Patent Publication Number: US-9417570-B2

Title: Image forming apparatus and control method thereof

Description:
This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/525,283, filed on Oct. 28, 2014. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to control of thermal fixation of a toner image formed by an electrophotographic method. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     The provisions of power saving and the like have recently becoming more strict, and image forming apparatuses are required to further reduce power consumption. That is, image forming apparatuses need to further reduce power consumption while maintaining a fixing temperature capable of reliably fixing an image. There is a technique of controlling the fixing temperature of a fixing unit in accordance with the amount of applied toner obtained from image data. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-242107 (patent literature 1) discloses a method of determining whether input image data represents a photographic image or a character image, and when fixing a photographic image, making the fixing temperature of the fixing unit higher than that when fixing a character image. According to patent literature 1, the power consumption of the fixing unit can be reduced by adjusting the fixing temperature in accordance with the amount of applied toner representing image data. 
     An image forming apparatus has a poster printing function and a page division printing function. The poster printing function and the page division function are functions for printing input image data, which is intended to be output to one page, divisionally over a plurality of pages. For example, when printing input image data having an A4 size as an enlarged image having a double size (2×2) in the vertical and horizontal directions, the poster printing function prints it as image data in four (=2×2) pages each having the A4 size. The printed four pages are combined and used as an enlarged output image. On the other hand, for example, when printing input image data having an A4 size of 4-in-1 printing (also called 4-up printing) as an enlarged image having a double size (2×2) in the vertical and horizontal directions, the page division function prints it as image data in four (=2×2) pages each having the A4 size. In this case, four (=2×2) image regions formed as 4 in 1 in an A4 paper sheet are divisionally printed on 4 pages of A4 paper sheets. 
     However, to use the poster printing function or the page division printing function and control the fixing temperature, it is necessary to control the fixing temperature of each output page in accordance with the layout configuration of the output image to be printed. At the time of poster printing, the plurality of divided printed pages are continuous as image data or independent image data that are not continuous. On the other hand, at the time of page division printing, the plurality of divided printed pages are expected to be printed as independent image data. The above-described conventional technique does not consider the difference between the poster printing function and the page division function, and therefore fixing temperature control according to the image layout configuration is not appropriately performed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus for controlling the temperature of a fixing unit configured to fix a recording material on a sheet, comprises: an acquisition unit configured to acquire the amount of the recording material of each page in image data of a plurality of pages generated by dividing image data of one page; a determination unit configured to determine one fixing temperature using the plurality of amounts of the recording material acquired by the acquisition unit when a setting of dividing the image data of one page and printing the image data on a plurality of sheets is performed; and a control unit configured to control the temperature of the fixing unit using the fixing temperature determined by the determination unit. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus for controlling the temperature of a fixing unit configured to fix a recording material on a sheet, comprises: an acquisition unit configured to acquire the amount of the recording material of each page in image data of a plurality of pages; a determination unit configured to determine the fixing temperature corresponding to the amount of the recording material of each page acquired by the acquisition unit; a determination unit configured to, when a setting of dividing the image data of one page and printing the image data on a plurality of sheets is performed, determine whether the difference of a plurality of fixing temperatures determined by the determination unit is not more than a predetermined value; and a control unit configured to control the temperature of the fixing unit using the fixing temperature determined by the determination unit when the determination unit determines that the difference is not more than the predetermined value. 
     The present invention provides a technique capable of appropriately adjusting a fixing temperature according to an amount of applied toner. 
     Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to the attached drawings). 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  is a view showing a system configuration including an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional view of a tandem color image forming apparatus; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the arrangement of the image forming apparatus; 
         FIG. 4  is a view for explaining a user interface screen for printout settings when a poster printing function is selected; 
         FIG. 5  is a view for explaining a user interface screen for printout settings when a page division printing function is selected; 
         FIG. 6  is a view for explaining an applied toner amount detection method of the image forming apparatus; 
         FIG. 7  is a graph showing the relationship between an amount of applied toner and a fixing temperature; 
         FIG. 8  is a flowchart for explaining image processing in a controller unit; 
         FIG. 9  is a flowchart showing a fixing temperature determination method in the controller unit; 
         FIG. 10  is a flowchart showing a fixing temperature determination method in a print unit; 
         FIG. 11  is a flowchart showing details of the fixing temperature determination method; 
         FIG. 12  is a view showing an example of fixing temperature control at the time of printing of the image forming apparatus; 
         FIG. 13  is a view exemplarily showing image division according to the first embodiment; and 
         FIG. 14  is a flowchart showing the fixing temperature determination method of an image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Preferred Embodiments of the Present Invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention. 
     (First Embodiment) 
     A tandem color image forming apparatus will be exemplified below as an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 
     &lt;System Configuration&gt; 
       FIG. 1  is a view showing a system configuration including an electrophotographic image forming apparatus  101  according to the first embodiment. 
