JP2003078674A - Image management device, image reader, and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image management device, an image reader, and an image forming device that can quantitatively grasp the resource-saving and energy-saving. SOLUTION: The flowchart of the image forming device of this invention includes steps 100, 102 of storing a user number entered by an operator to a user information management section, steps 112 to 120, 142 and 146 of count number of originals, steps 124 to 138 and 148 to 158 of printing an image on paper depending on N-UP settings, double-side copy settings or rear side copy settings or the like, steps 130, 162 of counting the number of paper sheets, and a step 132 of storing the number of the originals, the number of the paper sheets which are counted, and paper types or the like to the user information management section.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image management apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and an image reading apparatus, and more particularly, to an image management apparatus for managing sheets used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and the use status thereof. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image reading apparatus having the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image management apparatus is provided in an image forming apparatus or the like for the purpose of grasping the usage status of a copy by a user and managing the usage of the copy. For example, JP-A-61
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 05-051167, an image forming apparatus having a function of totalizing the number of copied papers for each paper size and displaying the totalization result in a copying machine, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-45960. As in the technique described in the publication, there has been proposed an image forming apparatus or the like that counts and manages the number of sheets that have undergone post-processing (vertical folding, punching, stamping, etc.) for each sheet quality.

Further, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-255469, there is also proposed a technique in which copy settings are directly stored as raw data for each job and total management is performed for each used department.

On the other hand, recently, in image forming apparatuses such as these copying machines, resource saving and energy saving have been emphasized, and copying on both sides of paper is prioritized over copying on one side, or one side is already used. It gives priority to the copy on the already-used paper (backing paper). The technique as described above is used in order to know whether or not the user surely makes these copies. For example, JP-A-11-3
The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 38314 proposes a copying machine that counts the number of copies made on a backing sheet and charges differently from normal sheets.

[0005]

However, in the conventional image forming apparatus, there is a case where such information regarding resource saving and energy saving is insufficient. For example, even if the setting for double-sided copying is the same as for single-sided copying if there is only one original, in this case, it is the same as actually making a single-sided copying, but from the setting information of copying There is a problem that the recorded copy remains, so that the record becomes inaccurate.

Further, a recent copy function has a function called so-called N-UP which collects images of a plurality of originals on one sheet of paper, but when this function is used, N sheets of N originals are copied. Instead of taking one copy, you only need one copy, saving paper and energy. Furthermore, this N
-By copying the UP function onto the backing paper, resource saving of paper can be realized. Further, the resource saving of the paper can be realized by combining the N-UP function and the double-sided copy.
However, if the conventional image forming apparatus manages the usage status of copying using such a function, how many double-sided copies are made, how many N-UP copies are made, and how many copies are made on the backing paper. Since it is possible to collect only rough information such as taken sheets, how many copies are taken based on how many manuscripts for each user or department, and as a result, contribute to resource saving and energy saving. There is a problem that the correct numerical value cannot be grasped.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an image management apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and an image reading apparatus capable of quantitatively grasping resource saving and energy saving. And

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 provides an image acquiring means for acquiring an image, and an image counting means for counting the number of images acquired by the image acquiring means. And an aggregation unit that aggregates the images acquired by the image acquisition unit, and an aggregated image counting unit that counts the number of aggregated images obtained by the aggregation by the aggregation unit.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the image acquisition means acquires an image sent from an external image reading device, an image processing device, or the like. Then, when the image is obtained by the image obtaining means, the number of obtained images is counted by the image counting means.

The aggregating means aggregates the images acquired by the image acquiring means. For example, as in the invention described in claim 4, images are aggregated by aggregating a plurality of images into one to form an aggregated image (so-called N-UP). Alternatively, as in the invention according to claim 5, a front image for forming an image on the front and back of one recording medium,
You may make it obtain the integrated image which consists of a back image. That is, by forming an image on the recording medium by the image forming apparatus or the like using the aggregated image aggregated by the aggregation unit, resource saving of the recording medium and energy saving at the time of image formation can be realized.

