JP2005051796A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable security management/non-management for the leakage and preservation of each of image information stored on a storage device. <P>SOLUTION: Image forming apparatus comprises an original scanner, a means which sets a password to image information generated thereby in response to a password input before starting generating the image information, a means for reading an original with the original scanner regardless of whether or not the password is set when an original reading start is instructed, to create and store image information, and a control means which requests the input of the password when the password is set to the image information in the case of instructing processing such as printing or deletion of the image information stored in the storage means, or starting the instructed processing without requesting the input of the password when the password is not set. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a scanner and a printer.

Patent No. 2545217 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-187766).

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an image forming apparatus that can be connected to a host computer (hereinafter simply referred to as a host) that outputs image information via a network. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes such a terminal device. In these methods, image information transmitted from the host is stored in a storage device such as a hard disk drive, and then printed according to a manual instruction from the operator. When the remaining amount of memory in the storage device decreases, the printout is automatically performed in the order of writing, and the image information that has been completed is automatically deleted from the storage device. However, there are also applications where it is preferable to store image information in a storage device and print it out as many times as needed. For example, in the generation of a copy, an image of the same document or the same document is often copied with time.

  In such an application, the image information is file-managed on the storage device and the required image information is specified by the file name. In this case, it is preferable to perform security management against leakage of the image information. Further, when the amount of stored image information exceeds the capacity of the storage device, information disappears, so it is preferable to perform security management for storage of image information.

  According to the present invention, it is possible for an administrator to easily perform conflicting security management, namely security management for leakage of image information stored on a storage device and security management for image information storage for preventing loss of information when storage capacity is insufficient. With the goal.

(1) Reading means (50) for reading a document and creating image information;
For each image information created by the reading means, setting means (30, 20) for setting a password for the image information by inputting a password before starting the creation of the image information;
A storage unit (30, 20, 66) for creating an image information by reading the document by the reading unit and storing the image information regardless of whether or not a password is set by the setting unit when there is an instruction to start reading the document,
When there is an instruction to process the image information stored in the storage means, if a password is set in the image information, the password is requested, and the input password is the password set by the setting means. Control means (30, 20) that starts the process that has been instructed without matching, and starts the process that has been instructed without a password input request when the password is not set,
An image forming apparatus comprising:

  In addition, in order to make an understanding easy, the code | symbol or corresponding matter of the corresponding | compatible element of the Example shown in drawing and mentioned later is added in the parenthesis for reference.

  According to this, for each required image information stored in the storage means, whether or not to manage the password can be set by whether or not the password is input before starting the document reading, so that the image information stored on the storage device It can be expected that the administrator can easily perform conflicting security management such as security management for image leakage and security management for image information storage that prevents loss of information when storage capacity is insufficient.

  (2) The image forming apparatus according to (1), wherein the process of the image information stored in the storage unit is a printing process. According to this, whether or not password management is performed for printing of image information stored in the storage unit can be set by whether or not the password is input before starting the document reading.

  (3) The image forming apparatus according to (1), wherein the process of the image information stored in the storage unit is a process of deleting a file of the image information. According to this, it is possible to set whether or not password management is to be performed for deletion of image information stored in the storage means, based on whether or not a password is input before starting document reading.

  Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an appearance of an image forming apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 200 can print out (image output) a print data given from a host 300a to 300c such as a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) through a LAN or a parallel I / F. System configuration. An image forming apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 1 is a digital copying machine, and can itself generate a copy of a document.

  FIG. 2 shows an outline of the internal mechanism of the image forming apparatus 200. When a start key 34 on the operation unit 30 is pressed, the document bundle placed on the document table 2 in the automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as ADF) 1 with the image surface of the document positioned at the bottom Is fed to a predetermined position on the contact glass 6 by the feed roller 3 and the feed belt 4. After the image data of the original on the contact glass 6 is read by the reading unit 50, the original that has been read is discharged by the feeding belt 4 and the discharge roller 5. Further, when it is detected by the document set detection 7 that the next document is present on the document table 2, the document is fed onto the contact glass 6 in the same manner as the previous document. The feed roller 3, the feed belt 4 and the discharge roller 5 are driven by a motor.

