a print surface orientation setting unit for setting an orientation of a printing surface when printing printing paper on which printing document information is printed is output by the authentication processing unit; Authentication of the user, and when the user authentication succeeds, the image acquisition unit acquires printing document information, and the printing order setting unit uses the printing setting information stored in the storage unit. Setting the printing order of the print document information acquired by the image acquisition unit, and the print orientation setting unit using the print setting information stored in the storage unit; Sets the orientation of the printing side when printing the printed printing paper, and the printing execution unit prints the acquired printing document information on the paper based on the printing order set, and the output According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing method of an image forming apparatus, wherein the section outputs the printed printing sheet based on the set orientation of the printing surface.

  According to the present invention, the print setting information stored in advance in the storage unit is used to set the print order of the print document information acquired by the image acquisition unit, and the print execution information is used to execute the print execution The print execution unit sets the orientation of the printing side when outputting the printing paper on which the printing document information is printed by the printing unit, and the printing execution unit prints the acquired printing document information on the paper based on the set printing order, Since the output unit outputs the printed printing sheet based on the set orientation of the printing surface, it is possible to reduce the user's forgetting to take out part of the output printing sheet.

FIG. 1 is a schematic connection diagram of an embodiment of an image processing system of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of print setting information stored in the image forming apparatus of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the printing order and direction of a printing surface of each Example of this invention. It is an explanatory view of one example of reverse order printing and normal order printing of this invention. 7 is a flowchart of an embodiment of print processing of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart of print processing of Embodiment 1 in the image forming apparatus of the present invention. 7 is a flowchart of print processing of Embodiment 2 in the image forming apparatus of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart of print processing of the third embodiment in the image forming apparatus of the present invention. It is a flowchart of the printing process of Example 4 in the image forming apparatus of this invention. It is a flowchart of the printing process of Example 5 in the image forming apparatus of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described using the drawings. The present invention is not limited by the description of the following embodiments.
<Configuration of image processing system>
FIG. 1 shows a schematic connection diagram of an embodiment of the image processing system of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, the image processing system of the present invention comprises an image forming apparatus 1 connected via a network 5, an information processing apparatus 2, an authentication server 3, and a print server 4.
However, when the authentication process is performed by the image forming apparatus 1, the authentication server 3 may not be present, and when acquiring image information etc. to be printed from the information processing apparatus 2 or when inputting by the image forming apparatus 1, the print server 4 may not be necessary.

As the network 5, any currently available wired or wireless network such as a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network such as the Internet may be used.
For example, an image forming apparatus 1 disposed in the same premises and a plurality of information processing apparatuses (PCs) 2 are connected via a premises network (LAN) 5.
Further, the image forming apparatus 1, the authentication server 3 and the print server 4 are connected via the Internet 5.

  An information processing apparatus (hereinafter, also referred to as a PC) 2 is an electronic device such as a personal computer, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, and other portable terminals. In the present invention, an apparatus owned by a user using an image forming apparatus is mainly described as an apparatus for creating document information including images, characters, and the like and transmitting the document information to the image forming apparatus 1.

  The image forming apparatus 1 is an apparatus for processing document information, and is an apparatus having a function of printing on a sheet at least document information in which an image, characters and the like are described. For example, the MFP is a multifunction peripheral (MFP) having a printer having a printing function, a copying function, a printing function, a scanner function, a fax function, a communication function, and the like.

Also, when the image forming apparatus 1 is installed in a store or a public facility, it has an authentication function that authenticates a specific user and allows only the user who has succeeded in authentication to use the specific function of the image forming apparatus. . Furthermore, when a large number of unspecified users who have come to the store etc. use the image forming apparatus, they have paid for the fee necessary for printing without performing authentication processing, and paid for printing. It has a charging function that permits the execution of a predetermined function corresponding to the amount of money.
When the user who has succeeded in authentication uses the image forming apparatus 1, the charge may be collected later, for example, by monthly basis, without charging at the time of use.
Whether the user using the image forming apparatus 1 uses the authentication function or the charging function first uses an authentication mode using the authentication function and the charging function by the user performing a predetermined input operation. One of the charging modes may be selected.

The authentication server 3 is installed, for example, in an external organization such as an authentication management center specializing in authentication processing, and stores in advance authentication information of a specific user.
When the user uses the image forming apparatus 1 using the authentication function, the authentication information such as an authentication card on which user-specific information is recorded, fingerprints, etc. is input by the image forming apparatus 1, and the input authentication is performed. The information is transmitted to the authentication server 3, and the authentication server 3 compares the transmitted authentication information with the authentication information of the user stored in advance in the authentication server 3, performs an authentication process, and outputs an authentication result, Reply to the image forming apparatus 1.
If the authentication is successful, the user can use a predetermined function of the image forming apparatus 1.

The print server 4 is a device that stores in advance printing document information such as document data and image data for printing created by many users, and is installed in an external organization such as a data management center or a company to which the user belongs Be done.
For example, when the user creates document information in the information processing apparatus PC owned by the user, the created document information is transferred to the print server 4 for printing the document information later, and is sent to the print server 4 Save it.

In the image forming apparatus 1 installed in a store or the like, when the user prints the print document information, the user goes to the image forming apparatus 1 and performs a predetermined input operation in the image forming apparatus 1 to print server Desired print document information stored in 4 is acquired from the print server 4, and printing is performed in the image forming apparatus 1.
If the print document information to be printed is information comprising a plurality of pages, the information of each page is sequentially printed on a plurality of sheets of paper, and the printed sheets are output in a predetermined order.
Since the printed one or more sheets are output to a predetermined sheet discharge tray or sheet discharge position of the image forming apparatus 1, the user takes out the printing sheet output from the sheet discharge tray or the like and holds the sheet. I will go back.

In this invention, the user devises the printing order of the printing paper to be output and the orientation of the printing surface of the output paper so that the user can easily recognize that the final page of the printing paper has been output. To prevent you from forgetting to take out the output printing paper.
In particular, the present invention is characterized in that when a user who has succeeded in authentication executes printing processing without paying a fee at the time of printing, it is possible to reduce forgetting of output printing paper.

<Description of Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus>
FIG. 2 shows a configuration block diagram of an embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
In FIG. 2, an image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention mainly includes a control unit 11, an operation unit 12, an image acquisition unit 13, a display unit 14, a communication unit 15, an output unit 16, an authentication processing unit 17, a charge processing unit 18, The printing order setting unit 19, the printing surface orientation setting unit 20, the printing execution unit 21, and the storage unit 50 are provided.