     The image forming apparatus  101  processes various kinds of input data, forms images on a printing medium (sheet) such as a paper sheet, and outputs a printed product. A print server  102  is connected to the image forming apparatus  101  via a network. Client PCs  103  and  104  are connected to the image forming apparatus  101  via the network, like the print server  102 . 
       FIG. 2  is a sectional view of the tandem color image forming apparatus  101 . The tandem color image forming apparatus  101  performs image formation by transferring a toner image onto a recording medium  11  via an intermediate transfer material  28 . 
     A charging unit includes photosensitive members  22 Y,  22 M,  22 C, and  22 K, and four charge injectors  23 Y,  23 M,  23 C, and  23 K configured to charge the respective photosensitive members for yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). 
     The photosensitive members  22 Y,  22 M,  22 C, and  22 K rotate upon receiving driving forces transmitted from driving motors  40 Y,  40 M,  40 C, and  40 K, respectively. Referring to  FIG. 2 , the driving motors rotate the photosensitive members  22 Y,  22 M,  22 C, and  22 K, respectively, counterclockwise in accordance with an image forming operation. 
     An exposure unit irradiates the photosensitive members  22 Y,  22 M,  22 C, and  22 K with exposure light using scanner units  24 Y,  24 M,  24 C, and  24 K, and selectively exposes the surfaces of the photosensitive members  22 Y,  22 M,  22 C, and  22 K. Electrostatic latent images are thus formed on the photosensitive members. 
     A developing unit includes four developers  26 Y,  26 M,  26 C, and  26 K that perform development for Y, M, C, and K to visualize the electrostatic latent images on the photosensitive members. The developers are provided with sleeves  26 YS,  26 MS,  26 CS, and  26 KS, respectively. Note that the developers  26  are detachable. 
     A transfer unit transfers a single-color toner image from each photosensitive member  22  onto the intermediate transfer material  28 . In  FIG. 2 , the intermediate transfer material  28  rotates clockwise. The single-color toner images are sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer material  28  as the photosensitive members  22 Y,  22 M,  22 C, and  22 K and primary transfer rollers  27 Y,  27 M,  27 C, and  27 K located on opposing sides rotate. This is called primary transfer. Note that when an appropriate bias voltage is applied to the primary transfer roller  27 , and the photosensitive member  22  and the intermediate transfer material  28  are caused to have different rotation speeds, the single-color toner image can efficiently be transferred onto the intermediate transfer material  28 . 
     The transfer unit also overlays the single-color toner images on the intermediate transfer material  28 , and conveys the overlaid multicolor toner image to secondary transfer roller, whose different positions are denoted as  29   a  and  29   b  in  FIG. 2 , as the intermediate transfer material  28  rotates. In addition, the recording medium  11  (sheet) such as a paper sheet is conveyed from a paper feed tray to the secondary transfer roller in a sandwiched state, and the multicolor toner image on the intermediate transfer material  28  is transferred onto the recording medium  11 . At this time, an appropriate bias voltage is applied to the secondary transfer roller, and the toner image is electrostatically transferred. This is called secondary transfer. The secondary transfer roller contacts the recording medium  11  at the position  29   a  during transfer of the multicolor toner image onto the recording medium  11 , and separates from the recording medium  11  to the position  29   b  after printing processing. 
     A fixing unit is a functional unit that fuses and fixes, to the recording medium  11 , the multicolor toner image transferred onto the recording medium  11 . For this purpose, the fixing unit includes a fixing roller  32  that heats the recording medium  11 , and a pressurizing roller  33  that presses the recording medium  11  against the fixing roller  32 . The fixing roller  32  and the pressurizing roller  33  are formed to be hollow and incorporate heaters  34  and  35 , respectively. A fixing device  31  causes the fixing roller  32  and the pressurizing roller  33  to convey the recording medium  11  holding the multicolor toner image, and applies heat and pressure, thereby fixing the toner to the recording medium  11 . 
     Note that a temperature sensor (not shown) is attached to the fixing unit, and the fixing unit is controlled to perform a fixing operation only when a temperature sufficient for fixing is confirmed. After that, the recording medium  11  after toner fixing is discharged to a discharge tray (not shown) by a discharge roller (not shown), and the image forming operation ends. 
     A cleaning unit  30  cleans toners remaining on the intermediate transfer material  28 . Waste toner of the different colors remaining after the four-color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer material  28  is transferred onto the recording medium  11  is removed from the intermediate transfer material  28  by cleaning and stored in a cleaner container. 