  The transfer sheets stacked on the first tray 8, the second tray 9, or the third tray 10 are fed by the first paper feeding device 11, the second paper feeding device 12, or the third paper feeding device 13, respectively, and are conveyed vertically. The unit 14 is transported to a position where it abuts on the photoreceptor 15. The image data read by the reading unit 50 is written on the photoconductor 15 by the laser from the writing unit 57 and passes through the developing unit 27 to form a toner image. Then, the toner image on the photoconductor 15 is transferred while the transfer paper is conveyed by the conveyance belt 16 at the same speed as the rotation of the photoconductor 15. Thereafter, the image is fixed by the fixing unit 17 and discharged to the finisher 100 of the post-processing apparatus by the paper discharge unit 18.

  The finisher 100 of the post-processing apparatus can guide the transfer paper conveyed by the paper discharge roller 19 of the main body in the normal paper discharge roller 102 direction and the staple processing unit direction. By switching the switching plate 101 upward, the sheet can be discharged to the normal discharge tray 104 side via the transport roller 103. Further, by switching the switching plate 101 downward, the switching plate 101 can be conveyed to the staple table 108 via the conveying rollers 105 and 107.

  The transfer paper loaded on the staple table 108 is aligned by the paper jogger 109 every time one sheet is discharged, and is bound by the stapler 106 upon completion of partial copying. The group of transfer sheets bound by the stapler 106 is stored in the staple completion discharge tray 110 by its own weight.

  On the other hand, the normal paper discharge tray 104 is a paper discharge tray that can move back and forth. The paper discharge tray section 104 that can be moved back and forth moves forward and backward for each original or each copy section sorted by the image memory, and sorts copy paper that is simply discharged.

  When forming an image on both sides of the transfer paper, the transfer paper fed from each of the paper feed trays 8 to 10 is not guided to the paper discharge tray 104 side, and the branch claw 112 for switching the path is used. By setting it on the upper side, it is once stocked in the duplex feeding unit 111.

  Thereafter, the transfer paper stocked on the double-sided paper feeding unit 111 is re-fed from the double-sided paper feeding unit 111 to transfer the toner image formed on the photosensitive member 15 again, and the branching claw 112 for switching the path. Is set on the lower side and guided to the paper discharge tray 104. In this way, the duplex feeding unit 111 is used when creating images on both sides of the transfer sheet.

  The photoconductor 15, the transport belt 16, the fixing unit 17, the paper discharge unit 18, and the development unit 27 are driven by a main motor 25, and each of the paper feeding devices 11 to 13 drives the main motor 25 to feed paper clutches 22 to 24, respectively. Is driven by transmission. The vertical conveyance unit 14 is driven to transmit the drive of the main motor 25 by the intermediate clutch 21.

  FIG. 3 shows an upper surface of the operation unit 30 of the image forming apparatus 200. The operation unit 30 includes a liquid crystal touch panel 31, a numeric keypad 32, a clear / stop key 33, a start key 34, a mode clear key 35, and a test print key 40. The liquid crystal touch panel 31 includes a function key 37, the number of copies, and an image forming apparatus. A message indicating the status of is displayed. The test print key 40 is a key for printing only one copy regardless of the set number of print copies and confirming the print result. There is also a key 39 for switching between “copy function”, “printer function”, and “accumulated copy function”.

  The “copy function” is a function for copying an image read by the document reading unit (scanner) 50 by an operation designated on the transfer sheet by the writing unit 57 and the photoreceptor imaging system (including both).

  The “printer function” outputs data (printed) by the writing unit 57 and the photoreceptor imaging system in accordance with instructions from the host according to instructions from the host 300a to 300c connected via a LAN and a parallel I / F. Output).

  The “accumulation copy function” is a function for accumulating images read by the scanner and image data from the hosts 300 a to 300 c in the image forming apparatus 200 and printing them out according to the operation of the operation unit 30.

  FIG. 4A to FIG. 6A show several examples of display on the liquid crystal touch panel 31 of the operation unit 30. When the operator touches a key displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 31, the key block display is changed to a shaded display. In addition, when it is necessary to specify the details of the function (for example, when the magnification is changed, a magnification value or the like), the detailed function setting screen (submenu) is displayed by touching the key.

  (A) in Fig. 4 is a screen for selecting and setting the "Copy function". The upper left position on the screen is a message area for displaying messages such as "Ready to copy" and "Please wait". , Copy number display area to display the set number of sheets, Below that is an automatic density key to specify that the image density is automatically adjusted, automatic paper to specify to automatically select the transfer paper To specify a selection key, a sort key for specifying a process that arranges copies one by one in page order, a stack key for specifying a process for sorting copies for each page, and a process for binding the sorted one part at a time This key is used to specify the staple key, the same magnification key for specifying the same magnification, the scaling key for specifying the enlargement / reduction magnification, the duplex key for specifying the duplex mode, the binding margin mode, etc. Erase / move key for, and is a print key for specifying the printing such as stamp, date and page. The selected mode is indicated by a shaded display of the key block.

