JP2005148393A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of managing requisites by areas of a document and controlling operations for document data read out according to requisites for the areas. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus having an identification information read means of reading identification information of the document, an operation requisite selecting means of selecting operation requisites specified by the identification information, and an operation control means of controlling execution of specified operations according to one or more operation requisites selected by the operation requisite selecting means has an area information management table containing the operation requisites by area information of the document, and is configured that the operation requisite selecting means stores operation requisites corresponding to the respective areas of the document in the area information management table and the operation control means reads the operation requisites out of the area information management table and controls the execution of the specified operations according to the operation requisites. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a system for ensuring the security of an information system, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus that controls operations such as document reading and copying based on a security policy.

  In recent years, there has always been a desire to control the security of a document in a field that handles documents such as offices. For example, when copying a secret document, it is necessary to obtain the permission of the manager in charge. Particularly, it is important to control a policy for a document which is a container for information, particularly a policy regarding confidentiality. Generally, ensuring the security of an information system is broadly divided into ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability, but integrity and availability can be secured to a level that is virtually free of problems if the system administrator appropriately manages and manages it. There are many. On the other hand, in order to ensure confidentiality, it is presumed that the policy must be shared and thoroughly made by members belonging to the user organization.

  In reality, many companies are trying to control security by setting document management rules. However, for ensuring security in an actual office system, it is necessary to individually set security settings for various devices constituting the office system, not for documents.

  Various conventional techniques related to a method of performing access control based on a security policy are disclosed (Patent Document 1 to Patent Document 14).

  For example, in access control, it is described that conditional access permission is evaluated (Patent Document 1).

  For example, it describes security management and auditing simplification of a corporate information system according to an information security policy (Patent Document 2).

  However, in particular, the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 does not mention processing of data after access, particularly reading, in the access control system for data files.

  In the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, a security policy, a system, and a control unit are configured, and a control unit is extracted from a DB (database) in which each combination is registered, and the system is controlled to match the policy. However, the means for auditing the state is only controlled by the control means registered for the system, and the degree of freedom of implementation is low.

  Further, in the method of inputting the operator ID of Patent Document 7, taking out the ID from the document, and controlling copying, control based on a fixed rule of rejecting copying or permitting copying and recording a log. It can only be done.

  In the method of extracting and checking a mark indicating a confidential document from the image of Patent Document 8, it is determined how to perform the operation based on the obtained information, so that the flexibility of the rule is lacking.

  In the method of controlling the output destination based on the output restriction data included in the print information of Patent Document 9, a rule must be included in the print information.

  In the method of reading the image of Patent Document 10 and storing it together with the password and permitting it when the passwords match at the time of output, the criterion to judge is only the password, and the operation controlled by it is permitted or not permitted Only.

  In the method of controlling the permission or disapproval of the operation of all MFPs on the network by one MFP among the plurality of MFPs on the network of Patent Document 11, the controlled operation is permitted or not permitted. Only permission.

In the method of determining permission of use and permission of operation for each of the plurality of devices in Patent Document 12, only permission and non-permission can be controlled, and only control based on user information can be performed. As described above, the problems with the prior art are that the rules are limited and inflexible, and that the rules are only predetermined. That is, in the conventional input / output device, only “permission” and “prohibition” of operations for “user” and “document” IDs are determined in advance.
JP 2001-184264 A JP 2001-273388 A JP 2001-337864 A JP 09-293036 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-141296 Japanese Patent No. 0273966 Japanese Patent No. 3203103 JP 7-58950 A JP 7-152520 A JP-A-10-191072 JP 2000-15898 A JP 2000-357064 A JP 2001-125759 A JP 2001-325249 A

  However, in such a security enforcement method, when security for document printing is executed, first, a security enforcer needs knowledge regarding security of various devices. Second, security must be executed for all devices one by one. Third, it is necessary to easily grasp the security state of the entire system, but it is difficult to grasp. Fourth, even if security is implemented for each device, it cannot be realized that the security of the document is actually protected. As described above, there are problems as described above in ensuring security in an actual office system.

  In addition, when the handling requirements are different in each of a plurality of areas of the document, for example, when read permission and prohibition requirements are mixed in the document area, it is difficult to perform processing according to the requirements of each area of the read document. There are also problems.

  The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems.

  In particular, an object of the present invention is to manage requirements for each area of a document and control an operation for document data read in accordance with the requirements for each area, and to cause a computer to perform processing in the image forming apparatus. Image forming method and program, and a computer-readable recording medium storing the program.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an identification information reading unit that reads identification information of a document and an operation requirement selection unit that selects an operation requirement specified by the identification information. And an operation control unit that controls execution of a predetermined operation in accordance with one or more operation requirements selected by the operation requirement selection unit, an area for storing the operation requirement for each area information of the document The operation requirement selecting means stores the operation requirements corresponding to each area of the document in the area information management table, and the operation control means obtains the operation requirements from the area information management table. It is configured to read and control execution of a predetermined operation according to the operation requirement.

  In such an image forming apparatus, even when permission and prohibition requirements are mixed in each area of the document, it is possible to manage the requirements for each area of the document and control the operation on the read document data according to the requirements for each area. it can.

  Further, according to the present invention, the operation requirement may be a security requirement for the document.

  In such an image forming apparatus, it is possible to manage operational requirements related to security for each area of a document.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the predetermined operation may be configured to form an image with electronic data.