     &lt;Arrangement of Image Forming Apparatus&gt; 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the arrangement of the image forming apparatus  101 . The image forming apparatus  101  is roughly divided into a controller unit  301  and a print unit  302 . The controller unit  301  is a functional unit that receives print data from an external apparatus and generates image data (raster image data) to be provided to the print unit  302 . The print unit  302  is a functional unit that forms an image on a recording medium such as a paper sheet based on the image data received from the controller unit  301 . 
     Each of the controller unit  301  and the print unit  302  includes a CPU configured to execute programs, a ROM, and a RAM. Each CPU reads out a main program from the ROM and stores it in the RAM in accordance with an initial program stored in the ROM. The RAM is used to store programs or as the main memory for work. 
     An image generation unit  309  generates printable raster image data based on print data (print job) received from, for example, a computer apparatus (not shown) that is an external apparatus. The raster image data includes RGB data and attribute data representing the data attribute of each pixel. The image generation unit  309  may handle image data read by a reading unit (scanner) installed in the image forming apparatus  101  itself. The reading unit here can be a CCD (Charged Couple Device) reading unit or a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) reading unit. A processing unit that performs predetermined image processing for the read image data may also be provided. The image forming apparatus  101  may be configured to receive image data from an external reading unit via an interface (not shown), instead of including the reading unit in itself. 
     A user interface (UI) unit  324  is a functional unit that accepts, for received print data, the information of a print request from the user. The user designates, via the UI unit  324 , the layout configuration of image data to be printed. The UI unit  324  includes a selection unit that selects a poster printing function or a page division printing function. Using the information of the print request received by the UI unit  324 , the image forming apparatus  101  performs fixing temperature control to be described later. 
       FIG. 4  is a view for explaining a user interface screen  324   a  for printout settings when the poster printing function is selected. The poster printing function is a function of enlarging one input image and printing it on a plurality of recording media for which a predetermined arrangement is designated. A page layout button  330  selects the page configuration of an image to be output in correspondence with an input image. For example, the user can select “poster (2×2)” from a plurality of preset layouts by pressing the page layout button  330 . In this case, the image forming apparatus  101  enlarges one input image to double in size in both the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction and divisionally prints it on four pages. 
       FIG. 5  is a view for explaining a user interface screen  324   b  for printout settings when the page division printing function is selected. An enlargement ratio setting button  331  sets the enlargement ratio of an output image with respect to an input image. A number-of-output-page setting button  332  is a functional unit that selects a page configuration used to output an output image. For example, the user can set the number of output pages for page division by pressing the number-of-output-page setting button  332  (acceptance unit). 
     The information of the print request set by the user interface screen  324   a  or  324   b  serving as the UI unit  324  is sent to a CPU  304  and used for fixing temperature control to be described later. Note that the user interface screens  324   a  and  324   b  may be displayed on the client PCs  103  and  104 . 
     A magnification processing unit  323  performs magnification processing of image data expressed by RGB or CMYK. A color conversion processing unit  310  converts RGB data into CMYK in accordance with the toner colors, and generates CMYK data and attribute data. At this stage, the image data represents the toner amounts of CMYK, and is expressed by, for example, values of 0 to 255 (8-bit value) on a pixel basis. For example, if the values of all colors are “0”, this represents disuse of toners. The larger the value of the toner amount, the higher the density. A value “255” represents the highest density. 
     An applied toner amount detection unit  311  detects (derives) the amount of applied toner from the CMYK data generated by the color conversion processing unit  310 . A detailed applied toner amount detection method will be described later with reference to  FIG. 4 . The applied toner amount detection unit  311  sends the CMYK data that has undergone the applied toner amount detection and the attribute data to a halftone processing unit  312 . In addition, at the time when applied toner amount detection of the processed image data has ended, the applied toner amount detection unit  311  holds the applied toner amount information of the processed image data in association with the corresponding image data. The held applied toner amount information is read out by the CPU  304 . 
     An image judgment unit  325  reads the image attribute of an input image from the data of the input image, and determines the image configuration of the input image data in each page. The image attribute represents, for example, whether character or image data exists in the input image. For example, it is determined whether the input image has an image configuration as one continuous page or is an N-in-1 image including N individual images to be arranged in one page. To determine the configuration of an input image, a method of determining a character or an image in the input image is usable. Concerning a target pixel of interest, it is determined by referring to the pixel data of peripheral pixels whether the pixel of interest is the pixel of an isolated dot or the pixel of one of continuous dots. It is then determined based on the determination result whether the pixel of interest is character data, image data, an isolated point, or an invalid pixel region where no pixel information is recorded at all. 
     The CPU  304  calculates attribute information and a minimum fixing temperature necessary to fix for each page to be printed based on the printout information of image data set from the UI unit  324 , the information of the image determination result of the image judgment unit  325 , and applied toner amount information from the applied toner amount detection unit  311 . The method of calculating the minimum fixing temperature necessary to fix the toner image will be described later with reference to  FIG. 8 . The attribute information of each page to be printed is attribute information used to determine a case where the poster printing function is designated for the printout determined by the UI unit  324 . 