  FIG. 4B is an operation screen for the “printer function”. Online / offline key to set permission of print request, forced ejection key to specify forcibly ejecting images not ejected in data-in state, data-in display showing data input status of image data, and In addition, there is a display informing the transfer paper setting status.

  (A), (b) of FIG. 5 and (a) of FIG. 6 are operation screens for the “accumulation copy function”. (A) of FIG. 5 is each file list screen of the stored image data. The user name, file name, number of pages, and registration time of the transferred image are displayed. The shaded display portion indicates the file designated for output, and the order item indicates the print order. Multiple output specifications can be set for each output, and output is performed in the order set. The print key is a key for shifting to a screen for printing the set file [(b) of FIG. 5]. The reading key is a key for shifting to a screen for accumulating images from the scanner. The cancel key is a key for canceling file selection set for image output. The arrow keys are used to scroll the screen when the number of files exceeds the number of files that can be displayed at one time. The delete key is a key for deleting the selected file.

  FIG. 5B shows an output setting screen for accumulated copy. Output conditions are set, and the copy operation can be started with the start key 34 (FIG. 3). When a plurality of files are set, they are processed as a group of images connected in the setting order. Therefore, when the staple mode is set, the entire image group is stapled as one loop, not for each file.

  FIG. 6A shows an operator input screen for accumulating images from the scanner. Displayed when the operator operates the reading key shown in FIG. When the operator sets each mode on this input screen and operates the start key 34, the original image reading operation is started. The user name and file name of this file are automatically set as shown in the example of FIG. If there are multiple files, they are named so that the file names can be distinguished. The read operation ends with the read end key and the file is closed. On the operator input screen shown in FIG. 6A, a password for restricting the subsequent printing of the image read by the subsequent document reading can be input. It is possible to store the images read by the scanner once and print them as needed. However, in order to solve the security problem against leakage of image information, a password is attached when reading the image information, and the password ( Alternatively, printing cannot be performed unless the above-described administrator password is input.

  FIG. 6A shows such a password input screen. If password data is input before the reading of the document image is started, the password data becomes valid. That is, the password is attached to image information (a bundle of originals set in the ADF 1) generated immediately after that. If the read operation is executed without entering the password, the password is not managed. That is, after that, it is possible to print out without inputting a password.

  FIG. 6B shows a screen for selecting a deleted file when deleting a file. The input screen for deletion also serves as an input screen for printing. A file is selected on an input screen for printing, and after the selection, the process is switched between printing or deleting the selected file by pressing the print key or pressing the delete key. When the delete key is pressed, the screen moves to the screen shown in FIG. This screen is displayed when a password is not attached to the selected file. If the “YES” key is pressed in this screen, the image information of the designated file is deleted. At this time, the process proceeds to FIG. When the “NO” key is pressed, the deletion of the designated file is canceled and the screen returns to the screen in FIG. 6B where no file is selected.

  FIG. 8 is a screen prompting the user to input a password when printing a file to which a password has been attached when reading an image or deleting the file. When the password or the administrator password attached to the selected file is entered, the screen returns to the selection screen display and the file (selected file) is highlighted and selected. If the input password does not match either the password attached to the selected file or the administrator password, the file selection is not made and the screen returns to the list screen. As for the password, if password information is added even when an image is stored from the outside, the same processing is performed at the time of printing. In this case, it is necessary to be able to input a password by a driver on the host side.

  When a password is added to the file selected when the delete key is pressed, a delete instruction screen in which “print” in the announcement sentence on the screen shown in FIG. 8 is replaced with “delete” Is displayed. On this screen, enter the password and press the “YES” key. If the entered password matches the password addressed to the selected file, or the entered password When the password matches the administrator password set in the password verification program, the image information of the selected file is deleted. This is because “delete” is designated before the screen display shown in FIG. When the image information is deleted, the display changes to that shown in FIG. When the “NO” key is pressed, the deletion of the designated file is canceled and the screen returns to the screen in FIG. 6B where no file is selected. When the passwords do not match, the screen returns to the previous screen ((b) in FIG. 6).