The control unit 11 is a part that controls the operation of each component such as an image acquisition unit, and is mainly realized by a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O controller, a timer, and the like.
The CPU organically operates various hardware based on a control program stored in advance in the ROM or the like to execute the image acquisition function, the printing function, and the like of the present invention.
Further, among the above components, the authentication processing unit 17, the charging processing unit 18, the printing order setting unit 19, and the printing orientation setting unit 20 are executed by software processing based on a predetermined program by the CPU. It is a functional block.

The operation unit 12 is a part for inputting information such as characters and selecting input of functions, and for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc. are used.
A user who intends to use the image forming apparatus 1 selects, for example, either the authentication mode or the charging mode by the operation unit 12.
When the authentication mode is selected, the user's authentication information is input.
Further, an input operation is performed to obtain printing document information stored in advance in the print server 4.
Alternatively, if a plurality of pieces of print setting information in which the print order and the orientation of the print side of the output sheet are preset are stored in the storage unit 50, the user selects and inputs which print setting information to use. It is also good.

The image acquisition unit 13 is a part that acquires predetermined information such as image information, and in particular, is a part that acquires printing document information including one or more pages for the purpose of printing.
For example, information on a document in which image data, a character pattern, and the like are described is read as image data, and the read image data is stored in the storage unit 50 as one piece of document information.
In particular, written information intended to be printed is converted into image data consisting of one or more pages in a printable format, and is stored in the storage unit 50 as printed document information.
When the stored printed document information consists of a plurality of pages, the first page (first page) is referred to as P1, P2 and P2, and the last page as Pn.

The image acquisition unit 13 corresponds to a scanner that reads image data or an interface that connects an external storage medium such as a USB memory.
There are various methods for inputting printing document information. For example, a single document having information such as characters is read by a scanner, and image data of the read document is stored in the storage unit 50 as printing document information. Remember.

  In addition, an electronic data file such as an image or a document to be input is stored in an external storage medium such as a USB memory, and the USB memory or the like is connected to an input interface such as a USB terminal. To read out the desired electronic data file stored in the USB memory or the like and store it in the storage unit 50.

The method of inputting the print form information is not limited to the above, and the print form information may be received from the information processing apparatus 2 or the print server 4 via the network 5.
For example, when the user performs a predetermined input operation using the operation unit 12, the communication unit 15 may receive and acquire the print document information created by the information processing device 2. Alternatively, the print document information stored in the print server 4 may be received and acquired by the communication unit 15.

  The display unit 14 is a part for displaying information, and displays the information necessary for the execution of each function, the result of the execution of the function, and the like to notify the user. For example, when an LCD, an organic EL display, or the like is used and a touch panel is used as the operation unit 12, the display unit and the touch panel are disposed in an overlapping manner.

The communication unit 15 is connected to the network 5 and communicates with the information processing apparatus PC2, the authentication server 3, the print server 4 and the like connected to the network, and transmits and receives authentication request information, printing document information and the like.
As a communication method, communication methods based on all existing standards can be used, and either wired communication or wireless communication may be used.

  For example, when the user creates print document information in information processing apparatus (PC) 2 and prints the print document information, the user inputs an acquisition request for print document information in image forming apparatus 1. When the acquisition request specifying the printing document information is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 2 and the acquisition request is received by the information processing apparatus 2, the printing document information is transmitted from the information processing apparatus 2 to the image forming apparatus 1, It is received by the communication unit 15.

  Further, when the print document information of the user is stored in the print server 4, when the user inputs the acquisition request of the print document information of the user in the image forming apparatus 1, the acquisition request specifying the print document information is When the acquisition request is transmitted to the print server 4 and the print server 4 receives the acquisition request, the print document information is transmitted from the print server 4 to the image forming apparatus 1 and received by the communication unit 15.

Further, when the user causes the image forming apparatus 1 to read the authentication card in which the authentication information of the user is stored and inputs an authentication request for the authentication information of the user, the authentication request for the user is transmitted to the authentication server 3 When the authentication request is received by the authentication server 3, the authentication server 3 executes user authentication processing, and the authentication result is transmitted from the authentication server 3 to the image forming apparatus 1 and received by the communication unit 15.
Furthermore, when printing is completed in the image forming apparatus 1, the communication unit 15 transmits information indicating that printing is completed to the information processing apparatus 2 owned by the user, and printing is completed in the information processing apparatus 2. May be displayed or notified to the user by voice or alarm sound.

The output unit 16 is a part that outputs a print sheet on which predetermined print document information is printed.
In particular, based on the orientation of the printing surface set by the printing surface orientation setting unit 20 described later, the printed printing sheet is output.
When outputting multiple sheets of printing paper, the printing paper to be output next is discharged so as to overlap on the printing paper that is output first, and the printing paper to be output next is to overlap on it When all the print sheets have been output, the print sheet output last is at the top. Therefore, the surface (upward facing surface) of the printing paper output last is in a state where it can be seen immediately.

The output unit 16 corresponds to, for example, a printer that prints and outputs the printed document information stored in the storage unit 50 on a paper medium. Alternatively, the print document information stored in the storage unit 50 may be output to an external storage medium such as a USB memory.
However, according to the present invention, when printing information to be printed on a paper medium, it is possible to prevent the user from forgetting to take out all the output sheets and to allow the user to easily and surely recognize that the final page has been output. In order to do so, the printing order of the information consisting of a plurality of pages and the orientation of the printing side of the paper medium to be output are set. Therefore, in the following embodiment, the printing document information is printed on the paper medium Output.

The authentication processing unit 17 is a part that authenticates a user who intends to use the image forming apparatus. The authentication process may use any authentication method conventionally used. For example, card authentication for reading an authentication card in which user authentication information is stored, biometric authentication for reading user-specific information such as a fingerprint, or portable terminal authentication using a unique ID of a portable terminal may be used.
The authentication information of the user read by card authentication or the like is temporarily stored in the storage unit, for example, transferred to the authentication server 3, collated with the user authentication information stored in advance in the authentication server 3, and the authentication result is , And sent back to the image forming apparatus 1.
Alternatively, when the authentication information of the user to be compared is stored in advance in the image forming apparatus 1, the authentication information of the read user and the authentication information of the stored user are stored in the image forming apparatus 1. A collation may be performed.