Further, the aggregated image counting means counts the aggregated images obtained by the aggregation by the aggregating means. Therefore, by confirming the counting result of the image counting unit and the counting result of the aggregated image counting unit, it is possible to quantitatively grasp the resource saving and the energy saving realized by the gathering unit.

The invention according to claim 1 is the invention according to claim 2
According to the invention described in (1), the total of the counting results of the image counting means and the aggregated image counting means is stored in the storage means, so that the administrator who manages the images stores the images stored in the storage means. By reading the total of the counting results of each of the counting means and the aggregated image counting means, it is possible to quantitatively grasp the resource saving and energy saving realized by the collecting means.

The invention according to claim 1 or 2 is the same as the invention according to claim 3, in which the aggregation rate of images by the aggregation means is based on the counting results of the image counting means and the aggregated image counting means. It is also possible to further include a computing means for computing, and the computing means can also quantitatively grasp the resource saving and energy saving realized by the consolidating means.

Further, any one of claims 1 to 5 is provided.
The invention according to claim further includes setting means for setting an aggregation condition for aggregating images, as in the invention according to claim 6.
The images are aggregated based on the aggregation condition set in the setting means.

Further, in the invention described in claim 6, as in the invention described in claim 7, the aggregate image counting means sets the number of images counted by the image counting means and the setting condition set by the setting means. It is also possible to determine the number of aggregated images based on this. For example, the counting result by the image counting means is 5 images.
Then, when the aggregation condition is to aggregate two images into one image,
The quotient of the number of images / aggregation condition is obtained, and the remainder is rounded up to obtain the number of aggregated images. In this case, the number of aggregated images is 3.

The invention according to claim 8 comprises the image management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, and an image reading means for reading a document image recorded on a document.
It is characterized in that the image acquisition unit acquires a document image read by the image reading unit as the image.

According to the invention described in claim 8, in the image reading device provided with the image reading means for reading the document image recorded on the document, any one of claims 1 to 7 described above.
The image reading apparatus is provided with the image management apparatus according to the item (3), and the image reading apparatus obtains a document image read by the image reading apparatus as an image to be obtained by the image obtaining apparatus. It is possible to grasp.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the image management apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects and an image forming means for forming an image aggregated by the aggregation means on a recording medium. And the aggregated image counting means counts the number of recording media on which the image is formed as the aggregated image by the image forming means.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the image management apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects described above and an image aggregated by the aggregation means of the image management apparatus are recorded on a recording medium. Even in an image forming apparatus (for example, a printer) having an image forming unit formed thereon, the aggregated image counting unit of the image management apparatus counts the number of recording media on which the image is formed as the aggregated image by the image forming unit. This makes it possible to quantitatively understand resource saving and energy saving.

The image forming apparatus according to claim 9 is
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, it may be configured to further include a reading unit that reads an image recorded on a document,
In this case, in the image forming apparatus (for example, a copying machine or a fax machine) having the image reading unit, the document image read by the image reading unit is acquired as the image acquired by the image acquisition unit of the image management apparatus. It is also possible to quantitatively understand resource saving and energy saving.

According to the invention described in claim 11,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the image counting unit and the aggregated image counting unit count at least for each size of the recording medium such as a sheet and each type of the recording medium, and thus the image forming apparatus is described in detail. It becomes possible to quantitatively understand resource saving and energy saving.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention
As shown in FIG. 1, 0 is an automatic document feeding unit 12, an image reading unit 14, a document number measuring unit 16, a sheet number measuring unit 18,
An image / image aggregation unit 20, an operation panel 22, a user information management unit 24, an image output unit 26, a paper tray 28, and a paper type detection unit 30 are provided, each of which is connected to a control unit 32 via a bus or the like not shown. They are interconnected, and a series of image formations are controlled by the control of the control section 32. The control unit 32 includes a CPU (not shown),
It is a microcomputer including a ROM, a RAM, peripheral devices, and the like.