  FIG. 7B shows a screen after the deletion process is executed. Information on the deleted file is lost, and a recovery key is displayed instead of the deletion key (FIG. 6B) as a key for canceling the deletion of the deleted file (image). During the period in which this key is displayed, when this key is pressed, the file that has been deleted immediately before moving to the display can be recovered and returned to a printable state. As a restoration function, the actual image information is not deleted at the time of deletion, but the deletion is stored to facilitate the restoration. In this case, the restoration process can be performed without increasing the entire image storage capacity until a new file storage process. In order to be able to recover even after new accumulation, it is necessary to prepare a separate memory for restoration, otherwise image data is overwritten at the time of new accumulation.

  Refer to FIG. 2 again. The reading unit (scanner) 50 includes a contact glass 6 on which an original is placed and an optical scanning system. The optical scanning system includes an exposure lamp 51, a first mirror 52, a lens 53, a CCD image sensor 54, and the like. Has been. The exposure lamp 51 and the first mirror 52 are fixed on a first carriage (not shown), and the second mirror 55 and the third mirror 56 are fixed on a second carriage (not shown). When reading a document image, the first carriage and the second carriage are mechanically scanned at a relative speed of 2: 1 so that the optical path length does not change. This optical scanning system is driven by a scanner drive motor (not shown). The original image is read by the CCD image sensor 54, converted into an electrical signal (analog image signal), and then converted into digital data (image data). The image data is further subjected to several types of image processing. The image magnification is changed by moving the lens 53 and the CCD image sensor 54 in the left-right direction in FIG. That is, the positions of the lens 53 and the CCD image sensor 54 are set in the left-right direction corresponding to the designated magnification.

  The writing unit 57 includes a laser output unit 58, an imaging lens 59, and a mirror 60. Inside the laser output unit 58, a rotating polygon mirror (polygon) that rotates at a constant speed at a high speed by a laser diode that is a laser light source and a motor. Mirror). The laser light emitted from the laser output unit 58 is polarized by a polygon mirror that rotates at a constant speed, passes through an imaging lens 59, is folded by a mirror 60, and is focused and imaged on the surface of the photoreceptor.

  The polarized laser light is exposed and scanned in the direction (main scanning direction) perpendicular to the direction in which the photosensitive member rotates, and the line-by-line recording of the image signal output from the selector 64 of the image processing unit described later is performed. An image (electrostatic latent image) is formed on the surface of the photosensitive member by repeating main scanning at a predetermined cycle corresponding to the rotational speed and recording density of the photosensitive member.

  As described above, the laser beam output from the writing unit 57 is applied to the image forming photoconductor 15. Although not shown, a beam sensor that generates a main scanning synchronization signal is disposed at a position near the one end of the photoconductor 15 where the laser beam is irradiated. Based on the main scanning synchronization signal, control of image recording start timing in the main scanning direction and generation of a control signal for inputting / outputting image signals to be described later are performed.

  FIG. 9 shows an outline of the electric system of the image forming apparatus 200, and FIG. 10 shows some details of the electric system. FIG. 9 illustrates the control device of the image forming apparatus 200 with the main controller 20 as the center. First, referring to FIG. 9, the main controller 20 controls the entire image forming apparatus 200. The main controller 20 includes a display for an operator, an operation unit 30 for performing function setting input control from the operator, a scanner control, a control for writing a document image in an image memory, and a control for image formation from the image memory. A distributed control device such as an image processing unit (IPU) 49 to be performed and an automatic document feeder (ADF) 1 is connected. Each distributed control device and the main controller 20 exchange machine states and operation commands as necessary. A main motor 25 and various clutches 21 to 24 necessary for paper conveyance and the like are also connected to a driver (not shown) in the main controller 20.

  The printer controller analyzes an image from the outside and a command for instructing printing, develops a bitmap in a printable state as image data, analyzes the print mode from the command, and determines the operation. In order to receive and operate the image and command through the LAN and parallel I / F, there are a LAN control unit and a parallel I / F unit.