The charge processing unit 18 is a part that confirms whether an unspecified number of users who intend to use the image forming apparatus deposit money of a predetermined amount.
For example, charging information consisting of charges set for each function is stored in advance in the storage unit, and it is necessary to use the charging information and use the function before the user uses the desired function. Check if money has been deposited.
Allow the use of the desired function when the necessary money is deposited.
In the case of using the image forming apparatus without performing the authentication process as described above, the user selects a charging mode in which the charging process is performed, deposits necessary money, and then utilizes a desired function.
For example, in the case of copying ten sheets of manuscript documents, it is possible to copy ten sheets of manuscript documents after confirming that the money necessary for copying the ten sheets of manuscript documents has been received.
Although the copy function in such a charging mode is also implemented in a conventional multifunction machine, since it is used by an unspecified number of users, in order to execute the copy function at high speed, the order of the pages of the read manuscript document is Preferably, the printing sheet is output with the printing surface facing downward.

The print order setting unit 19 is a part that sets the print order of the print document information acquired by the image acquisition unit 13 using the print setting information stored in advance in the storage unit.
When printed document information to be printed consists of a plurality of pages, the order of printing each page is set.
For example, it is set whether to print printed document information consisting of a plurality of pages in the normal order or in the reverse order.
When the document to be printed consists of n pages, printing in the order of page numbers is called normal order printing, and the first page is printed and output first, and the nth page is printed and output last.
On the other hand, printing reverse to the order of page numbers is called reverse printing, and the nth page is printed and output first, and the first page is printed and output last.

The setting of the print order may be performed using print setting information stored in advance in the storage unit 50. When a plurality of print setting information are stored in advance, one print setting information to be preferentially used is determined in advance, or print setting information to be used by the user each time printing is performed. You may be asked to select and enter.
Alternatively, a screen for setting the printing order may be displayed on the display unit 14 so that the user can select and input either “normal order” or “reverse order”.

The setting of the printing order is not only setting “normal order” or “reverse order”, but also setting the page to be output first (print top page) and the page to be output last (print final page) Good.
The print setting information in FIG. 3 described later indicates information in which the print order, the print top page, and the print final page are set.
If you set only “normal order” or “reverse order” as the print order setting and do not set the print first page and print last page, either the first page or the last page of the document to be printed is the last The page (print final page) to be output to
However, when the print top page and the print final page are set in addition to the “forward order” or “reverse order” setting, the print top page and the print final page can be freely set, as shown in FIG. The page to be printed may be a page other than the document itself to be printed, for example, a document information page (also referred to as a banner page) or colored paper.

The written information page (banner page) is a page on which information for specifying printed document information is described. For example, the file name of the document to be printed, the date and time of creation, the name of the creator, the summary of the document content, the document size, It is a page on which an approver, an issue destination name, a revision history, etc. are described.
The document information page may be created in advance by the user in association with the printing document information, and when the document information page is set as the printing final page, information specifying the file of the printing document or the content of the printing document You may use it to automatically create a written information page.

Colored paper means paper (color paper) that is different from the color of the paper on which the printed document information is printed, and when colored paper is set as the printing final page, all pages of the printed document information are output Later, colored paper is output as the final page to indicate that printing has ended.
The color of the colored paper may be different from the color of the paper on which each page of the printing document information is printed, in order to allow the user to easily check that the printing is completed by looking at the colored paper.
For example, if the color of the sheet on which each page of the printed document information is printed is white, the colored sheet may be a sheet other than white (red, yellow, etc.).
Although there is no need to print anything on colored paper, information indicating that all printing paper has been output may be printed.
When setting a colored sheet as the final page, it is necessary to previously arrange the colored sheet in a specific storage cassette of the image forming apparatus or a manual feed tray.

The printing surface orientation setting unit 20 sets the orientation of the printing surface when the printing sheet on which the printing document information is printed by the printing execution unit 21 is output using the print setting information stored in advance in the storage unit. It is.
When outputting a printing sheet on which printing document information including a plurality of pages is printed, a page for outputting with the printing surface facing upward and a page for outputting with the printing surface facing downward are set.

The side on which the information such as characters and drawings is printed is the printing side, and when single-sided printing is performed, the information is printed on one side of the sheet.
Here, it is set whether to output the printing sheet with the printing surface on which the information is printed facing upward or to output the printing sheet with the printing surface on which the information is printed facing downward.
The case where printing paper is output with the printing surface facing up is called face-up, and the case where printing paper is output with the printing surface facing down is called face-down.
When the printing sheet is output with the printing surface facing upward, the printing surface of the sheet can be seen immediately even if the user does not touch the sheet.
When printing paper is output with the printing surface facing downward, the opposite side to the printing surface is seen, and the user turns the paper over to see the printing surface of the paper.

For example, when outputting printing paper with the printing side of all the pages of the printed document information consisting of a plurality of pages facing upward, set the orientation of the printing side of all the pages to face up (face up). .
On the other hand, when outputting the printing paper with the printing side of all the pages of the printed document information consisting of a plurality of pages facing downward, set the orientation of the printing side of all the pages to face down (face down). .
In addition, the orientation of the printing surface may be set for each page of printing document information.

The setting of the orientation of the printing surface may also be performed using the print setting information stored in advance in the storage unit 50.
In the print setting information of FIG. 3 described later, an upward page and a downward page are set as the orientation of the printing surface.
For example, the orientation of the printing surface of the final printing page may be set to face up, and the orientation of the printing surface of the other pages may be face down.

In the image forming apparatus currently used, the orientation of the printing surface of the printing paper to be output is usually downward (face-down) in many cases, so if the orientation of the printing surface is not set, the printing speed In order to speed up the printing, in principle, the printing paper may be output with the printing surface facing down (face down).
On the other hand, in an image forming apparatus in which the direction of the printing surface is directed downward, in the case where the printing surface of the printing paper is directed upward (face up), the printing paper is turned over, Printing speed is slower than when the printing surface is facing downward.
Therefore, when it is desired to increase the printing speed as in the charging mode, it is preferable to set the orientation of the printing surface to face down (face down).

However, in order to reduce paper loss, even if the printing speed is slowed, at least the orientation of the printing side of the final printed page to be printed is facing upward (face) so that the user can immediately check the printing side. It is preferable to set up.
If the printing side of the final printed page is set to face up, the user does not have to turn over or rearrange the printed sheet, and the last printed page is printed It can be determined that all pages of the printed document information to be printed have been output by checking the contents described on the last page of the printed final page so that the page can be easily viewed. It is possible to reduce forgetting of a portion of the printing paper.