The automatic document feeder 12 automatically feeds the originals set in the automatic document feeder 12 to the image reading unit 14 at a constant speed when an image forming instruction is given. The image reading unit 14 is provided with a reading optical system and a document placing table (not shown), and the document sent from the automatic document feeding unit 12 or a user manually places it on the document placing table. Image data representing an image is generated by photoelectrically reading an image recorded on a placed document with a reading optical system. And
The image data obtained by the image reading unit 14 is the image output unit 26.
Alternatively, it is output to a memory (not shown) and the paper tray 2
The sheet set on the operation panel 22 is pulled out from the sheet 8 and conveyed to the image output unit 26. The image output unit 26
In, an image is formed on a sheet based on the image data.

The document number counting unit 16 is an automatic document feeding unit 1.
2 counts the number of originals sent to the image reading unit 14,
The sheet number measuring unit 18 causes the image output unit 26 to display the sheet tray 2
The number of sheets of paper on which an image is formed by pulling out from 8 is counted.

The operation panel 22 is provided with, for example, a liquid crystal display section and a key operation section (not shown), and the liquid crystal display section is constructed by stacking a touch panel on a liquid crystal display plate. By operating 22, various setting information such as the number of copies, paper type, post-processing, copy condition (duplex copy, back copy, N-UP, etc.),
The controller 32 functions as a user interface for inputting instruction information for instructing execution of copying.
Various messages are displayed under the control of.

Specifically, in this embodiment, as the paper setting, the user manually specifies the paper size such as A4 and B5, and the paper size is automatically selected according to the read original size. Automatic paper selection (AP
S) and can be selected. Further, as the post-processing setting, presence / absence of items such as stapling and punching can be selected. Further, as copy conditions, it is possible to set conditions such as double-sided copy, backside copy, and N-UP copy. For backing copy, by setting the backing paper in the paper tray 28 in advance and setting the set paper tray 28 by operating the operation panel 22, the setting is stored in the paper type detection unit 30, and This is done by manually selecting the paper.

Further, the operation panel 22 is capable of inputting identification information (for example, an identification number) for identifying the user by means of a key operation unit or the like, and the identification information is outputted to the control unit 32. It has become so.

Based on the information input from the operation panel 22, the control unit 32 sets the original to the image reading unit 14 from the automatic original feeding unit 12 when the original is set in the automatic original feeding unit 12. The image reading unit 1 conveys the sheets one by one.
4 Make the document read. When a document is set on the document table, the image reading unit 14 reads the document on the document table as it is, acquires image information, and generates image data as an image of the image.

The document number counting unit 16 is an automatic document feeding unit 1.
2 counts the number of originals conveyed to the image reading unit 14, outputs the count value to the control unit 32, and the paper number measuring unit 18 counts the number of paper sheets pulled out from the paper tray 28 and sets the count value to the control unit. It is designed to output to 32.

Here, the control unit 32 controls the number of originals counting unit 1
6 and the respective count values counted by the number-of-sheets counting unit 18, the identification information input to the operation panel 22, the copy conditions, and the like are associated with each other, and the user information management unit 24
Output to.

The user information management section 24 stores the respective count values counted by the document number counting section 16 and the sheet number counting section 18, the associated identification information and copy conditions, and the operation panel 22. When a predetermined operation is performed on the operation panel 2, the stored information is displayed on the operation panel 2.
2 is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit or the like.

A plurality of types of paper are stored in the paper tray 28, and the paper according to the instruction of the control unit 32 is pulled out and conveyed to the image output unit 26. As the sheets to be stored in the sheet tray 28, for example, sheets having different sheet sizes such as A4 size and B5 size, and sheets having an image already recorded on one side (so-called backing sheet) and the like can be stored. There is. The backing paper is set by the user by operating the operation panel 22 to set the paper tray 28 in which the backing paper is stored in advance, and the backing paper stored in the paper tray 28 is set in accordance with the setting. Detected and pulled out by.

The paper type detecting section 30 is provided with the above-mentioned paper types (for example, paper sizes such as A4 size and B5 size,
The paper tray 28 stored for each backing sheet is detected. The paper type detection unit 30 detects the paper type by detecting the paper tray 28.
The setting is performed based on the setting state of the operation panel 22 such as the backing paper stored in, the sheet size detection device provided in the sheet tray 28, and the like.