  The configuration of the scanner and printer (image reading unit and image writing unit) in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The light emitted from the exposure lamp 51 is reflected by the original surface and forms an image on a CCD (image sensor) 54 through an imaging lens (not shown). The analog image signal generated by the CCD 5 is converted into a digital signal, that is, image data by the A / D converter 61. The image data is subjected to shading correction 62 and then subjected to MTF correction, γ correction and the like in the image processing unit 63. The selector 64 sets the destination of the image data as the scaling unit 71 or the image memory controller 65. The image data that has passed through the scaling unit 71 is enlarged / reduced in accordance with the scaling ratio and sent to the writing unit 57. Between the image memory controller 65 and the selector 64, image data can be input / output bidirectionally. Although not explicitly shown in FIG. 10, the image processing unit (IPU) outputs image data supplied from outside in addition to the image data input from the reading unit 50 (for example, output from a data processing device such as a personal computer). A function of selecting input / output of a plurality of data.

  The main controller 20 includes a CPU 68 for setting the image memory controller 65 and controlling the reading unit 50 and the writing unit 57, and a ROM 69 and a RAM 70 for storing the programs and data. Further, the CPU 68 writes and reads data in the image memory 66 via the memory controller 65.

  Here, the image data for one page in the selector 64 will be described with reference to FIG. / FGATE (slash / means FGATE overline) represents the effective period of the image data of one page in the sub-scanning direction. / LSYNC is a main scanning synchronization signal for each line, and image data becomes valid at a predetermined clock after this signal rises. A signal indicating that the image data in the main scanning direction is valid is / LGATE. These signals are synchronized with the pixel clock VCLK, and one pixel of data is sent for one cycle of VCLK. The image processing unit (IPU) 49 has separate generation mechanisms for / FGATE, / LSYNC, / LGATE, and VCLK for each of image input and output, and various image input / output combinations can be realized. .

  FIG. 11 shows the configuration of the memory controller 65 and the image memory 66 shown in FIG. The memory controller 65 includes an input data selector 101, an image composition 102, a primary compression / decompression 103, an output data selector 104, and a secondary compression / decompression 105 block. The CPU 68 sets control data in each block. The data in FIG. 11 indicates image data (bus), and address data (bus) connected to the CPU 68 is not shown.

  The image memory 66 includes primary and secondary storage devices 106 and 107. The primary storage device 106 is capable of high-speed access, such as DRAM, so that data can be written to the memory or read from the memory at the time of image output at a high speed substantially in synchronization with the transfer speed of the input image data. Use memory. Further, the primary storage device 106 has a configuration (an interface unit with a memory controller) that can be divided into a plurality of areas according to the size of the image data to be processed and can simultaneously input and output image data. In order to enable input and output of image data to each divided area in parallel, the interface with the memory controller 65 is connected by two sets of address and data lines for reading and writing. As a result, an operation of outputting (reading) an image from the area 2 while inputting (writing) the image to the area 1 becomes possible.

  The secondary storage device 107 is a large-capacity memory that stores data for combining and sorting input images. If both primary and secondary storage devices use elements that can be accessed at high speed, data can be processed without distinction between primary and secondary storage, and control is relatively simple. However, elements such as DRAM are expensive. The secondary storage device 107 has an access speed that is not so high, but is inexpensive, uses a large-capacity recording medium, and processes input / output data via the primary storage device 106.

  The image memory 66 as described above can process a large amount of image data such as input / output, storage, and processing. Further, the image memory 66 can be realized at a low cost and with a relatively simple configuration.

Next, an outline of the operation of the memory controller 65 will be described:
<1> Image input (writing to image memory 66)
The input data selector 101 selects image data to be written to the image memory 66 (primary storage device 106) from among a plurality of data. The image data selected by the input data selector 101 is supplied to the image composition 102, and the image composition 102 performs composition with data already stored in the image memory. The image data processed by the image composition 102 is compressed by the primary compression / decompression 103 and written to the primary storage device 106.

The data written in the primary storage device 106 is further compressed by the secondary compression / decompression 105 as necessary, and then stored in the secondary storage device 107.
<2> Image output (reading from image memory 66)
When outputting an image, the image data stored in the primary storage device 106 is read. When the image to be output is stored in the primary storage device 106, the primary compression / decompression 103 decompresses the image data in the primary storage device 106, and the decompressed data or the decompressed data The output data selector 104 selects and outputs the data after the image composition of the image and the input data. The image composition 102 is composed of the data in the primary storage device 106 and the input data (having a phase adjustment function of the image data), and the output destination of the data after the composition is selected (image output, to the primary storage device 106). Write back and simultaneous output to both output destinations are possible.

  When the image to be output is not stored in the primary storage device 106, the output target image data stored in the secondary storage device 107 is expanded by the secondary compression / decompression 105, and the decompressed data Is written in the primary storage device 106, and then the above-described image output operation is performed.