The print execution unit 21 is a portion for printing each page of printing document information consisting of one or more pages on a sheet.
In particular, based on the printing order set by the printing order setting unit 19, the printing document information acquired by the image acquiring unit 13 and stored in the storage unit 50 is printed on a sheet.
In the present invention, the print order and the orientation of the print surface are set based on print setting information stored in advance in the storage unit 50 described later, and the print execution unit 21 sets one or more of the print document information. The image data of the page is printed on the sheet in the set printing order, and each printing sheet is output from the output unit 16 in the set printing direction.

The storage unit 50 is a portion for storing information and programs necessary to execute each function of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, and in the present invention, in particular, the printed document information acquired by the image acquiring unit 13 Save temporarily.
For the storage unit 50, a semiconductor storage element such as a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, a storage device such as an HDD or an SSD, or another storage medium is used.
In the storage unit 50, for example, printing document information 51, printing setting information 52, authentication information 55, charging information 56 and the like are stored.

The print document information 51 is information of a document consisting of one or a plurality of pages for the purpose of printing, and means image data to be actually printed by the print execution unit 21.
When the document information is information including a plurality of pages (first page P1 and last page Pn), for example, a plurality of image data are stored with page numbers assigned.

The print setting information 52 presets an output method of printing paper, mainly, a printing order 53 indicating an order of printing a plurality of pages of printing document information, and an orientation of a printing surface when printing printing paper And a printing direction 54 indicating the information.
The print order 53 of the print document information is information in which the print order of each page is set in the print document information composed of a plurality of pages as described above, and either "forward order" or "reverse order" is set. . Further, the print order 53 includes information specifying the print top page to be output first and the print final page to be output last.
The print surface orientation 54 of the print sheet is information in which a page to be output upward and a page to be output downward are set when the print sheet is output.

The print setting information 52 may be set and stored in advance in a fixed manner, or the administrator or the user of the image forming apparatus may change the setting.
As the print setting information 52, only one piece of information may be stored in advance, but a plurality of pieces of information may be stored.
Further, print setting information (charging print setting) used in the charging mode and print setting information (authentication print setting) used in the authentication mode may be stored separately.
A detailed embodiment of the print setting information 52 will be described later.

The authentication information 55 is information used for authentication processing, and is information for authenticating a user who uses the image forming apparatus.
The authentication information 55 is, for example, information specifying a user read from a card for authentication owned by the user, information such as a fingerprint of the user, or the like input by the user when using the image forming apparatus.
The input authentication information 55 is transferred to, for example, the authentication server 3 and the authentication server 3 executes an authentication process.
Further, when the authentication process is performed in the image forming apparatus, the information to be authenticated is included in the authentication information 55 in advance and collated with the input information.

The charge information 56 is information used for charge processing, and information such as a set charge is stored in advance for each function used in the image forming apparatus.
When the charging mode is selected, whether or not a predetermined amount has been paid is confirmed based on the charging information 56, and when the predetermined amount is paid, a function such as copying can be executed.

<Example of Print Setting Information>
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of one embodiment of the print setting information 52 stored in the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
Here, as print setting information 52, an example of charge print setting used in the charge mode and four authentication print settings used in the authentication mode are shown.
It is not necessary to store all four authentication print settings, and at least one authentication print setting may be stored.
When a plurality of authentication print settings are stored, one authentication print setting to be preferentially used is determined in advance, or a user who uses the image forming apparatus selects and inputs the authentication print setting to use. Just do it.

In FIG. 3, as the print order 53 of the print setting information 52, a print order (forward order, reverse order), a print top page, and a print final page are shown.
In addition, as the printing face direction 54, a page in which the printing face is set up and a page facing down are set.

(Authentication print setting 1)
For example, in the authentication print setting 1, the print order is set in reverse order, and the first page to be printed (print top page) is the last page Pn of the printing document information, and the page to be printed last (print last page) Is the first page P1 of the printed document information, and from the first page P1 to the last page Pn of the printed document information, the orientation of the printing surface of all the pages is upward (face up) and the orientation of the printing surface is downward It is set that there is no page of (face down).

FIG. 5A is a schematic explanatory view of the state of the output sheet printed in reverse order when the authentication print setting 1 is adopted.
In this case, the page to be printed last (print final page) is the first page P1 of the printed document information, the print side of the page to be printed last is facing up, and the user is finished printing. Is a state where the printing surface of the first page P1 of the printing document information can be easily confirmed.
The user who understands that the final page of printing is the first page P1 of the printed document information indicates that the printing surface of the uppermost sheet of the plurality of sheets of printed paper is the first page P1 of the printed document information. By confirming that the print side is the print side, it can be recognized that printing of all the sheets is completed, so that it is possible to prevent the sheets from being removed while some print sheets have not been output yet. That is, it is possible to reduce forgetting to take out the printing paper.

(Authentication print setting 2)
Further, in the authentication print setting 2 of FIG. 3, the printing order is in the normal order, and the first page (print top page) to be printed is the second page P2 of the printing document information, and then the third page P3 and page 4 Eye P4, last page Pn of the printed document information is printed in order, and the last page printed (printed final page) is the first page P1 of the printed document information, and the first page of the printed document information printed last It is set that the orientation of the printing surface of page P1 is upward (face up), and the orientation of the printing surface from the second page P2 printed first to the last page Pn is downward (face down) .

Also in this case, the user who understands that the final page of printing is the first page P1 of the printed document information indicates that the printing surface of the uppermost sheet of the plurality of printed sheets is the printed document information. By confirming that it is the printing side of the first page P1, it can be recognized that printing of all the sheets is completed, so that some of the printing sheets may be removed without being output yet. It can prevent. That is, it is possible to reduce forgetting to take out the printing paper.
In addition, since the orientation of the printing surface from the second page P2 to the last page Pn excluding the first page P1 of the printing document information is downward (face down), the printing surface of the output sheet is in principle downward (face down) In the image forming apparatus having the above-described configuration, the authentication print setting 2 can achieve faster printing than the authentication print setting 1.

(Authentication print setting 3)
Further, in the authentication print setting 3 of FIG. 3, the printing order is in the normal order, and the first page (print top page) to be printed is the first page P1 of the printing document information, and then the second page P2, page 3. Eye P3, last page Pn of printing document information is printed in order, page printed last (print final page) is document information page P0, orientation of printing surface of document information page P0 printed last is It is set that the printing side is facing up (face up) and the orientation of the printing surface from the first page P1 to the last page Pn to be printed first is face down.
As described above, the document information page P0 is a page on which the document name of the print document information is printed.