  In such an image forming apparatus, an image can be formed with electronic data on the read document data.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the predetermined operation may be configured to print the document on a sheet.

  In such an image forming apparatus, the read document data can be printed on paper.

  In the present invention, the identification information reading unit includes a document attribute management table for managing the identification information and the document attribute for each area of the document in association with each other. The identification information corresponding to each area of the document may be acquired, and the document attribute corresponding to the identification information may be acquired from the document attribute management table.

  In such an image forming apparatus, identification information corresponding to each area of the document can be acquired, and a document attribute corresponding to each area can be acquired from the identification information by referring to the document attribute management table.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the identification information reading unit may acquire a document attribute corresponding to the identification information of each document from the document attribute management table.

  In such an image forming apparatus, the document attribute of each area of the document can be acquired by referring to the document attribute management table from the identification information for each document.

  Further, according to the present invention, the identification information reading means has an area setting table in which the area of the document is set, and an identification corresponding to the area of the document is made from the area setting table. It is good also as a structure which acquires information.

  In such an image forming apparatus, identification information corresponding to a document area can be acquired from an area setting table in which a document area is set in advance.

  In the invention, it is preferable that the identification information reading unit identifies a background dot pattern of the document, and identifies corresponding to an area having the same dot pattern as the identified dot pattern. It is good also as a structure which acquires information.

  In such an image forming apparatus, each area and identification information of the area can be acquired from the dot pattern of the background of the document.

  Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 9, the operation control means may satisfy the selected requirement when there is an area where the operation requested by the user is not permitted in the document. If there is a region that cannot be used, an image unrelated to the information of the region may be formed in the region to control a predetermined operation.

  In such an image forming apparatus, if there is an area in the document where the operation requested by the user is not permitted, or if there is an area that cannot satisfy the selected requirement, the area has no relation to the information of the area. An image can be formed and a predetermined operation can be controlled.

  Also, the present invention is the image as described in claim 10, wherein the image is an image indicating that the operation requested for the area is not permitted or the selected requirement cannot be satisfied. It is good.

  In such an image forming apparatus, a predetermined operation is controlled by forming an image indicating that the operation requested for the area is not permitted or the selected requirement cannot be satisfied in the read document data. be able to.

  Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 11, the operation control procedure may satisfy the selected requirement when there is an area where the operation requested by the user is not permitted in the document. The configuration may be such that when there is a region where it cannot be performed, the predetermined operation is stopped.

  In such an image forming apparatus, if there is an area in the document where the operation requested by the user is not permitted, or if there is an area that cannot satisfy the selected requirement, the predetermined operation can be stopped.

  Further, as described in claim 12, the present invention describes that there is an area where the operation requested by the user is not permitted in the document, or an area where the selected requirement cannot be satisfied, It may be configured to have notification means for notifying the user that an image irrelevant to the information of the area is formed in the area to control the predetermined operation and to stop the predetermined operation.

  In such an image forming apparatus, the fact that there is an area in which the operation requested by the user is not permitted in the document or that there is an area that cannot satisfy the selected requirement is not related to the information of the area. It is possible to notify the user that an image is formed to control a predetermined operation and that the predetermined operation is stopped.

  Moreover, as described in claim 13, the present invention may include a confirmation information acquisition unit that acquires confirmation information indicating that the user has confirmed the information notified by the notification unit.

  In such an image forming apparatus, confirmation information indicating that the user has confirmed the information notified by the notification unit can be acquired.

  Further, according to the present invention, the operation control procedure includes an operation for controlling the predetermined operation by forming an image irrelevant to the information of the region in the region, and stopping the predetermined operation. It is good also as a structure which makes the said user select one of operation | movement.

  In such an image forming apparatus, the user can select either an operation for forming a non-region-related image and controlling a predetermined operation, or an operation for stopping the predetermined operation.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention can also be an image forming method and program for causing a computer to perform processing in the image forming apparatus, and a computer-readable recording medium storing the program. .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to manage the requirements for each area of a document, and to control the operation on the read document data according to the requirements for each area even when the read permission and prohibition requirements are mixed in each area of the document. An image forming apparatus and an image forming method for causing a computer to perform processing in the image forming apparatus can be provided.

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

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 100 as an example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention is an apparatus controlled by a computer, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read-Only Memory) 12, and a RAM. (Random Access Memory) 13, nonvolatile RAM (non-volatile Random Access Memory) 14, real-time clock 15, Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F (Ethernet (registered trademark) Interface) 21, USB (Universal Serial Bus) ) 22, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1284 23, hard disk I / F 24, engine I / F 25, RS-232C I / F 26, and driver 27, and connected to the system bus B The

  The CPU 11 controls the image forming apparatus 100 according to a program stored in the ROM 12. In the RAM 13, for example, areas are allocated to resources connected to the interfaces 21 to 26. The nonvolatile RAM 14 stores information necessary for processing by the CPU 11 to control the image forming apparatus 100. The real-time clock 15 measures the current time and is used by the CPU 11 to synchronize processing.

  An Ethernet (registered trademark) interface cable such as 10BASE-T or 100BASE-TX is connected to the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 21. A USB interface cable is connected to the USB 22. An IEEE1284 interface cable is connected to the IEEE1284 23.