  Next, some of the processing functions of the CPU 68 will be specifically described. FIG. 13 shows processing (command processing) of the CPU 68 in response to a command such as a print request from the host. The CPU 68 receives the command and, if it is a printer file registration command, secures (sets) a file for stored copy in the file management data. File management data is registered in order for each file block. The management file number to be registered is stored as a printer registration management number. At this time, the printer file registration state is entered. The printer file registration state is a state for accumulating images from the printer I / F. The number of pages of the corresponding file management data is initialized (cleared with O). When the user registration command is received, it is confirmed whether or not the printer file is currently registered, and if it is, it is stored as user name data corresponding to the file management data. If the printer file is not registered, it is ignored as an invalid command. When the file name registration command is received, the file name is stored, and when the time registration command is received, the time is stored. When the printer file registration end command is received, the printer file registration state is canceled. This release command ends registration for this file.

  FIG. 14 shows image data storage processing in the printer file registration state. When the image development is completed so that the image can be printed and stored in the memory when the image data is received, it is determined whether or not the printer file is registered, and the memory is stored when the image is registered. At this time, the page number information is incremented. When not in the registered state, a normal print operation is executed. In this embodiment, the same bitmap data as the image data at the time of printing is compressed and stored even when it is stored. When the printing operation is executed from the memory, the printing operation can be performed without taking the image development time. Productivity during printing can be improved. If these are not taken into consideration, it is also possible to store external image data as they are.

  FIG. 15 shows a process for shifting to the accumulation operation from the scanner. When the reading key is pressed on the file list screen (FIG. 7B), the scanner image registration state for registering a file for reading a scanner image is entered, and the registered management number is stored in the scanner registration management file number. Then, the display is switched to a reading screen ((a) in FIG. 6). When the end key is pressed on this screen, the scanner file registration state is canceled. Before that, the password is set by pressing the password setting key on the reading screen. If you want to remove the password, you can use the clear key.

  FIG. 16 shows an operation of accumulating image data from the scanner. If there is a reading instruction by pressing the start key 34 and a document is set and the scanner file is registered, the reading operation is started. The scanner operates and stores the read image in the memory. At this time, when the accumulation ends, the number of pages is incremented. Execute until there are no more documents.

  FIG. 17 shows an operation process of accumulated printing. The image is read from the corresponding memory, and the printing operation is started according to the operation setting set in the print mode. Stops when the printing operation is completed. Prior to this, password verification for printing, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 22, is performed.

  FIG. 18 shows file deletion processing. If the file is not selected when the delete key on the screen of FIG. 6B is pressed, no processing is performed, and if it is selected, a deletion confirmation screen is displayed. That is, if the selected file has no password, the screen shown in FIG. 7A is displayed. If the selected file has a password, the screen shown in FIG. 8B is displayed. indicate. Then, when the YES key on the confirmation screen is pressed or when the input password matches the password of the selected file or the administrator password, the file state of the selected file is shifted to the deleted state. Let Return to the original list screen and refresh the list display. This deletes the deleted file display. At the same time, the revival possible state managing the revival process is set. This state is a flag indicating a recoverable state. When the NO key is pressed or the password does not match, the screen returns to the list screen, the selected file is returned to the state before inversion, is brought into a non-selected state, and is displayed. As the deletion process, the image information is retained in order not to delete the deleted image information itself. This process can be restored.

  FIG. 19 shows file restoration processing. When the revive key is pressed, it is checked whether the reviveable state is set, and if it is set, the file state is changed from the deleted state to the registered state, and the revivalable state is reset. . The information of the restored file is reflected by refreshing the list screen.

  FIG. 20 shows the deletion / recovery key switching process. If the recoverable state is set, a recovery key is displayed, and if it is reset, a delete key is displayed. This is a switching process for sharing two keys.

  FIG. 21 shows a process for managing the recoverable state. In order to protect image information, the recoverable state is reset under certain conditions. Here, resetting is performed when another process is continued by a key operation or left for a certain period of time. In addition, resetting is also performed by manipulating the original.

  FIG. 22 shows a password input process for printing. When the list selection key is pressed on the list selection screen shown in FIG. 7B, the selected file is changed to a shaded display (FIG. 6B). Here, it is confirmed whether or not a password is attached to the file. If there is, a password input screen (FIG. 8) is displayed to prompt the user to input the password. If the input password matches the file password or the administrator password, the selected file is selected and the file is highlighted. If they do not match, do not select. When a file is selected, the process proceeds to the print process shown in FIG.