Next, an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step 100, the control unit 3 determines whether or not the user number for identifying the user is input to the operation panel 22.
It waits until it is judged by 2 and the user number is input.

If the user number is input in step 100, the determination is affirmative, and the process proceeds to step 102. In step 102, the user number input to the operation panel 22 is stored in the user information management unit 24.

In step 104, it is judged whether or not the image formation is started. The determination is made based on whether or not a start button provided on the operation panel 22 for starting image formation is pressed, and the process waits until the determination is affirmed.

If the determination in step 104 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 106, and there are copy settings such as the number of copies, paper type, post-processing, copy conditions (duplex copy, back copy, N-UP, etc.). Whether or not it is determined by the control unit 32. The determination is made by determining whether or not the user has operated the operation panel 22 to perform the copy setting in advance.

When the determination in step 106 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 108 and the user operates the operation panel 2
It is determined whether or not the copy setting set by operating 2 is the N-UP setting. If the determination is positive, step 1
The process proceeds to 10 and the image forming process in the case of N-UP setting is performed.

That is, in step 110, it is determined whether or not the original has been set in the automatic original feeding section 12, and the process stands by until the original is set. The determination can be made by detecting the presence / absence of a document by, for example, an optical sensor provided in the automatic document feeder 12.

When the original is set on the automatic original feeding section 12 and the determination at step 110 is affirmative, the routine proceeds to step 112, where the original is supplied from the automatic original feeding section 12 to the single image reading section 14, and step 114 Then, the image reading unit 14 reads the document.

Then, in step 116, the image data obtained by reading the original document by the image reading unit 14 is stored in the image image aggregation unit 20 as an image image.

At step 118, the automatic document feeder 12
The number of originals sent from the image reading unit 14 to the image reading unit 14 is 1
By counting at 6, the number of read originals is counted by the original number measuring unit 16. Then, in step 120, it is judged whether or not the reading of all the originals set in the automatic document feeder 12 is completed. If not, the process from step 112 is repeated and the automatic document feeder 12 is repeated. All the originals set at are read, and the number of read originals is counted by the original number measuring unit 16. Note that the determination in step 120 is whether or not the reading of all the documents is completed by using a sensor such as an optical sensor for detecting whether or not the document is set in the automatic document feeder 12 in step 110 described above. Can be determined. That is, it is possible to determine whether or not the reading of all the originals is completed by detecting with the optical sensor or the like whether or not the set originals are exhausted.

When all the documents set in the automatic document feeder 12 are read and the determination in step 120 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 122.

In step 122, the image images accumulated in the image image aggregating unit 20 are converted into one image by the image image aggregating unit 20 according to the N-UP setting set by the user. Aggregated.

Subsequently, at step 124, it is judged whether the copy setting set by the user operating the operation panel 22 is the double-sided copy setting. When the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 126. In step 126, the paper tray 28 storing the paper of the set size is placed in the paper type detection unit 3
0, the paper is pulled out from the corresponding paper tray 28 (paper selection of set size), and step 1
Then, the process shifts to step 28, and the aggregated images aggregated by the image output unit 26 based on the aggregated image aggregated into one image in step 122 are sequentially printed on the paper.

If the determination in step 124 is negative, that is, if it is determined that the double-sided copy setting has not been made, the process proceeds to step 134 and the user operates the operation panel 22 to set it. It is determined whether the copy setting is the back copy setting. When the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 136, where the paper tray 28 storing the backing paper set by the user in advance is detected by the paper type detection unit 30 and the paper tray 28 is backed up from the corresponding paper tray 28. The paper is pulled out (sorting of backing paper), the process proceeds to step 138, and is printed on the backing paper by the image output unit 26 based on the integrated image integrated into one image in step 122.

If the determination in step 134 is negative, that is, if the backing sheet copy setting has not been made, the process proceeds to step 140. In step 140, the paper tray 28 storing the paper of the set size is detected by the image paper type detection unit 30, the paper is pulled out from the corresponding paper tray 28 (paper selection of the set size), and the process proceeds to step 138. The aggregated images aggregated by the image output unit 26 based on the aggregated aggregated images are sequentially printed on the paper.