FIG. 5B is a schematic explanatory view of the state of the output sheet printed in the normal order when the authentication print setting 3 is adopted.
In this case, when the page to be printed last (print final page) is the written information page P0, the printed surface of the page P0 printed last is upward, and the printing is completed, the user writes The printing surface of the information page P0 can be easily confirmed.
Further, the orientation of the printing surface from the first page P1 to the last page Pn other than the written information page P0 is downward (face down).

In this case, the user who understands that the printing final page is the written information page P0 is that the printing surface of the uppermost sheet of the plurality of output sheets is the printing surface of the written information page P0. Since it can be recognized that printing of all the sheets is completed by confirming that there is a part of the sheets, it is possible to prevent the sheets from being removed without the sheets being output. That is, it is possible to reduce forgetting to take out the printing paper.
In addition, since the print side of all the pages (P1 to Pn) of the printed document except the written information page P0 is facing down (face down), the printing side of the output sheet is face down as a rule In the image forming apparatus, compared to authentication print setting 1, authentication print setting 3 can achieve faster printing.

(Authentication print setting 4)
Also, in the authentication print setting 4 of FIG. 3, the printing order is in the normal order, and the first page (print top page) to be printed is the first page P1 of the printing document information, and then the second page P2, page 3. The last page Pn of the print document information is printed in order, and the last page (printed page) to be printed (output) is a colored sheet, and the orientation of the printing side of the colored sheet to be printed last is set It is set that the orientation of the printing surface from the first page P1 to the last page Pn printed first is downward (face down).
The colored paper is, as described above, a paper of a color different from the paper on which the printing document information is printed.

In this case, the user who understands that the printed final page is a colored sheet should confirm that the color of the topmost sheet among the plurality of output sheets is different from that of the other printing sheets. This makes it possible to recognize that printing of all the sheets has been completed, so that it is possible to prevent the sheets from being removed without some of the printing sheets having been output yet. That is, it is possible to reduce forgetting to take out the printing paper.
In addition, since the print side of all the pages (P1 to Pn) of the print document except for colored paper is facing down (face down), the printing side of the output paper is in principle facing down (face down). In the apparatus, compared to the case of the authentication print setting 1, the authentication print setting 4 can accelerate the printing.

(Billing print setting)
Further, in the charge print setting used in the charge mode of FIG. 3, the print order is in the normal order, and the first page to be printed (print top page) is the first page P1 of the printing document information, and then the second page The second and third pages P3 and so on are printed in order, and the last page printed (the final page of printing) is the last page Pn of the printed document information, and there is no sheet whose print side is facing up, first It is set that the orientation of the printing surface from the first page P1 to the last page Pn to be printed on is downward (face down).

In this charge print setting, the print side of all pages (P1 to Pn) of the print document information is facing down (face down), so the print side of the output sheet is in principle face down (face down) In the forming apparatus, the printing speed can be increased.
However, even in the charging mode, in order to reduce the loss of paper removal, the print side is oriented upward only for the last page Pn of the printing document information, which is the page to be printed last (the printing last page). You may set it up.
Alternatively, the page to be printed (output) at the end (print final page) may be set to the document information page P0 with the print side facing upward, or to a colored sheet, and in this case, charging for the print final page You should not do it.

<Example of printing process of the present invention>
Hereinafter, several embodiments of the printing process of the present invention will be described.
In each embodiment, it is assumed that print processing is executed using any one of the print setting information 52 shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the printing order and the orientation of the printing surface of the output sheet for each embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 shows the necessity of user authentication, the printing order, and the orientation of the printing surface of the output sheet for each embodiment.
The print processing in the first to fourth embodiments is print processing in an authentication mode that requires authentication of the user.
The fifth embodiment is a printing process in a charging mode which does not require user authentication but is premised on payment of a predetermined charge.

In the first embodiment, print processing is performed using the authentication print setting 1 shown in FIG.
That is, the printing order of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4 and the orientation of the printing surface of the output sheet have the same contents as the authentication printing setting 1 shown in FIG. The contents of the printing order and the like shown in FIG. 4 are the same as those shown in FIG.
Similarly, in the printing process of the second embodiment to the fourth embodiment, the authentication print setting 2 to the authentication print setting 4 shown in FIG. 3 are used, respectively.
In the fifth embodiment, the printing process is performed using the charging print setting shown in FIG. 3, and the printing order and the printing surface orientation of the output sheet in the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 4 are the charging shown in FIG. The same contents as print settings are shown.

(Overview of Print Processing of Image Forming Device)
FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of one embodiment of the printing process of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
Here, a flowchart of the overall printing process including the charging mode is shown.
Further, it is assumed that the user goes to a store where the image forming apparatus is installed, and executes a function of printing a desired document including a plurality of pages.
Although the printing process may be double-sided printing, single-sided printing is performed.
The document to be printed may be brought by the user in the form of a paper medium, or the electronic data of the document may be stored on a recording medium such as a USB memory and brought in advance. You may leave it.

When the authentication processing unit 17 authenticates a user, the following processing is mainly performed.
The authentication processing unit 17 authenticates the user, and when the user authentication succeeds, the image acquiring unit 13 acquires printing document information.
Next, the printing order setting unit 19 sets the printing order of the printing document information acquired by the image acquiring unit 13 using the printing setting information stored in the storage unit 50, and further, the printing orientation setting unit 20 uses the print setting information stored in the storage unit 50 to set the orientation of the printing surface when the printing sheet on which the printing document information is printed by the printing execution unit 21 is output.
Thereafter, the print execution unit 21 prints the acquired printing document information on a sheet based on the set printing order, and the output unit 16 prints the printed sheet based on the set printing surface orientation. Output

In step S1 of FIG. 6, it is checked whether the user has performed an input operation using the operation unit 12.
Various input operations are performed in order to execute many functions of the image forming apparatus. Here, first, either the input of authentication information for entering the authentication mode or the input for entering the charging mode A check is made as to whether or not an input operation has been performed.
However, when another input operation is performed, processing corresponding to the input operation is performed.

If it is determined in step S2 that the authentication information for entering the authentication mode is input, the process proceeds to step S5. If not, the process proceeds to step S3.
The authentication information may be input, for example, by reading an authentication card in which the authentication information of the user is stored, or by reading a fingerprint of the user.

In step S3, if the input for entering the charging mode is performed, the process proceeds to step S4, and if not, the process returns to step S1.
In step S4, the charge processing unit 18 executes print processing in the charge mode.
In this printing process, after payment of a predetermined amount of money is made, printing document information is acquired, and printing process of the printing document information is executed.