  FIG. 23 shows management data for file storage registration and management. As file management data, file status data, file name data, user name data, time data, and page number data are managed for each file. These data blocks are arranged as an array. New files are registered in these blocks and increment the number of registered files. The data part of the deleted file is packed and the number of registered files is decremented. The file status data indicates three statuses of “unregistered”, “registered”, and “deleted”.

  “Unregistered” indicates a state in which there is no registered file, “Registered” indicates a registered state, and “Deleted” indicates a registered but deleted state that can be restored. As a file operation at the time of restoration, a deletion state file is searched, the file is registered, and the same processing as normal registration is performed. The number of registered files indicates the number of registered files.

  There is a printer registration management file number as a file number during printer registration. This is data indicating which of the management files the file being registered is. The scanner registration management file number is the one used when registering a file in the scanner. There is an array as the print order management data, but here, the management file numbers are arranged in the print order. When the management file number is not written, -1 (FFH as byte width data) is written. When printing, a series of files to be printed is from the top until the management number -1 is reached. Also, it can be set as a printer image or a scanner image.

  As a method for designating a memory image, the image number is managed by 2-byte data in which the file number is the upper 1 byte and the page number (from page O to the page number) is the lower 1 byte. Access to the memory unit is controlled by this image number. Therefore, the image numbers when the management file number 2 and the number of pages are 5 are 512 (20H), 513 (21H), 514 (22H), 515 (23H), and 516 (26H) from the front.

  When copying a plurality of files simultaneously, the memory number is determined from the management file number and the number of pages in the order of printing order management data, and the number of pages managed by the printing order management data is set as one image group. As a copy operation.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an image forming apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal mechanism of the image forming apparatus 200 illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an upper surface of an operation unit 30 of the image forming apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 3A is a plan view showing a display screen when the “copy function” is selected on the liquid crystal panel 31 shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 3B is a display screen when the “printer function” is selected. FIG. 3A is a plan view showing a file list display screen when the “stored copy function” of the liquid crystal panel 31 shown in FIG. 3 is selected, and FIG. 3B is a plan view showing an output setting screen. . 3A is a plan view showing a display screen for storing scanner image data when the “accumulation copy function” is selected in the liquid crystal panel 31 shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. It is a top view which shows the display screen for deletion. (A) is a plan view showing a display screen for confirming deletion of the liquid crystal panel 31 shown in FIG. 3 when deletion on the display screen for file deletion is designated, and (b) is a display screen after execution of deletion. FIG. It is a top view which shows the display screen at the time of a printing instruction | indication or a file deletion. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an outline of an electrical system of the image forming apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing some details of a portion of the electrical system shown in FIG. 9. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the memory controller 65 shown in FIG. 11 is a time chart showing a correlation between image data (main scanning effective image) extracted by the selector 64 shown in FIG. 10 and a timing signal. 11 is a flowchart showing one of the processing functions of the CPU 68 shown in FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing one of the processing functions of the CPU 68 shown in FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing one of the processing functions of the CPU 68 shown in FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing one of the processing functions of the CPU 68 shown in FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing one of the processing functions of the CPU 68 shown in FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing one of the processing functions of the CPU 68 shown in FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing one of the processing functions of the CPU 68 shown in FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing one of the processing functions of the CPU 68 shown in FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing one of the processing functions of the CPU 68 shown in FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing one of the processing functions of the CPU 68 shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the item of the management data produced | generated by the data processing of CPU68 shown in FIG. 10 by a block division.

Explanation of symbols

30: Operation unit 31: Liquid crystal touch panel 32-40: Key

Claims (3)

Reading means for reading a document and creating image information;
For each image information created by the reading means, setting means for setting a password for the image information by inputting a password before starting the creation of the image information;
A storage unit that reads the document by the reading unit to create image information and stores the image information regardless of whether a password is set by the setting unit when there is an instruction to start reading the document;
When there is an instruction to process the image information stored in the storage means, if a password is set in the image information, the password is requested, and the input password is the password set by the setting means. A control unit that starts the process that has been instructed to match, and starts the process that has been instructed without requesting a password when a password is not set; and
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the process of the image information stored in the storage unit is a printing process. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the process of the image information stored in the storage unit is a process of deleting a file of the image information.

Images