Then, in step 130, the number of sheets used for double-sided copying, backside copying, single-sided copying, etc. is counted by the sheet number measuring unit 18 for each sheet type.

In step 132, the counted number of originals and number of sheets are classified by sheet type and stored in the user information management section 24 for each user. The number of sheets used is, for example, the number of sheets pulled out from the sheet tray 28, or the number of sheets printed by the image output unit 26 and output. It is possible to count the number of sheets.

On the other hand, when the determination in step 108 is negative, that is, when the N-UP setting is not made, the process proceeds to step 142 and it is determined whether or not there is a document in the automatic document feeder 12. It If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 144, and the automatic document feeder 12
The original is supplied to the image reading unit 14.

In step 146, the image reading section 14 reads the original and the original number counting section 16 counts the number of originals. In step 148, the copy setting set by the user operating the operation panel 22 is performed on both sides. It is determined whether or not the copy setting is set. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 150. In step 150, the paper tray 28 storing the paper of the set size is detected by the paper type detection unit 30, the corresponding paper is pulled out from the paper tray 28 (paper selection of the set size), and the process proceeds to step 152. An image is printed on both sides of the paper by the image output unit 26 based on the image image obtained by reading the document at 146.

When the determination in step 148 is negative, that is, when it is determined that the double-sided copy setting is not made, the process proceeds to step 154 and the user operates the operation panel 22 to set the copy setting. It is determined whether or not is the back paper copy setting. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 156. In step 156, the paper tray 28 in which the backing paper set by the user in advance is stored is detected by the paper type detection unit 30, and the backing paper is pulled out from the corresponding paper tray 28 (backing paper selection), and the process proceeds to step 158. In step 146, the image output unit 26 prints an image on the backing sheet based on the image image obtained by reading the document.

If the determination in step 154 is negative, that is, if the backing sheet copy setting has not been made, the process proceeds to step 160. In step 160, the paper tray 28 storing the paper of the set size is placed in the paper type detection unit 3
0, the paper is pulled out from the corresponding paper tray 28 (paper selection of set size), and step 1
Moving to 58, the image is printed on the paper.

Then, in step 162, as described above, the number of sheets used for double-sided copying, backside copying, single-sided copying, etc. is the sheet number measuring unit 18 for each sheet type.
Counted by. As described above, the sheet count is used, for example, by counting the number of sheets pulled out from the sheet tray 28 or by counting the number of sheets printed by the image output unit 26 and output. It is possible to count the number of sheets of paper.

Further, in step 164, it is judged whether or not the image reading and printing have been performed for all the originals set in the automatic original feeding section 12. If the determination is negative, the process returns to step 144 again, and the above-described processing is repeated until all the originals are completed. If the determination in step 164 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 132 described above and the count is performed. The number of manuscripts and the number of sheets thus formed are sorted for each sheet type and stored in the user information management unit 24 for each user.

On the other hand, if the determination at step 142 is negative, that is, if no document is set in the automatic document feeder 12, the process proceeds to step 166 and the image reading unit 14 is executed.
As the originals on the mounting table are read, the number of originals is counted by the original number measuring unit 16, and the process proceeds to step 154 described above. And, as mentioned above,
Corresponding sheets are pulled out from the sheet tray 28 to print an image according to whether the back side copy is set or not, and the number of sheets is counted (step 162). The information is classified by type and stored in the user information management unit 24 for each user (step 132).

In step 132, the total number of originals and sheets stored in the user information management section 24 for each sheet type is stored.

If step 106 is negative, that is,
If it is determined that the copy settings have not been made, then the process moves to the normal full-auto copy mode (connection point A).

Next, the full auto copy mode will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step 200, the automatic document feeder 1
It is determined whether or not the document is set on the sheet 2. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 202, the original is supplied from the automatic document feeder 12 to the single-image reading unit 14, and the document is read by the image reading unit 14 in Step 204 and the original is read. The number of documents is counted by the document number counting unit 16. Then, in step 206,
Paper tray 28 that contains paper of the size appropriate for the original
Is detected by the paper type detection unit 30, the paper is automatically pulled out from the corresponding paper tray 28 (paper selection), the process proceeds to step 208, and based on the image image obtained by reading the document in step 204. An image is printed on the paper by the image output unit 26.