     The halftone processing unit  312  performs halftone processing for each of the CMYK data output from the applied toner amount detection unit  311 . As a detailed arrangement, the halftone processing unit performs screen processing or error diffusion processing. In the screen processing, N-ary processing is performed using a plurality of predetermined dither matrices and input image data. In the error diffusion processing, N-ary processing is performed by comparing input image data with a predetermined threshold, and the difference between the input image data and the threshold at that time is diffused to peripheral pixels to be subsequently subjected to N-ary processing. 
     A printer communication I/F unit  313  and a controller communication I/F unit  321  are I/F units configured to perform communication between the controller unit  301  and the print unit  302 . Information to be communicated here includes various kinds of control signals and minimum temperature information necessary for fixing as well as image data (raster image data) to be printed. A fixing temperature control unit  319  controls the temperature of a fixing unit  320  based on temperature information (for example, minimum temperature information necessary for fixing) received from a CPU  315 . 
     A fixing temperature threshold determination unit  326  determines the maximum threshold of the fluctuation width of the fixing temperature of each page to be printed based on the information of the fixing temperature and the attribute information determined by the CPU  304 . The determined threshold information of the maximum fluctuation width of the fixing temperature is sent to the CPU  315 . The CPU  315  determines the fixing temperature based on the information of the fixing temperature and the threshold information of the fixing temperature. The determined fixing temperature information is sent to the fixing temperature control unit  319 . The method of determining the fixing temperature by the CPU  315  will be described later. 
     &lt;Applied Toner Amount Detection&gt; 
       FIG. 6  is a view for explaining the applied toner amount detection method of the image forming apparatus  101 . Note that in the following explanation, an amount of applied toner is expressed as a ratio (unit: %) to the maximum value of the toner weight per unit area as 100%. For each color on a pixel basis, a value “255” corresponds to an amount of applied toner of 100%. The sum of the amounts of applied toners of CMYK represents the amount of applied toner of the pixel. 
     For example, when two colors each having the maximum value (100%) are overlaid, the amount of applied toner of the pixel is 200%. Note that each color has tonality and can take a value within the range of 0% to 100%. For example, in an image that makes full use of four CMYK toners in a full-color print mode, the maximum amount of applied toner is large. On the other hand, for example, in a monochrome image using K toner alone, the maximum amount of applied toner is smaller. 
     Upon receiving CMYK data (raster image data) generated by the color conversion processing unit  310 , the applied toner amount detection unit  311  calculates the necessary amount of applied toner for each pixel. An image  600   a  represents part of image data to be processed by the applied toner amount detection unit  311 . A minimum unit indicated by reference numeral  601  represents one pixel. Reference numeral  602  indicates a pixel block of 3×3 pixels. A numerical value shown in each pixel of the image  600   a  represents the amount of applied toner of the pixel detected by the applied toner amount detection unit  311 . 
     The applied toner amount detection unit  311  calculates the average value of the amounts of applied toner in each pixel block of 3×3 pixels. The average value in each pixel block is calculated because the temperature necessary for fixing an image often depends on not the amount of applied toner of each pixel but a toner amount in a predetermined range in general. For this reason, the average value in each pixel block is calculated here. However, the minimum value and maximum value in a pixel block may be used. Note that an image  600   b  is obtained by calculating the average value of the amounts of applied toner in each pixel block of the image  600   a . A numerical value inscribed in each pixel block represents the average value of the amounts of applied toner in the pixel block. 
     When calculation of the average value of the amounts of applied toner in a processed pixel block has ended, the applied toner amount detection unit  311  holds the amount of applied toner having the maximum value among all pixel blocks of the processed image data as the applied toner amount information of the target page. 
     &lt;Fixing Temperature Determination Based on Amount of Applied Toner&gt; 
     As described above, an amount of applied toner means a toner amount per unit area of an image. To fix toner on a recording medium without any fixing failure, the temperature of the fixing unit needs to be set to a fixing temperature capable of reliably fixing a pixel (or pixel block) whose amount of applied toner has the maximum value in the target page. Since the maximum amount of applied toner changes depending on image data to be printed, the temperature necessary for fixing also changes between image data. More specifically, the larger the maximum amount of applied toner, the higher the necessary temperature. 
       FIG. 7  is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of applied toner and the fixing temperature. The abscissa represents the amount of applied toner, and the ordinate represents the temperature necessary for fixing. For example, when the detection result of the applied toner amount detection unit is 200%, the minimum temperature necessary for fixing is T 1 . When the detection result is 100%, the minimum temperature necessary for fixing the target page is T 5 , as can be seen. 