  A hard disk 34 is connected to the hard disk I / F 24, and document data of a document to be printed or image data after print processing transmitted via the network is stored in the hard disk 34 via the hard disk I / F 24. . Connected to the engine I / F 25 are a plotter 35-1 for printing on a predetermined medium based on document data, a scanner 35-2 for capturing image data, and the like. An operation panel 36 is connected to the RS-232C I / F 26 to display information on the security policy for each document area to the user and to acquire input information or setting information from the user.

  A program that realizes processing performed by the image forming apparatus 100 is provided to the image forming apparatus 100 by a recording medium 37 such as a CD-ROM. That is, when the recording medium 37 storing the program is set in the driver 27, the driver 27 reads the program from the recording medium 37, and the read program is installed in the hard disk 34 via the system bus B. When the program is activated, the CPU 11 starts its processing according to the program installed on the hard disk 34. Note that the recording medium 37 for storing the program is not limited to a CD-ROM, and any computer-readable recording medium may be used. Alternatively, the program may be downloaded via a network and installed on the hard disk 34.

  In this embodiment, in order to share a security policy for a document not only with the image forming apparatus 100 but also with different types of systems, a security policy is described using the following mechanism. Here, the described security policy is called a document security policy (DSP).

  It is assumed that the organization to which the user belongs has a security policy for the document for each confidential level of the document, such as a confidential document, a confidential document, and a confidential document. In order to be able to describe such a security policy as a DSP, the following method is used.

  First, the documents are classified according to the confidentiality level (confidentiality, confidentiality, confidentiality, etc.) and the category (HR document, technical document, etc.). This combination of sensitivity level and category is called a document security label. This security label is actually given as attribute information for each area of each document. The attribute information is given to the document by a file that manages a list of security labels, for example, XML.

  An image forming apparatus that operates in accordance with such a security policy will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 2, 5, 13, 15, 17, and 21. FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. An image forming apparatus 100 as a reading apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 mainly includes a reading unit 71, a reading condition acquisition unit 72, a data transmission destination acquisition unit 73, a data processing unit 74, a data transmission unit 75, and a document. Attribute acquisition unit 111, operation requirement selection unit 112, operation control unit 113, user attribute acquisition unit 121, read image data DB (database) 61 storing read image data, accumulated data DB 62, and area management table DB64.

  Further, the document attribute acquisition unit 111 acquires the attribute of the document from each area of the paper document 60 in which the DSP to be read is described or from the read image data DB 61 and notifies the operation requirement selection unit 112 of the attribute.

  On the other hand, when the user attribute acquisition unit 121 acquires the user information input by the user, the user attribute acquisition unit 121 notifies the operation requirement selection unit 112. The operation requirement selection unit 112 selects an operation requirement for each area in accordance with the DSP of the paper document 60 and stores the result in the area management table DB 64. Further, the operation requirement selection unit 112 may directly notify the operation control unit 113 of the result. The operation control unit 113 instructs data processing on the image data of the read paper original 60 based on the requirements stored in the area management table DB 64 or based on the requirements notified from the operation requirement selection unit 112.

  The reading unit 71 is a processing unit that reads (scans) the paper document 60 in accordance with the reading condition input by the user notified from the reading condition acquisition unit 72, and the read image data is stored in the read image data DB 61. The In addition, the document attribute acquisition unit 111 is notified of the document attribute acquired from the image data DB 61.

  The reading condition acquisition unit 72 acquires the reading condition input by the user and notifies the reading unit 71 and the data processing unit 74 of the reading condition.

  The data transmission destination acquisition unit 73 acquires the data transmission destination input by the user and notifies the data transmission unit 75 of the data transmission destination.

  The data processing unit 74 performs data processing in accordance with the reading conditions input by the user notified from the reading condition acquisition unit 72 so as to satisfy the requirements provided by the operation control unit 113, and accumulates the data processed image data Accumulate in the data DB 62.

  The data transmission unit 75 transmits the image data to be processed extracted from the accumulated data DB 62 to the transmission destination notified from the data transmission destination acquisition unit 73 so as to satisfy the requirements notified from the operation control unit 113.

  When there is no need to transmit image data to the outside, the data transmission unit 75 may be omitted. Further, the image data may be stored in the recording medium 37.

  In FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 100 as a reading apparatus is described as being configured by dedicated hardware, but may be configured by a general-purpose computer and a program executed on the computer.

  A program for executing an embodiment of the present invention described below on a computer is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and is read by the computer before the execution. Such a program can also be distributed via a computer network.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 100 of the present invention manages the document area and the requirements for the area by the area management table DB 64, so that each area of the document can be used even if the permission and prohibition requirements are mixed. The operation on the read document data can be controlled in accordance with the requirements for.

  Next, identification information for identifying each area of the document (paper document) will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing identification information for identifying a document area. In the document 200 shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of areas 201 to 205 are set for the contents of the document, and identification information 206 for identifying the areas 201 to 205 is displayed. The identification information 206 stores the x-axis direction start point, the y-axis direction start point, the x-axis direction end point, the y-axis direction end point, and the identifier array information indicating the area in each area of the document 200. (Shown in table 640). Here, a one-dimensional barcode is used as the identification information 206. It is also possible to use a two-dimensional code due to the embedded capacity in the document.

  The table 640 shows details of the identification information 206 acquired by the document attribute acquisition unit 111, and stores the document attribute for each area selected by the operation requirement selection unit 112 for each acquired identification information 206. The table 640 includes an area start point item, an area end point item, and an identification information item.