Next, at step 214, the number of sheets used in full automatic copying is counted by the sheet number measuring unit 18 for each sheet type.

Then, in step 212, it is judged whether or not image reading and printing have been performed for all the originals set in the automatic original feeding section 12. If the determination is negative, the process returns to step 202 again and is repeated from step 202 until the processing is completed for all the originals. If the determination in step 212 is positive, the process proceeds to step 214, The counted number of documents and the number of sheets are classified for each sheet type and stored in the user information management unit 24 for each user.

On the other hand, if the determination in step 200 is negative, that is, if no document is set in the automatic document feeder 12, the process proceeds to step 216 and the image reading unit 14 is executed.
As the originals on the mounting table are read, the number of originals is counted by the original number measuring section 16, and the step 21
In step 8, the paper tray 28 in which the paper of the size corresponding to the original is stored is detected, and the paper is automatically pulled out from the corresponding paper tray 28 (paper selection). And
In step 220, an image is printed on the paper by the image output unit 26 based on the image image of the document read in step 216, and the process proceeds to step 222,
The number of sheets used in the full-auto copy is counted by the sheet number measuring unit 18 for each sheet type.

Then, the process shifts to step 214 described above, and the counted number of originals and the number of sheets are classified for each sheet type and stored in the user information management unit 24 for each user.

In step 214, the total number of originals and sheets stored in the user information management section 24 for each sheet type is stored.

As described above, in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 having various copy setting functions such as N-UP copy, double-sided copy, and backside copy is provided for each user. Number of originals, number of sheets,
Since the paper type and the like are stored in the user information management unit 24,
From the information stored in the user information management unit 24, it is possible to quantitatively manage the resource utilization such as N-UP copy, double-sided copy, and backing paper copy, and the copy utilization status that contributes to energy saving.

In the above description, the number of sheets printed is counted by counting the number of sheets printed by the sheet number measuring unit 18, but the number of originals measured by the original number measuring unit 16 and the operation panel 22 are counted. Setting information to be input to (such as N-UP setting information and double-sided copy)
The number of sheets may be calculated based on
For example, when the number of originals is 5 and two images are combined on one sheet of N-UP setting information, a quotient of 5 (number of originals) / 2 (N-UP setting information) is obtained and the remainder is obtained. The number of sheets can be calculated by rounding up.
That is, in this case, the number of sheets is three. Also,
If the double-sided copy setting is set, the quotient divided by 2 is rounded up, that is, (original number of sheets / N-UP
The number of sheets can be calculated by obtaining the quotient of (setting information) / 2 and rounding up the remainder. In this case, the number of sheets is two.

Subsequently, as described above, the user information management unit 2
Reading of the information stored in No. 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step 300, it is determined whether or not a predetermined administrator number for shifting to the management mode for reading the information stored in the user information management section 24 has been input to the operation panel 22. It The determination waits until it is affirmed.

The determination in step 300 is affirmative, that is,
When the administrator number is input to the operation panel 22, the process proceeds to step 302 and the mode is changed to the administrator mode. That is, a display indicating the administrator mode is displayed on the display unit of the operation panel 22.

At step 304, it is judged whether or not the display of the user information is instructed, and the process waits until the judgment is affirmed. The instruction to display the user information is given, for example, by inputting the user number.

If the determination in step 304 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 306, and the number of originals, the number of used sheets, etc. stored in the user information management section 24 classified by the type of sheet are stored. Information is provided on the operation panel 22 for each user.
Is displayed on the display. This makes it possible to quantitatively understand the usage status of the image forming apparatus and the usage status of the copy that contributes to resource saving and energy saving such as N-UP copying, double-sided copying, and backing paper copying.