     If the temperature has risen to the temperature capable of fixing the maximum amount of applied toner appearing in a print page, no problem such as a fixing failure occurs in the whole image. It is therefore possible to obtain the minimum temperature necessary for fixing a page to be output based on the applied toner amount information detected by the above-described applied toner amount detection unit. 
     Note that since the relationship (relationship data) shown in the graph of  FIG. 7  is stored in a storage unit  307  or a RAM  306  as, for example, a lookup table (LUT) because it is used in temperature control of the fixing unit. 
     &lt;Operation of Image Forming Apparatus&gt; 
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart for explaining image processing in the controller unit  301 . In particular, the processing sequence of applied toner amount detection characteristic to the first embodiment will be described. The procedure shown in  FIG. 8  is implemented by causing the CPU  304  to execute a control program and operate an image processing unit  308 . 
     In step S 801 , the UI unit  324  accepts a print request from the user. In step S 802 , the image generation unit  309  generates raster image data from print data. As described above, RGB data and attribute data representing the data attribute of each pixel are output on a pixel basis as the raster image data. 
     In step S 803 , the magnification processing unit  323  performs magnification processing of the image as needed. The magnification processing includes poster printing processing and page division processing. For example, when poster-printing one input image as an output image having a 2×2 layout configuration, the size of the input image needs to be enlarged. 
     In step S 804 , the color conversion processing unit  310  converts the RGB data into CMYK in accordance with the toner colors, and generates CMYK data and attribute data. 
     In step S 805 , the halftone processing unit  312  performs halftone processing (N-ary processing) for the CMYK data by a method using screen processing or error diffusion processing. 
     In step S 806 , the applied toner amount detection unit  311  detects the amount of applied toner based on the CMYK data. This processing may be executed in parallel to the halftone processing of step S 805 . Note that the applied toner amount detection is performed here because the amount of applied toner can be calculated more accurately by performing applied toner amount detection for CMYK data that is a continuous tone image than by performing applied toner amount detection for a halftone image. The amount of applied toner may be calculated from an image after halftoning, as a matter of course. 
     In addition, the applied toner amount detection is performed here by a method using all the YMCK colors. For this reason, if the applied toner amount detection is performed after halftone processing, the temporarily separated YMCK colors need to be collected. When performing the applied toner amount detection by hardware, hardware to read out the separated YMCK colors or a buffer configured to collect the YMCK colors is needed. To avoid this, the applied toner amount detection is performed here in step S 806 . 
     In step S 807 , the CPU  304  performs spool processing of temporarily storing the result of halftone processing in step S 805  in the RAM  306 . Note that when executing poster printing processing or page division processing out of the magnification processing, the image data of each page is stored in step S 807  based on the image layout configuration of printout to be enlarged. For example, when executing poster printing in a 2×2 size, output image data after magnification corresponding to four pages is spooled for the processes of steps S 802  to S 806 . 
     In step S 808 , the CPU  304  transmits the image data (image data after halftone processing) to the print unit  302  via the printer communication I/F unit  313  and a communication line  303 . 
     &lt;Fixing Temperature Control Based on Amount of Applied Toner&gt; 
       FIGS. 9 and 10  explain fixing temperature control processing using an applied toner amount detection result of the image forming apparatus  101  according to the first embodiment.  FIG. 9  shows processing to be executed under the control of the CPU  304  of the controller unit  301 .  FIG. 10  shows processing to be executed under the control of the CPU  315  of the print unit  302 . 
     Processing to be executed under the control of the CPU  304  of the controller unit  301  will be described first with reference to  FIG. 9 . In step S 901 , the CPU  304  receives a print request from the UI unit  324 . 
     In step S 902 , the CPU  304  determines whether the printout request is “poster printing” (output format determination unit). If the printout request is poster printing, the process advances to step S 903 . If the printout request is not poster printing, the CPU  304  determines in step S 909  whether the printout request is “page division printing”. If the printout request is not page division printing, the CPU  304  determines that the printout request is normal print printing, and the process advances to step S 916 . In this case, in step S 916 , the CPU  304  controls the fixing temperature upon receiving the calculation result of an amount of applied toner for each image region of the input image corresponding to the arrangement position of each of the plurality of pages to be printed. 
     In step S 917 , the CPU  304  determines the fixing temperature of each page in accordance with the image configuration for printout (temperature determination unit). When fixing temperatures are determined for all printouts, the processing ends in step S 918 . 
     In step S 903 , the CPU  304  determines the image configuration of each page in accordance with the configuration of image layout to be printed. For example, at the time of 2×2 poster printing setting, image layout configuration of each page when the image is enlarged to 2×2 from the input image data is determined. 
     In step S 904 , the CPU  304  determines the continuity of the input image with respect to the image layout configuration of each page of the printout determined in step S 903 . The CPU  304  determines whether each page has a continuous image or an independent image, and adds the determination result to each page of the target printout as attribute information. 