  At this time, as shown in the table 641, if 128 bits are assigned in combination with the position of each area and the identification information, the document 200 can be identified up to 64 bits = 18,446,744,073,709,551,616. It is. For example, if it is assumed that all Japanese citizens use for about 100 years, 4,043,121 areas can be used per person per day. Each area designation information is 16 bits = 65,536, which corresponds to the case where the A3 paper original long side (420 mm) is sampled at 4000 dpi, and thus the above allocation is considered to be a sufficient value. In addition, 128-bit embedding can be about 2,000 bytes in a two-dimensional code or the like, so a plurality of areas can be easily specified.

  In this way, the identification information 206 embedded in the document 200 is read by the document attribute acquisition unit 111 and managed by the area management table DB 64, whereby the document attributes of each area of the document 200 are acquired, and the areas are determined according to the document attributes. The operation for each can be controlled.

  Next, a case where the attribute of each area of the document is managed by the document attribute acquisition unit 111 will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the document attribute acquisition unit. The document attribute acquisition unit 111 illustrated in FIG. 4 includes a document attribute DB 130, identification information acquisition means 131 that acquires identification information embedded in a document, and document attribute reading means 132. The identification information acquisition unit 131 acquires the identification information 206 embedded in the document 200. The document attribute reading unit 132 reads the document attribute corresponding to each area of the document from the document attribute DB 130 based on the acquired identification information 206. The table 131 stored in the document attribute DB 130 includes a document ID (identification information) item for identifying a document, a region start point item, a region end point item, a category item, and a level item. It is composed of items indicating the handling zones.

  As described above, by storing the start and end points of an area and attributes for the area as part of the document attributes in the document attribute DB 130, the document attributes corresponding to each area can be acquired from the read document identification information. it can.

  Next, a description will be given of a second embodiment in which a region setting table DB 63 in which document regions are set in advance is provided. FIG. 5 is a system configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the image forming apparatus 101 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the same components as those of the image forming apparatus 100 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the image forming apparatus 101 acquires an area setting table DB 63 that stores information in which a plurality of areas of a document are assigned in advance, and an area setting that acquires an area that is set and input by a user and stores the area in the area setting table DB 63. An acquisition unit 85.

  By setting the start point and the end point of each region in the x-axis direction and y-axis direction in this region setting table DB63, an identifier (one-dimensional barcode in the figure) is printed and read in each region. The document attribute corresponding to the identification information for each area can be acquired, and the operation according to the document attribute can be controlled.

  Next, reading of identification information embedded in each area of the document will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing identification information for identifying a document area. In the document 220 shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of areas 221 to 225 are set for the contents of the document, and identification information 226 to 230 for identifying each of the areas 221 to 225 is displayed. The identification information 226 to 230 stores the x-axis direction start point, the y-axis direction start point, the x-axis direction end point, and the y-axis direction end point of each region 221 to 225 of the document 220 (table). 630). In the table 630 stored in the area setting table DB 63, the start point and the end point of the area set in advance are set.

  The document attribute acquisition unit 111 reads identification information 226 to 230 of each area from the document 220 and refers to the area setting table DB 63. The operation requirement selection unit 112 can acquire a document attribute corresponding to the set area. Therefore, the operation is controlled by the operation control unit 113 according to the document attribute of each area of the document 220.

  Next, a modified example of identification information embedded in each area of a document will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a modified example of identification information for identifying a document area. In the areas 231 to 235 of the document 230 shown in FIG. 7, dot patterns of different types (dot patterns (forms), darkness, etc.) are displayed as identification information. When there are a plurality of areas to be displayed with the same dot pattern, the area and the identification information may be acquired as a corresponding area of the identification information indicated by the dot pattern.

  Thus, by displaying the identification information of each area of the document in a dot pattern, the versatility of the identification information embedded in the document can be improved.

  Next, a table stored in the area management table DB 64 of the image forming apparatus 101 will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a table stored in the area management table DB. The table 642 shown in FIG. 8 stores document attributes (operation requirements, hereinafter referred to as requirements) for each area by the operation requirement selection unit 112 of the image forming apparatus 101. The table 642 includes an item indicating the start point of the area of the document to be read, an item indicating the end point of the area, an item indicating whether each area can be processed (permitted or prohibited), and a plurality of requirements ( Requirement 1, Requirement 2, Requirement 3, etc.). For example, the record 643 of the table 642 indicates that the printing process is “permitted” for the area start point (10, 360) and the area end point (249, 799). ", Requirement 2" use of reliable communication path "is stored.

  The requirements stored in the table 642 need only store data processing of various documents in the image forming apparatus 101 and information related to the data processing. Therefore, it is possible to manage the information regarding the minimum necessary data processing and operate on the document area without requiring many recording areas.

  Next, a process of creating another image in an area having a read prohibition requirement during the reading process by the image forming apparatus 101 will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining data processing when a document area has a read prohibition requirement. In FIG. 9, the image forming apparatus 101 reads data in each area of the document 238 to be read (step S1). The document attribute acquisition unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 101 reads the requirements of each area of the document 238 and notifies the operation requirement selection unit 112 of the requirements. The operation requirement selection unit 112 stores the notified region and the requirements for the region in the region management table DB 64.