In the printing process of printing document information in the charging mode, for example, printing of printing document information consisting of multiple pages is performed using the charging print setting shown in FIG. 3, and the first page P1 of the printing document information is firstly After printing, the second page, the third page, and so on are printed in the normal order, and finally, the last page Pn is printed, and the printing side of all pages is output with the printing surface facing downward.
Therefore, when printing of all pages is completed, the last page Pn with the printing surface facing downward is present at the top of the plurality of output printing sheets.
One embodiment of the printing process in the charging mode is shown in a fifth embodiment of FIG. 11 described later.

In step S5, the authentication processing unit 17 performs an authentication process of the input authentication information of the user.
For example, the communication unit 15 transmits the input authentication information of the user to the authentication server 3, and the authentication server 3 authenticates the input user and the authentication of the user stored in the authentication server 3 in advance. Information is collated, it is checked whether or not both match, and the authentication result is sent back to the image forming apparatus.
If they match, information (authentication success) indicating that the authentication is successful is sent back to the image forming apparatus.
If they do not match, information (authentication failure) indicating that the authentication has failed is returned to the image forming apparatus.

In step S6, the authentication result from the authentication server 3 is received, and if the authentication result is an authentication success, the process proceeds to step S8, and if the authentication result is an authentication failure, the process proceeds to step S7.
In step S7, information indicating that the authentication has failed is displayed on the display unit 14, notified to the user, and the process ends.
The notification of authentication failure may be performed not only by display but also by other methods, for example, notification by voice or transmission of information to an information processing apparatus PC such as a portable terminal owned by the user.

If the authentication is successful, print processing in the authentication mode shown in the following steps S8 to S12 is performed.
In step S8, the print setting information 52 stored in advance in the storage unit 50 is read.
Here, since the authentication mode is entered, the authentication print setting of the print setting information 52 is read out.
However, when a plurality of authentication print settings are stored, a screen for selecting authentication print settings may be displayed on the display unit 14 and the user may select a desired authentication print setting.

In step S 9, the image acquisition unit 13 acquires the printing document information 51 of the document to be printed, and stores the printing document information 51 in the storage unit 50.
For example, each page of the document brought by the user is read by a scanner and stored as printing document information 51.
Alternatively, the user performs a predetermined input operation, transmits request information for acquiring a desired document to the print server 4, and receives printing document information 51 of the document stored in advance in the print server 4. , And stored in the storage unit 50.
Alternatively, the user may connect a USB memory in which printing document information is stored in advance to the image forming apparatus, read the printing document information 51 from the USB memory, and store the information in the storage unit 50.
When the stored print document information 51 is composed of a plurality of pages, the print order and the orientation of the print surface are set by the following steps.

In step S10, the print order setting unit 19 sets the print order of the stored print document information 51 using the read authentication print setting.
Here, the order of printing a plurality of pages, the printing top page, and the printing final page are set.
For example, if the print document information 51 is image data of 10 pages and the read authentication print setting is the authentication print setting 1 shown in FIG. 3, the print order is set in reverse order and the print top page is 10 pages The print final page is set to the first page, and printing is performed in order from the 10th page to the 1st page.

In step S11, the printing surface orientation setting unit 20 sets the orientation of the printing surface when the printed sheet is output, using the read authentication print setting.
Here, a page with the print side facing upward and a page with the print side downward are set according to the read authentication print setting.
For example, if the print document information 51 is image data of 10 pages and the read authentication print setting is the authentication print setting 1 shown in FIG. 3, the print surface of all pages from the 10th page to the 1st page Set the direction of up.
The printing order of each page to be printed and the orientation of the printing surface are determined by the processes of steps S10 and S11.

In step S12, the print execution unit 21 executes print processing based on the set printing order and the orientation of the printing surface.
When all pages have been printed, the print final page is at the top, and the print side of the print final page is output in the set orientation.
For example, when the print document information 51 is image data of 10 pages and the read authentication print setting is the authentication print setting 1 shown in FIG. 3, first, as shown in FIG. The page is output with the print side facing up. Next, the printing surface is output with the printing surface facing upward, such as the 9th page and the 8th page, and finally, the first page is output with the printing surface facing up.

The above is the flowchart of the overall printing process of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
Hereinafter, flowcharts of the respective embodiments will be described with regard to processing of portions corresponding to steps S10 to S12 of FIG.

(Example 1 of printing process)
FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the printing process of the first embodiment in the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
Here, a case where printing is performed in the printing order shown in the first embodiment of FIG. 4 and the printing direction of the output sheet using the authentication print setting 1 shown in FIG. 3 is shown.

In step S21 of FIG. 7, since the print order of the authentication print setting 1 is "reverse order", the print order of the print document information 51 is set in the reverse order.
In step S22, since the orientation of the printing surface of the authentication print setting 1 read is upward for all pages, the orientation of the printing surface of the printing paper at the time of output is set upward for all pages of the printing document information 51. .
In step S23, since the print top page of the authentication print setting 1 is the last page Pn, the last page Pn of the print document information 51 is set as the page to be printed first.
Further, since the printing order is "reverse order", the printing final page is the first page P1 of the printing document information 51 as in the authentication printing setting 1.

In step S24, printing processing of each page of the printing document information 51 is executed based on the above settings.
That is, printing is performed in reverse order from the last page Pn of the print document information 51 to the first page P1. The output of the printing paper is performed so that the printing surface is directed upward.
In step S25, when the first page P1 to be printed last is not output, the process returns to step S24 to repeat the printing of the next page sequentially, and when the first page P1 to be printed last is output , End the process.

In the case of the first embodiment, the printing final page is the first page P1 of the printed document information, the printing surface of the top first page P1 is upward, and the user can immediately start the contents of the first page P1. As it can be seen, the user confirms that the printing side of the topmost sheet among the plurality of printed sheets is the printing side of the first page P1 of the printing document information. It can be recognized that printing of the paper has been completed.
That is, it is possible to prevent the paper from being removed while some of the printing paper has not been output yet, and it is possible to reduce the user's forgetting to pick up the printing paper.

(Example 2 of the printing process)
FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the printing process of the second embodiment in the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
Here, a case where printing is performed in the printing order shown in the second embodiment of FIG. 4 and the printing direction of the output sheet using the authentication print setting 2 shown in FIG. 3 is shown.