     In step S 905 , the CPU  304  receives the calculation result of the amount of applied toner to the image data to be printed. In step S 906 , based on the applied toner amount result in step S 905 , the CPU  304  calculates the amount of applied toner of each page with respect to the image layout to be printed which is determined in step S 902 . For example, in an image layout configuration that prints input image data as an image enlarged to 2×2, the amount of applied toner calculated from the input image data (one page) is uniformly given to a total of four pages of output images that are 2×2 printouts. Alternatively, the input image data is divided into four regions according to the image layout configuration (in this case, 2×2=4-way division) to be printed, and the amount of applied toner is calculated for each of the divided regions. The calculated amount of applied toner is set for the output image of a corresponding printout page. 
     In step S 907 , based on the calculation result of the amount of applied toner of each page in step S 906  and the image attribute information determined in step S 904 , the CPU  304  determines the fixing temperature of each page to be printed. The information of the fixing temperature determined in step S 907  is sent to the CPU  315 . 
     Note that upon determining in step S 909  that the printout request is “page division printing”, the process advances to step S 910  to determine the image configuration of each page in accordance with the image layout configuration to be printed. For example, when 2×2 page division printing is set, image configuration of each page when the image is enlarged to 2×2 from the input image data is determined. 
     In step S 911 , the CPU  304  determines the region to be divided in accordance with the setting of page division printing for the image layout configuration of each page determined in step S 910 . In the page division printing processing, the region of each image is determined to be an independent image. The determination result is added to each target page as attribute information. In this case, the attribute information represents that the image characteristics of the pages are “discontinuous”. 
     In step S 912 , the CPU  304  receives the calculation result of the amount of applied toner to the image data to be printed. In step S 913 , based on the applied toner amount result in step S 912 , the CPU  304  calculates the amount of applied toner of each page with respect to the image layout configuration to be printed which is determined in step S 909 . For example, in an image configuration that prints input image data as an image enlarged to 2×2 by “page division printing”, the input image data is divided into four regions according to the image layout configuration (in this case, 2×2=4-way division) to be printed, and the amount of applied toner is calculated for each of the divided regions. The calculated amount of applied toner is set for the output image of a corresponding printout page. 
     In step S 914 , based on the calculation result of the amount of applied toner of each page in step S 913  and the image attribute information determined in step S 911 , the CPU  304  determines the fixing temperature of each page to be printed. 
     Processing to be executed under the control of the CPU  315  of the print unit  302  will be described next with reference to  FIG. 10 . The CPU  315  finally determines the fixing temperature based on the attribute information and the information of the fixing temperature determined by the processing shown in  FIG. 9  and the threshold result of the fixing temperature threshold determination unit  326 . 
     In step S 1001 , the CPU  315  accepts the determination result of the configuration of input image data. Here, the “determination result” is the processing result in step S 904  described above. In step S 1002 , the CPU  315  refers to the attribute information of the input image data. Upon determining based on the result of image continuity represented by the attribute information that the input image data has continuity, the process advances to step S 1003 . Otherwise, the process advances to step S 1007 . 
     In step S 1003 , the CPU  315  determines, based on the applied toner amount result, the threshold of the fixing temperature for the image data to be printed. The “applied toner amount result” is the result of the amount of applied toner detected by the applied toner amount detection unit  311 . From the applied toner amount information and the image attribute information, the fixing temperature threshold determination unit  326  calculates the threshold of the fluctuation width of the fixing temperature (temperature difference threshold) for each page of the image data to be printed. For example, upon determining that the size is 2×2, and the pages have image continuity, control is done so that the difference between the fixing temperatures of the 2×2 pages (a total of four pages) does not become too large (temperature determination unit). In this case, the fixing temperature of each page is determined such that the fixing temperature difference is a predetermined threshold or less (within the temperature difference threshold). For example, when the fixing temperature difference capable of maintaining image quality is 1° C. or less between the printouts of the plurality of pages, the fixing temperature threshold determination unit  326  outputs, to the CPU  315 , a predetermined threshold with which the difference between the calculated values of the fixing temperatures becomes 1° C. or less. 
     In step S 1004 , the CPU  315  calculates the fixing temperature of each page to be printed. In step S 1005 , the CPU  315  performs determination so that when calculating the fixing temperatures, the fixing temperature difference between all pages to be printed becomes equal to or less than the fixing temperature threshold determined in step S 1003 . The fixing temperature determination method will be described later with reference to  FIG. 11 . Note that when the fixing temperature of each page calculated from the amount of applied toner exceeds the predetermined threshold, the value of the fixing temperature of at least one page is changed so that the fixing temperature becomes equal to or less than the predetermined threshold (step S 1006 ). 