  The operation processing unit 113 reads the data of the document 238 by the reading unit 71 and then reads the requirements for each region from the region management table DB 64 to control the operation. For example, since the requirement “prohibition (prohibition of scanning)” for prohibiting reading is defined for the area 239 of the document 238, the data in the area 239 is deleted from the data read from the document 238, or is shown in the area 241. As described above, the document data 238 forming a gray image unrelated to the original data is stored in the accumulated data DB 62.

  As described above, when there is a prohibition requirement in a predetermined area in the document 238 from the requirements stored in the area management table DB 64, only the data in the area is deleted, or the operation of the document data in which other images are formed is controlled. can do.

  Next, a process for indicating that a predetermined area is prohibited to be read when the image forming apparatus 101 performs the reading process will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining data processing when a document area has a read prohibition requirement. In FIG. 10, the image forming apparatus 101 reads the data of each area of the document 238 to be read (step S1). The document attribute acquisition unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 101 reads the requirements of each area of the document 238 and notifies the operation requirement selection unit 112 of the requirements. The operation requirement selection unit 112 stores the notified region and the requirements for the region in the region management table DB 64.

  The operation processing unit 113 reads the data of the document 238 by the reading unit 71 and then reads the requirements for each region from the region management table DB 64 to control the operation. For example, since the requirement “prohibition (scan prohibition)” for prohibiting reading is defined for the area 239 of the document 238, the data of the area 239 is deleted from the read data of the document 238, as shown in the area 243. In addition, the document data 242 formed with information indicating that the predetermined area is prohibited from being read is stored in the accumulated data DB 62.

  As described above, when there is a prohibition requirement in the predetermined area from the requirements stored in the area management table DB 64, only the data in the area is deleted, and the read of the corresponding area is indicated and read. The operation of the document data can be controlled.

  Next, processing when the operation requirement selected by the operation requirement selection unit 112 cannot be satisfied during the reading processing by the image forming apparatus 101 will be described. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining data processing when there is a requirement to use a reliable communication path for a document area. In FIG. 11, the image forming apparatus 101 reads document data 245 stored in the accumulated data DB 62. Furthermore, the operation control unit 113 reads the requirements for each area stored in the area management table DB 64 and notifies the data transmission unit 75 of information for controlling the operation according to the requirements.

  For example, in the document data 245, the data in the area 247 whose requirement is “prohibited” is deleted and stored in a state where other images are formed, and the requirement of the area 246 is “trusted (reliable). "Use communication path)". When a reliable communication path cannot be secured, that is, when the selected operation requirement cannot be satisfied, the data transmission unit 75 deletes the data in the area 246 or has no relation to the original data as shown in the area 250. Document data 249 formed with a gray image is transmitted to another image forming apparatus (step S3).

  As described above, when the requirements defined in the predetermined area cannot be satisfied from the requirements stored in the area management table DB 63, the data in the area is deleted, or the document data in which another image is formed is changed to another one. Information can be transmitted to the image forming apparatus and information leakage can be prevented.

  Next, processing when the operation requirement selected by the operation requirement selection unit 112 cannot be satisfied during the reading processing by the image forming apparatus 101 will be described. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining data processing when there is a requirement to use a reliable communication path for the document area. In FIG. 12, the image forming apparatus 101 reads out document data 602 stored in the accumulated data DB 62. Furthermore, the operation control unit 113 reads the requirements for each area stored in the area management table DB 64 and notifies the data transmission unit 75 of information for controlling the operation according to the requirements.

  For example, in the document data 245, the data in the area 247 whose requirement is “prohibited” is deleted and stored in a state where other images are formed, and the requirement of the area 246 is “trusted (reliable). "Use communication path)". When a reliable communication path cannot be secured, that is, when the selected operation requirement cannot be satisfied, the data transmission unit 75 erases the data in the area 246 and cannot transmit the data in the corresponding area instead. The document data 252 in which information indicating this is formed is transmitted to other image forming apparatuses (step S3). For example, as shown in an area 251, information indicating “could not be transmitted because a reliable communication path cannot be used” is written in the document data 252 and transmitted.

  As described above, when the requirements stored in the area management table DB 64 cannot satisfy the requirements defined in the predetermined area, information indicating that the data in the area cannot be transmitted is written to the other areas. Information can be transmitted to the image forming apparatus and information leakage can be prevented.

  As described above, when a document is read by the image forming apparatus 101, if the processing is prohibited or the processing cannot be satisfied, the contents can be notified to the user. In this case, it is necessary to provide an operation information notification unit for notifying the user, and a third embodiment of the present invention provided with this operation information notification unit will be described below.

  FIG. 13 is a system configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the image forming apparatus 110 of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the same components as those of the image forming apparatus 100 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Since 110 differs from the image forming apparatus 100 in that it includes an operation information notification unit 76, the differences will be described below. In FIG. 13, the operation information notification unit 76 generates information indicating the processing result by the operation control unit 113 and notifies the user.

  For example, as a method for notifying the processing result, it is assumed that the operation panel 36 of the image forming apparatus 110 displays “a region where reading is prohibited is included”.

  Next, a display example on the operation panel 36 of the image forming apparatus 110 will be described. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a display example for notifying the user of the processing result. FIG. 14 shows a display example that is displayed on the operation panel 36 of the image forming apparatus 110 and notifies the user of the processing result, for example, the requirements of a predetermined area and the processing of document data corresponding to the requirements. In the display area 760 of FIG. 14 (A), a message “Processing has been canceled because it includes an area where reading is prohibited” is displayed. In the display area 761 of FIG. 14B, a message “A reading-prohibited area is included. Reading was performed with the corresponding area blank” is displayed.