In step S31 of FIG. 8, since the printing order of the authentication printing setting 2 is "normal order", the printing order of the printing document information 51 is set in the normal order.
In step S32, since the print top page of the authentication print setting 2 is the second page P2, the second page P2 of the print document information 51 is set as the page to be printed first.
In step S33, since the print final page of the authentication print setting 2 is the first page P1, the first page P1 of the print document information 51 is set as the page to be printed last.
In step S34, in the orientation of the printing surface of the authentication print setting 2 read out, since the second page P2 to the last page Pn are downward, the orientation of the printing surface of the printing paper at the time of output is downward (face down). Set

In step S35, printing is performed in the normal order for the second page P2 to the last page Pn of the printing document information 51.
In printing from the second page P2 to the last page Pn, the output of the printing paper is performed such that the printing surface is facing downward.
In step S36, if the last page Pn is not output, the process returns to step S35, and printing of the next page is sequentially repeated, and if the last page Pn is output, the process proceeds to step S37.

In step S37, in the orientation of the printing surface of the authentication print setting 2 read out, the first page P1 is upward, so the orientation of the printing surface of the printing paper at the time of output is upward (to print the first page P1) Set to face up).
In step S38, printing is finally performed for the first page P1 (first page) of the printing document information 51. In the printing of the first page P1, the output of the printing paper is performed such that the printing surface is facing up.

Also in the case of the second embodiment, the print final page is the first page P1 of the print document, the print side of the first top page P1 is upward, and the user immediately starts the contents of the first page P1. As it can be seen, the user confirms that the printing side of the topmost sheet among the plurality of printed sheets is the printing side of the first page P1 of the printing document information. It can be recognized that printing of the paper has been completed.
That is, it is possible to prevent the paper from being removed while some of the printing paper has not been output yet, and it is possible to reduce the user's forgetting to pick up the printing paper.
In addition, since the print side of all the pages (P2 to Pn) of the printed document information except the first page P1 is facing down (face down), the printing side of the output paper is in principle facing down (face down) In the image forming apparatus having the above configuration, the printing speed can be increased in the second embodiment as compared with the first embodiment.

(Example 3 of the printing process)
FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of the printing process of the third embodiment in the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
Here, a case where printing is performed in the printing order shown in the third embodiment of FIG. 4 and the printing direction of the output sheet using the authentication print setting 3 shown in FIG. 3 is shown.

In step S41 of FIG. 9, since the print order of the authentication print setting 3 is "normal order", the print order of the print document information 51 is set in the normal order.
In step S42, since the print top page of the authentication print setting 3 is the first page (first page) P1, the first page P1 of the print document information 51 is set as the page to be printed first.
In step S43, a document information page (banner page) P0 is generated from the content of the printing document information 51. If the written information page P0 is already stored, it is read from the storage unit 50.

In step S44, since the printing final page of the authentication printing setting 3 is the document information page P0, the document information page P0 of the printing document information 51 is set as the page to be printed last.
In step S45, in the orientation of the printing surface of the authentication print setting 3 read out, the first page P1 to the last page Pn are downward, so the orientation of the printing surface of the printing paper at the time of output is downward (face down). Set

In step S46, printing is performed in the normal order for the first page P1 to the last page Pn of the printing document information 51.
In printing from the first page P1 to the last page Pn, the output of the printing paper is performed such that the printing side is facing downward.
In step S47, when the last page Pn is not output, the process returns to step S46, and printing of the next page is repeated sequentially, and when the last page Pn is output, the process proceeds to step S48.

In step S48, in the orientation of the printing surface of the authentication print setting 3 read out, since the document information page P0 is upward, the orientation of the printing surface of the printing paper at the time of output is upward to print the document information page P0. Set to face up).
In step S49, printing is finally performed on the document information page P0 of the printing document information 51. In the printing of the written information page P0, the output of the printing paper is performed such that the printing surface is facing upward.

In the case of the third embodiment, the printing final page is the written information page P0 of the printed document, the printing surface of the uppermost written information page P0 is upward, and the user immediately follows the contents of the written information page P0. As it can be seen, printing of all the sheets is performed by the user confirming that the printing side of the topmost sheet among the plurality of outputted sheets is the printing side of the written information page P0. Can recognize that the
That is, it is possible to prevent the paper from being removed while some of the printing paper has not been output yet, and it is possible to reduce the user's forgetting to pick up the printing paper.
In addition, since the print side of all the pages (P1 to Pn) of the printed document information except the document information page P0 is facing down (face down), the printing side of the output sheet is in principle facing down (face down) In the image forming apparatus having the above configuration, the printing speed can be increased in the third embodiment as compared with the first embodiment.

(Example 4 of the printing process)
FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of the printing process of the fourth embodiment in the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
Here, a case where printing is performed in the printing order shown in the fourth embodiment of FIG. 4 and the printing direction of the output sheet using the authentication print setting 4 shown in FIG. 3 is shown.
The color of the colored paper shall be different from the color of the paper on which each page of the printed document information is printed.

In step S51 of FIG. 10, since the printing order of the authentication printing setting 4 is "normal order", the printing order of the printing document information 51 is set in the normal order.
In step S52, since the print top page of the authentication print setting 4 is the first page (first page) P1, the first page P1 of the print document information 51 is set as the page to be printed first.

In step S53, since the printing final page of the authentication print setting 4 is colored paper, the colored paper is set as the page to be printed last.
In step S54, in the orientation of the printing surface of the authentication print setting 4 read out, all the pages from the first page P1 to the last page Pn are downward, so the orientation of the printing surface of the printing paper at the output is downward (face Set to down).

In step S55, printing is performed in the normal order for the first page P1 to the last page Pn of the printing document information 51.
In printing from the first page P1 to the last page Pn, the output of the printing paper is performed such that the printing side is facing downward.
In step S56, when the last page Pn is not output, the process returns to step S55, the printing of the next page is repeated sequentially, and when the last page Pn is output, the process proceeds to step S57.
In step S57, the colored sheet is taken out from the sheet feeding cassette or the manual feed tray in which the colored sheet is stored, and is output.

In the case of the fourth embodiment, since the printing final page is a colored sheet and the color is different from the color of the sheet on which each page of the printing document information is printed, the user selects the topmost sheet among the plurality of sheets output. It can be easily recognized that the printing of all the sheets has been completed by confirming that the sheets in the sheet are different from the color of the sheet on which each page of the print document is printed.
That is, it is possible to prevent the paper from being removed while some of the printing paper has not been output yet, and it is possible to reduce the user's forgetting to pick up the printing paper.
In addition, since the print side of all pages (P1 to Pn) of the print document information is directed downward (face down), in the image forming apparatus in which the print side of the output sheet is basically face down (face down), Compared to the case of the first embodiment, the fourth embodiment can achieve faster printing.