     In step S 1007 , the CPU  315  calculates the fixing temperature according to the amount of applied toner of each page in the image layout configuration of the printout based on the determination result in step S 1002 . In this case, the fixing temperatures of the pages of the printout are independently controlled. 
     In step S 1005 , the CPU  315  determines the fixing temperature of fixing to be performed by the fixing unit  320  based on the fixing temperatures calculated in steps S 1006  and S 1007 . The information of the determined fixing temperature is sent to the fixing temperature control unit  319 . The fixing temperature control unit  319  executes fixing temperature control so that the fixing temperature determined for each page is obtained at the time of fixing processing of each page. 
       FIG. 12  is a graph showing an example of fixing temperature control at the time of printing of the image forming apparatus. The abscissa represents the number of pages to be printed, and the ordinate represents the fixing temperature when fixing the page. Note that the amount of applied toner of each page is shown under the number of pages.  FIG. 12  shows an example in which data of 14 pages are received, the amounts of applied toner of the fifth page and the 14th page are 200%, and the amounts of applied toner of the remaining pages are 100%. Note that in the image forming apparatus  101 , the relationship between the amount of applied toner and the minimum temperature necessary for fixing is the same as shown in  FIG. 7 . That is, the temperature necessary for fixing an image whose amount of applied toner is 200% is T 1 . The temperature necessary for fixing an image whose amount of applied toner is 100% is T 5  (T 5 &lt;T 1 ). 
     For example, when “poster printing processing” is designated, and the same fixing temperature is set for the pages to be printed, the fixing temperature control of pages 1 to 5 in  FIG. 12  is performed. When the pages of printout are independent, and the fixing temperatures are calculated from the amounts of applied toner of the pages, control is performed such that a fixing temperature value calculated for each page is obtained as indicated by the sixth to 14th pages in  FIG. 12 . 
     With the above-described control, it is possible to perform temperature control of the fixing unit according to the amount of applied toner without lowering the productivity and reduce the power consumption. 
     &lt;Fixing Temperature Determination Processing Reflecting Fixing Temperature Threshold&gt; 
       FIG. 11  is a flowchart showing details of the fixing temperature determination method. In step S 1101 , the CPU  304  acquires the configuration information of printout pages. In step S 1102 , the CPU  315  acquires the information of the threshold determined by the fixing temperature threshold determination unit  326 . In step S 1103 , the CPU  315  acquires, from the CPU  304 , the information of the fixing temperature of each page to be printed. 
     In step S 1104 , the CPU  315  determines the fixing temperature of the page having the highest fixing temperature in the pages to be printed. More specifically, the CPU  315  selects the fixing temperature having the maximum value out of the plurality of fixing temperatures calculated from the amounts of applied toner of the pages to be printed. 
     In step S 1105 , the CPU  315  calculates, based on the value of the threshold of the fixing temperature and the value of the highest fixing temperature determined in step S 1104 , the lowest fixing temperature in the pages to be printed. The lowest fixing temperature is obtained by subtracting the value of the threshold determined by the fixing temperature threshold determination unit  326  from the value of the highest fixing temperature. In addition, the difference between the highest fixing temperature and the lowest fixing temperature is determined to be equal to or less than the above-described value of the threshold. 
     In step S 1106 , the CPU  315  determines whether there is a page for which a fixing temperature having a value smaller than the lowest fixing temperature calculated in step S 1105  is set. If such a page does not exist, in step S 1108 , the CPU  315  determines the original fixing temperature calculated from the amount of applied toner as the fixing temperature to be used. If such a page exists, in step S 1107 , the CPU  315  determines the lowest or higher fixing temperature calculated in step S 1105  as the fixing temperature of the page of interest. The fixing temperature of each page to be printed can thus be determined using the threshold of the fixing temperature. 
     &lt;Example of Printout Data Generation and Fixing Temperature Calculation Processing&gt; 
     An example in which 2×2 enlargement printing (in this case, both poster printing processing and page division processing) is executed for the input image of one page will be described here. 
     The upper view of  FIG. 13  shows an example in which 2×2 “poster printing” is executed for an input image. First, the input image is determined as “poster printing”, and the regions of four divided images are determined to be “continuous”. Next, the input image is divided into four images (images  1 ,  2 ,  3 , and  4  shown in the upper view of  FIG. 13 ), and the amount of applied toner is calculated for each of the divided image regions. 
     The fixing temperature is determined based on the amount of applied toner calculated for each of the divided image regions. That is, the fixing temperature is determined based on the amount of applied toner for each of the divided images  1 ,  2 ,  3 , and  4  shown in the upper view of  FIG. 13 . The determined fixing temperatures are T 1 , T 2 , T 3 , and T 4  corresponding to the images  1 ,  2 ,  3 , and  4  shown in the upper view of  FIG. 13 , respectively. 