  As described above, as a result of processing according to the requirements of each area of the document in the image forming apparatus 110, for example, it is possible to notify the user of the document requirements and the processing corresponding to the requirements.

  The image forming apparatus 110 may automatically perform reading, control the operation on the document, or stop the operation. In addition to the operation information notification unit 76 of the image forming apparatus 110 in the third embodiment, It is also possible to obtain confirmation information from the user. In this case, it is necessary to provide a confirmation information acquisition unit for acquiring confirmation information from the user, and a fourth embodiment of the present invention provided with this confirmation information acquisition unit will be described below.

  FIG. 15 is a system configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the image forming apparatus 120 of the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 15, the same components as those of the image forming apparatus 110 of the third embodiment shown in FIG. Since 110 differs from the image forming apparatus 101 in that it includes a confirmation information acquisition unit 77, the differences will be described below. In FIG. 15, the confirmation information acquisition unit 77 acquires the confirmation information that has been confirmed and input by the user in accordance with the notification by the operation information notification unit 76.

  For example, as a method of inputting confirmation information, in addition to the notification by the operation information notification unit 76 on the operation panel 36 of the image forming apparatus 120, a plurality of confirmation information input areas are displayed, and a predetermined operation is performed from these input areas by the user Shall be selected.

  Next, a display example on the operation panel 36 of the image forming apparatus 120 will be described. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a display example for prompting the user to confirm the operation. FIG. 16 shows a display example in which, for example, a predetermined area requirement and an input area for confirming and selecting document data processing corresponding to the requirement are displayed on the operation panel 36 of the image forming apparatus 120. In FIG. 16A, a display area 762 and input areas 766 and 767 are displayed. In the display area 762, a message “A region that is prohibited to be read is included” is displayed, and in the input region 766, an operation “read with the corresponding region blank” is displayed. In an area 767, an operation of “stop reading” is displayed. In FIG. 16B, a display area 763 and input areas 768 and 769 are displayed. In the display area 763, a message “There is an area that cannot be transmitted because a reliable communication path cannot be used” is displayed, and in the input area 768, an operation of “transmit with the corresponding area blank” is performed. In the input area 769, an operation “stop transmission” is displayed.

  In this way, the operation panel 36 of the image forming apparatus 120 notifies the user of the requirements for each area of the document and displays the input area indicating a plurality of operations for the requirements of each area of the document, thereby allowing the user to operate. Can be confirmed and selected.

  An image forming apparatus as a copying apparatus that has the area management table DB 64 of the present invention and performs processing according to the requirements for each area of the document will be described below.

  FIG. 17 is a system configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus as a copying apparatus that performs processing in accordance with the requirements for each document area. In the image forming apparatus 140 shown in FIG. 17, the same components as those in the image forming apparatus 100 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. In FIG. 17, an image forming apparatus 140 as a copying apparatus includes a copying condition acquisition unit 81 and a data transmission unit 75 of the image forming apparatus 100 instead of the reading condition acquisition unit 72 and the data transmission destination acquisition unit 73 of the image forming apparatus 100. The difference is that the printing unit 82 is provided instead of the printing unit 82.

  The document attribute acquisition unit 111 acquires the attribute of the document from each area of the paper document 60 in which the DSP to be read is described or from the read image data DB 61 and notifies the operation requirement selection unit 112 of it.

  When the user attribute acquisition unit 121 acquires the user information input by the user, the user attribute acquisition unit 121 notifies the operation requirement selection unit 112. The operation requirement selection unit 112 selects the operation requirement when each region is permitted according to the DSP of the paper document 60 and stores the result in the region management table DB 64. Further, the operation requirement selection unit 112 may directly notify the operation control unit 113 of the result. The operation control unit 113 performs data processing on the image data of the paper document 60 read by the reading unit 71 based on the requirements stored in the area management table DB 64 or based on the requirements notified from the operation requirement selecting unit 112. Instruct.

  The copy condition acquisition unit 81 acquires a copy condition input by the user to the operation panel 36 and notifies the reading unit 71 and the data processing unit 74 of the copy condition and also notifies the printing unit 82.

  The printing unit 82 acquires the image data of the paper document 60 from the accumulated data DB 62 in response to an instruction from the operation control unit 113, and is notified from the copy condition acquisition unit 81 so as to satisfy the requirements notified from the operation control unit 113. The printing process is performed according to the copying conditions, and a copy original (paper output) 65 in which image data is formed on the paper is output.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 140 can control the printing process for the document data read according to the requirements for each area, based on the requirements for each area of the document managed by the area management table DB 64 and the copy conditions.

  Next, a table stored in the area management table DB 64 of the image forming apparatus 140 will be described. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a table stored in the area management table DB. A table 644 shown in FIG. 18 stores requirements for each area from the operation requirement selection unit 112 in the image forming apparatus 140 as a copying apparatus. The table 644 includes an item indicating the start point of the document area to be read, an item indicating the end point of the area, an item indicating whether each area can be processed (permitted or prohibited), and a plurality of requirements ( Requirement 1, Requirement 2, Requirement 3, etc.). For example, the record 645 of the table 644 indicates that the printing process is “permitted” for the area start point (10, 360) and the area end point (249, 799). "Is stored.