In some cases, the information stored in the user information management section 24 may be printed on paper and output. By outputting the information on paper, it is possible to easily confirm the usage status of the image forming apparatus and the usage status of the copy that contributes to resource saving, energy saving, and the like.

In the above embodiment, the user information management unit 24 stores the number of originals for each paper type and the number of used papers for each user. In addition to the number of originals and the number of used sheets, the control unit 32 may calculate and store, as the information for each user, the aggregation rate of sheets aggregated by N-UP or double-sided copying. . Further, the totaling may be performed not for each user but for each predetermined unit such as a department to which the user belongs.

[0077]

As described above, according to the present invention, the number of acquired images is counted, and the number of aggregated images obtained by aggregating the acquired images is also counted. Since the number can be grasped, there is an effect that it is possible to quantitatively grasp the resource saving and the energy saving realized by the aggregation means from the counting result.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a full auto copy mode in an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining reading of information stored in a user information management unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 image forming apparatus 14 Image reading section 16 Original image measurement unit 18 Sheet Count Unit 20 Image Image aggregation section 24 User Information Management Department 26 Image output section 28 paper trays 30 Paper type detector

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 1/387 G03G 21/00 382 (72) Inventor Hiroshi Okubo 2274 Hongo, Ebina-shi, Kanagawa Fuji Xerox stock Company Ebina Office (72) Inventor Toru Aoki 2274 Hongo, Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.Ebina Office (72) Inventor Hiroshi Shinoda 2274 Hongo, Ebina City, Kanagawa Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.Ebina Office (72) ) Inventor Takashi Ajiro 2274 Hongo, Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.Ebina Business Office (72) Inventor Morio Oka 2274 Hongo, Ebina City, Kanagawa Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Ebina Business Office (72) Inventor Yasuyuki Shimizu Kanagawa Fuji Xerox, 2274 Hongo, Ebina-shi, Japan F term in Ebina Works (Reference) 2C061 AP04 AR03 AS02 HH13 HK15 HK23 HX10 2C087 AA09 BB10 CA02 CA05 CB12 2H027 DA45 DB08 DE07 EJ06 EJ08 EJ13 EJ15 FA13 FD01 AK01 AC22 AC60 AC22 AC60 AC22 AF60 AC22 AC20 AF22 AC20 AC22 AF10 AC22 AF22 AC22 AA40

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An image acquisition unit that acquires an image, an image counting unit that counts the number of images acquired by the image acquisition unit, an aggregation unit that aggregates the images acquired by the image acquisition unit, An image management apparatus including: an aggregated image counting unit that counts the number of aggregated images obtained by the aggregation unit. 2. The image management apparatus, further comprising a storage unit that stores a cumulative total of counting results of the image counting unit and the aggregated image counting unit. 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a calculation unit that calculates an image aggregation rate by the aggregation unit based on the counting results of the image counting unit and the aggregated image counting unit. The image management device described. 4. The image management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the aggregation unit aggregates a plurality of images into one to generate the aggregated image. 5. The aggregation unit obtains an aggregated image including front and back images for forming images on the front and back of one recording medium, and a back image. Item 4. The image management device according to any one of items 3. 6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising setting means for setting an aggregation condition for aggregating the images, wherein the aggregating means aggregates the images based on the set aggregation condition. 5. The image management device according to any one of 5. 7. The aggregated image counting means obtains the aggregated image number based on the number of images counted by the image counting means and the aggregation condition set by the setting means. The image management device described in 1. 8. An image management apparatus according to claim 1, an image reading unit for reading a document image recorded on a document,
An image reading apparatus, comprising: the image acquisition unit acquiring the document image read by the image reading unit as the image. 9. The image management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an image forming unit that forms an aggregated image aggregated by the aggregation unit on a recording medium. An image forming apparatus, wherein the aggregated image counting means counts the number of recording media on which an image is formed by the image forming means as the aggregated image. 10. The image reading device according to claim 9, further comprising an image reading unit for reading an image recorded on a document, wherein the image obtaining unit obtains the document image read by the image reading unit as the image. The image forming apparatus described. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the image counting unit and the aggregated image counting unit count at least for each size of the recording medium and each type of recording medium. apparatus.