     Since the divided image regions  1 ,  2 ,  3 , and  4  are determined as continuous regions, final fixing temperatures for the image regions  1 ,  2 ,  3 , and  4 , which reflect the information of the threshold of the fixing temperature (above-described predetermined threshold), are determined in correspondence with the fixing temperatures T 1 , T 2 , T 3 , and T 4  determined previously. The threshold of the fixing temperature is set as a maximum temperature T of the fixing temperature difference between the pages to be printed. 
     Examine a case where the fixing temperatures T 1 , T 2 , T 3 , and T 4  of the image regions satisfy a relationship T 1 &gt;T 2 &gt;T 4 &gt;T 3  and the fixing temperature threshold T satisfies a relationship T 4 &gt;T 1 −T&gt;T 3 . The fixing temperature threshold T is a constraint condition to suppress the temperature difference from a region of a high fixing temperature within a certain region. In this case, the fixing temperature T 3  of the image region  3  does not meet the constraint condition of the fixing temperature threshold T. That is, the fixing temperature T 3  is low and cannot meet the constraint of the fixing temperature threshold T unless it remains equal to or more than T 4  (falls below the lowest fixing temperature). Hence, T 4  is changed by correcting the fixing temperature T 3  of the image region  3 . As a result, the final fixing temperatures of the four divided image regions (corresponding to the images  1 ,  2 ,  3 , and  4  shown in the upper view of  FIG. 13 ) of the input image are T 1 , T 2 , T 4 , and T 4 , respectively. 
     The lower view of  FIG. 13  shows an example in which 2×2 “page division printing” is executed for an input image. First, the input image is determined as “page division printing”. Because of page division printing, the regions of four divided images of the input image are determined to be “independent” and “discontinuous”. Next, the input image is divided into four images (images  1 ,  2 ,  3 , and  4  shown in the lower view of  FIG. 13 ), and the amount of applied toner is calculated for each of the divided image regions. 
     The fixing temperature is determined based on the amount of applied toner calculated for each of the divided image regions. The determined fixing temperatures are T 1 , T 2 , T 3 , and T 4  corresponding to the images  1 ,  2 ,  3 , and  4  shown in the lower view of  FIG. 13 , respectively. Since the divided image regions are independent, evaluation of each fixing temperature using the above-described fixing temperature threshold is not performed. That is, the fixing temperatures T 1 , T 2 , T 3 , and T 4  are determined as the final fixing temperatures. 
     As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to appropriately adjust the fixing temperature in accordance with the amount of applied toner. Especially when printing output images of a plurality of pages from input image data of one page, the fixing temperature can more appropriately be adjusted in accordance with “poster printing” or “page division printing”. This control makes it possible to further reduce the power consumption while guaranteeing the image of output image data. 
     (Second Embodiment) 
     In the above-described first embodiment, the amount of applied toner and the fixing temperature are controlled for each image region divided in accordance with the configuration of the output image at the time of both “poster printing” setting and “page division printing” setting. In the second embodiment, a form will be described in which a uniform fixing temperature is set for all pages to be printed at the time of “poster printing” setting. Note that fixing temperature calculation control of the image forming apparatus is almost the same as in the first embodiment ( FIG. 9 ), and only different portions will be explained. 
       FIG. 14  is a flowchart showing the fixing temperature determination method of an image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. First, at the time of determining that “poster printing” is designated, the image to be printed is determined to be “continuous”, and the process of step S 904  is omitted. 
     In step S 1401 , a CPU  304  determines to make uniform the fixing temperatures of all pages of the image to be printed. To do this, the CPU  304  calculates, from the input image data, the amount of applied toner for all image regions (all four pages) to be printed. That is, in the first embodiment, the amounts of applied toners are individually calculated for the pages. In the second embodiment, however, one common applied toner amount result is calculated for all pages. 
     In step S 1402 , the CPU  304  determines the fixing temperature for printout. In this case, since one common applied toner amount result is calculated for all pages, a fixing temperature determination using a fixing temperature threshold is unnecessary, unlike the first embodiment. The fixing temperature is calculated based on the amount of applied toner calculated in step S 1401 . The calculated fixing temperature is a uniform value common for all pages to be printed. Note that the fixing temperature is a uniform value common for all pages, as expressed above. In fact, it is only necessary to make the width (difference) between the fixing temperatures of the plurality of pages equal to or less than a predetermined value, and the fixing temperatures need not always completely match. 
     As described above, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to appropriately adjust the fixing temperature in accordance with the amount of applied toner. Especially when “poster printing” is designated, it is possible to further reduce the power consumption while guaranteeing the image of output image data. 
     In the first and second embodiments, toner has been exemplified as a recording material. However, it may be ink. 
     OTHER EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a ‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or that includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computer executable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions. The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like. 
     While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions. 
     This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-237357, filed Nov. 15, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.