  It should be noted that the requirements stored in the table 644 need only store data processing of various documents in the image forming apparatus 140 as a copying apparatus and information related to the data processing. Accordingly, it is possible to manage the information on the minimum necessary data processing and perform an operation on the document without requiring a large number of recording areas.

  Next, a process for data in an area having a copy prohibition requirement when the image forming apparatus 140 performs a printing process will be described. FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining reading and printing processing of document data having a copy prohibition requirement. In FIG. 19, the image forming apparatus 140 reads data in each area of the document 250 to be read (step S1). The document attribute acquisition unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 101 reads the requirements of each area of the document 250 and notifies the operation requirement selection unit 112 of the requirements. The operation requirement selection unit 112 stores the notified region and the requirements for the region in the region management table DB 64.

  The operation processing unit 113 reads the data of the document 250 by the reading unit 71, reads the requirements for each area from the area management table DB 64, and prints the data of the document data 252 read by the reading unit 71 according to the requirements. Printing by the unit 82 is controlled (step S2). For example, since the storage data DB 62 defines a requirement “prohibition (scan prohibition)” for prohibiting reading of the area 251 of the document 250, the data of the area 251 is deleted from the read data of the document 250. As shown in a region 253, document data 252 in which a gray image unrelated to the original data is formed is stored.

  As described above, when there is a prohibition requirement in a predetermined area from the requirements stored in the area management table DB 64, only the data in the area can be deleted, or document data in which other images are formed can be printed.

  Next, a process for indicating that a predetermined area is copy-prohibited during the printing process by the image forming apparatus 140 will be described. FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining reading and printing processing of document data having a copy prohibition requirement. In FIG. 20, the image forming apparatus 140 reads data in each area of the document 250 to be read (step S1). The document attribute acquisition unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 101 reads the requirements of each area of the document 250 and notifies the operation requirement selection unit 112 of the requirements. The operation requirement selection unit 112 stores the notified region and the requirements for the region in the region management table DB 64.

  The operation processing unit 113 reads the data of the document 250 by the reading unit 71, reads the requirements for each area from the area management table DB 64, and prints the data of the document data 252 read by the reading unit 71 according to the requirements. Printing by the unit 82 is controlled (step S2). For example, since the requirement “prohibited (scan prohibited)” for prohibiting reading is specified for the area 251 of the document 250 in the accumulated data DB 62, the data in the area 251 is deleted from the read data of the document 250. Instead, document data 252 in which information indicating “copying prohibited” is formed as shown in area 256 is stored.

  As described above, when there is a copy prohibition requirement in a predetermined area from the requirements stored in the area management table DB 64, only the data in the area is deleted, and the document data in which information indicating the copy prohibition is formed in the corresponding area portion. Can be printed.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus 140 as a copying apparatus, the processing desired by the user is often different each time, and information on the security of the document to be copied and the processing content for the document are notified to the user, and confirmation information from the user Need to get. For this reason, the image forming apparatus 140 shown in FIG. 17 needs to include an operation information notification unit for notifying the user and a confirmation information acquisition unit for acquiring confirmation information from the user, and these processing units are provided. A modification of the case will be described below.

  FIG. 21 is a system configuration diagram showing a modification of the image forming apparatus as a copying apparatus that performs processing according to the requirements of each area of the document. In the image forming apparatus 141 as a copying apparatus shown in FIG. 21, the same components as those in the image forming apparatus 140 shown in FIG. 76 and the image forming apparatus 140 in that the confirmation information acquisition unit 77 is provided. In FIG. 21, the operation information notification unit 76 generates information indicating the processing result by the operation control unit 113 and notifies the user. The confirmation information acquisition unit 77 acquires confirmation information input from a user who has confirmed the processing result notified by the operation information notification unit 76.

  For example, the processing result and confirmation information are displayed on the operation panel 36 of the image forming apparatus 141 as a method for notifying the processing result and inputting the confirmation information. The operation panel 36 is notified of the processing result such as “copy prohibited area is included”, and the confirmation information is “copy by skipping the relevant area”, “cancel copy”, etc. The input area is displayed. The user selects and inputs predetermined confirmation information from a plurality of confirmation information displayed in the input area.

  As described above, in the image forming apparatus 141 as a copying apparatus, the user is prompted to confirm the requirements for each area of the document, and the user is allowed to perform a predetermined operation from a plurality of operations according to the requirements of each area of the document. Can be selected.

  Therefore, in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, even when requirements for permission and prohibition are mixed in each area of the document, the requirements for each area of the document are managed, and the operation for the document data read according to the requirements for each area is controlled. be able to.