(Example 5 of the printing process)
FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of the printing process of the fifth embodiment in the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
Here, there is shown a case where printing is performed in the printing order shown in the fifth embodiment of FIG. 4 and the printing direction of the output sheet by using the charge printing setting shown in FIG.
The print process of the fifth embodiment is a print process in the charging mode, and is executed when a predetermined amount of money is paid and print document information is acquired.

In step S61 in FIG. 11, since the printing order of the accounting print setting is "normal order", the printing order of the printing document information 51 is set in the normal order.
In step S62, the first page P1 of the print document information 51 is set as the page to be printed first, since the print top page of the charge print setting is the first page (first page) P1.
In step S63, since the printing final page of the charge printing setting is the last page Pn, the last page Pn of the printing document information 51 is set as the page to be printed last.
In step S64, in the orientation of the printing side of the charge printing setting read out, all the pages from the first page P1 to the last page Pn are downward, so the orientation of the printing side of the printing paper at the time of printing is downward (face down Set to).

In step S65, printing is performed in the normal order for the first page P1 to the last page Pn of the printing document information 51.
In printing from the first page P1 to the last page Pn, the output of the printing paper is performed such that the printing side is facing downward.
In step S66, if the last page Pn is not output, the process returns to step S65, and printing of the next page is sequentially repeated, and when the last page Pn is output, the process ends.
In the fifth embodiment, since the print side of all the pages (P1 to Pn) of the print document information is directed downward (face down), an image in which the print side of the output sheet is face down as a rule (face down) In the forming apparatus, the printing speed can be increased.

1 Image forming apparatus (MFP),
2 Information processing device (PC),
3 Authentication server,
4 print server,
5 networks,
11 control unit,
12 operation unit,
13 Image acquisition unit,
14 indicator,
15 communication units,
16 outputs,
17 Authentication processing unit,
18 billing processor,
19 Printing order setting unit,
20 print orientation setting unit,
21 Print Execution Unit,
50 storage units,
51 printed paper information,
52 Print setting information,
53 printing order,
54 Print orientation,
55 authentication information,
56 Billing Information

Claims (10)

An image acquisition unit for acquiring printed document information consisting of one or more pages;
A print execution unit that prints each page of the print document information on a sheet;
An output unit that outputs a print sheet on which the print document information is printed;
A storage unit storing in advance print setting information including an order of printing the plurality of pages and an orientation of a printing surface when the printing sheet is output;
A print order setting unit configured to set a print order of the print document information acquired by the image acquisition unit using the print setting information;
A print surface orientation setting unit configured to set the orientation of the print surface when the printing execution unit outputs the printing paper on which the printing document information is printed by using the print setting information;
The printing execution unit prints the acquired printing document information on a sheet based on the set printing order.
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output unit outputs the printed printing sheet based on the set orientation of the printing surface. The print setting information includes
Print order information that specifies the order in which each page of the print document information is printed, the print top page to be output first, and the print final page to be output last;
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the printing sheet is output, information on a printing surface in which a page to be output upward and a page to be output downward are set is included.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an orientation of a printing surface of the final page of printing is set to be upward by the printing surface orientation setting unit. The printing order setting unit sets the printing order of the acquired printing document information in reverse order.
The last page of the acquired printed document information is set as the printing first page,
The first page of the acquired printed document information is set as the printing final page,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the print surface orientation setting unit sets the print surface orientation of all the pages of the print document information to be upward. The printing order setting unit sets the printing order of the acquired printing document information in the normal order,
The second page of the acquired printed document information is set as the print top page,
The first page of the acquired printed document information is set as the printing final page,
The print orientation setting unit sets the print surface orientation from the second page of the print document information to the last page of the print document information downward, and the print surface orientation of the first page of the print document information The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus is set to face upward. The printing order setting unit sets the printing order of the acquired printing document information in the normal order,
The first page of the acquired printed document information is set as the print first page,
Set the written information page containing the information for identifying the printed document information as the final page of printing,
The printing face orientation setting unit sets the printing face direction from the first page of the printing document information to the last page of the printing document information downward, and sets the printing face direction of the document information page upward The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: The printing order setting unit sets the printing order of the acquired printing document information in the normal order,
The first page of the acquired printed document information is set as the print first page,
Set the colored paper as the printing final page,
The printing orientation setting unit sets the orientation of the printing surface from the first page of the printing document information to the last page of the printing document information in a downward direction.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the colored sheet is a sheet of a color different from the color of the sheet on which the printing document information is printed. It further comprises an authentication processing unit that authenticates the user,
When the authentication processing unit succeeds in authenticating the user,
The print order setting unit sets the print order of the print document information acquired by the image acquisition unit using the print setting information stored in the storage unit.
The printing side orientation setting unit sets the orientation of the printing side when outputting the printing paper on which the printing document information is printed by the printing execution unit using the print setting information stored in the storage unit.
The printing execution unit prints the acquired printing document information on a sheet based on the set printing order.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output unit outputs the printed printing sheet based on the set orientation of the printing surface. A communication unit for communicating with the print server in which the print document information is stored;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image acquisition unit acquires printing document information transmitted from the print server and received by the communication unit. An authentication processing unit that authenticates the user;
An image acquisition unit for acquiring printed document information consisting of one or more pages;
A print execution unit that prints each page of the print document information on a sheet;
An output unit that outputs a print sheet on which the print document information is printed;
A storage unit storing in advance print setting information including an order of printing the plurality of pages and an orientation of a printing surface when the printing sheet is output;
A print order setting unit configured to set a print order of the print document information acquired by the image acquisition unit using the print setting information;
Image processing of image forming apparatus comprising: printing surface orientation setting unit for setting the orientation of the printing surface when the printing sheet on which printing document information is printed by the printing execution unit is output using the print setting information Method,
The authentication processing unit authenticates the user,
When the authentication of the user is successful, the image acquisition unit acquires printed document information,
The print order setting unit sets the print order of the print document information acquired by the image acquisition unit using the print setting information stored in the storage unit.
The printing side orientation setting unit sets the orientation of the printing side when outputting the printing paper on which the printing document information is printed by the printing execution unit using the print setting information stored in the storage unit.
The printing execution unit prints the acquired printing document information on a sheet based on the set printing order.
The image processing method of an image forming apparatus, wherein the output unit outputs the printed printing sheet based on the set orientation of the printing surface.