  As embedding information for uniquely identifying permission and prohibition requirements for each area of a document, not only one-dimensional barcode, two-dimensional code and dot pattern but also at least one information of watermark information and tint block information is used. May be. The image forming apparatuses 100, 101, 110, 120, 130, and 131 according to the present invention are apparatuses having at least one of a plurality of different image forming functions such as a printer, a FAX, and a copy.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the identification information which identifies the area | region of a document. It is a figure which shows the function structure of a document attribute acquisition part. It is a system configuration | structure figure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 2nd Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the identification information which identifies the area | region of a document. It is a figure which shows the modification of the identification information which identifies the area | region of a document. It is a figure which shows the table stored in area | region management table DB. It is a figure for demonstrating the data processing in case there exists a read prohibition requirement in the area | region of a document. It is a figure for demonstrating the data processing in case there exists a read prohibition requirement in the area | region of a document. It is a figure for demonstrating the data processing in case it has the requirement of using the reliable communication path for the area | region of a document. It is a figure for demonstrating the data processing in case it has the requirement of using the reliable communication path for the area | region of a document. It is a system configuration | structure figure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 3rd Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a display for notifying a user of a process result. It is a system configuration | structure figure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 4th Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a display for notifying a user of a process result. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus as a copying apparatus that performs processing according to the requirements of each area of a document. It is a figure which shows the table stored in area | region management table DB. FIG. 10 is a diagram for describing reading and printing processing of document data having a requirement of copy prohibition. FIG. 10 is a diagram for describing reading and printing processing of document data having a requirement of copy prohibition. FIG. 10 is a system configuration diagram showing a modification of an image forming apparatus as a copying apparatus that performs processing according to the requirements of each area of a document.

Explanation of symbols

11 CPU
12 ROM
13 RAM
14 Nonvolatile RAM
15 Real-time clock 21 Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F
22 USB
23 IEEE1284
24 Hard disk I / F
25 Engine I / F
26 RS-232C I / F
27 Driver 37 Recording medium 60 Paper document 61 Image data DB
62 Accumulated data DB
63 Area setting table DB
64 Area management table DB
65 Paper output 71 Reading unit 72 Reading condition acquisition unit 73 Data transmission destination acquisition unit 74 Data processing unit 75 Data transmission unit 76 Operation information notification unit 81 Copy condition acquisition unit 82 Printing unit 85 Area setting acquisition unit 100, 101, 110, 120 140, 141 Image forming apparatus 111 Document attribute acquisition unit 112 Operation requirement selection unit 113 Operation control unit 121 User attribute acquisition unit 130 Document attribute DB
131 Identification information acquisition means 132 Document attribute reading means B System bus

Claims (17)

Identification information reading means for reading the identification information of the document;
An operation requirement selection means for selecting an operation requirement specified by the identification information;
An image forming apparatus having an operation control unit that controls execution of a predetermined operation in accordance with one or more operation requirements selected by the operation requirement selection unit;
An area information management table for storing the operation requirements for each area information of the document;
The operation requirement selection means stores operation requirements corresponding to each area of the document in the area information management table,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the operation control unit reads the operation requirement from the area information management table and controls execution of a predetermined operation according to the operation requirement. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation requirement is a security requirement for the document. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined operation forms an image with electronic data. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined operation prints the document on a sheet. The identification information reading means has a document attribute management table for managing the identification information and document attributes for each area of the document in association with each other.
Get identification information corresponding to each area of the document,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a document attribute corresponding to the identification information is acquired from the document attribute management table. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the identification information reading unit acquires a document attribute corresponding to identification information of each document from the document attribute management table. The identification information reading means has an area setting table in which the area of the document is set,
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein identification information corresponding to a document area is obtained from the area setting table. The identification information reading means identifies the dot pattern of the background of the document,
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein identification information corresponding to a region having the same dot pattern as the identified dot pattern is acquired. When there is an area in the document where the operation requested by the user is not permitted, or when there is an area that cannot satisfy the selected requirement, the operation control means has no relation to the information of the area. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image is formed to control a predetermined operation. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the image is an image indicating that an operation requested for the area is not permitted or a selected requirement cannot be satisfied. The operation control procedure is characterized in that the predetermined operation is stopped when there is an area where the operation requested by the user is not permitted in the document or when there is an area that cannot satisfy the selected requirement. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9 or 10. It is determined that there is an area in the document where the operation requested by the user is not permitted, or that there is an area that cannot satisfy the selected requirement, and an image unrelated to the information of the area is formed in the area. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising notification means for notifying the user that the operation is controlled and the predetermined operation is stopped. 13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising confirmation information acquisition means for acquiring confirmation information indicating that the user has confirmed the information notified by the notification means. The operation control procedure causes the user to select one of an operation for controlling a predetermined operation by forming an image irrelevant to information on the region in the region and an operation for stopping the predetermined operation. Forming equipment. An image forming method for causing a computer to perform processing in an image forming apparatus having an area information management table for storing the operation requirements for each area information of a document,
An identification information reading procedure for reading the identification information of the document;
An operation requirement selection procedure for selecting an operation requirement specified by the identification information and storing an operation requirement corresponding to each region of the document in the region information management table;
An image forming method comprising: an operation control procedure for reading the operation requirements from the area information management table and controlling execution of a predetermined operation in accordance with the operation requirements. A program for causing a computer to perform processing in an image forming apparatus having an area information management table for storing the operation requirements for each area information of a document,
An identification information reading procedure for reading the identification information of the document;
An operation requirement selection procedure for selecting an operation requirement specified by the identification information and storing an operation requirement corresponding to each region of the document in the region information management table;
An operation control procedure for reading the operation requirements from the area information management table and controlling execution of a predetermined operation in accordance with the operation requirements. A recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to perform processing in an image forming apparatus having an area information management table for storing the operation requirements for each area information of a document,
An identification information reading procedure for reading the identification information of the document;
An operation requirement selection procedure for selecting an operation requirement specified by the identification information and storing an operation requirement corresponding to each region of the document in the region information management table;
An operation control procedure for reading the operation requirements from the area information management table and controlling execution of a predetermined operation in accordance with the operation requirements.

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