JP2005151149A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus, capable of controlling an operation to document data read according to essential requirements of each page by managing the requirements for a document by each page. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes an identification information read means for reading identification information by each page of the document; an operation essential requirement selection means for selecting the operation essential requirement designated by the identification information; and an operation control means for controlling the execution of a prescribed operation, according to the one operation essential requirement or more selected by the operation essential requirement selecting means. The apparatus includes a page information management table for storing the operation essential requirement by each page of the document, and the operation essential requirement selecting means stores the operation essential requirement, corresponding to each page of the document to the page information management table, and the operation control means reads the operation essential requirement from the page information management table and controls execution of the prescribed operation, in accordance with the operation essential requirement. <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 document reading and operation 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 for each page of the document, for example, when permission and prohibition requirements are mixed in each page of the document, it is difficult to perform processing according to the requirements of each page for the imported 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 a requirement for each page of a document and control an operation for document data read according to the requirement for each page, and to cause a computer to perform processing in the image forming device. Image forming method and program, and a computer-readable recording medium storing the program.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an identification information reading means for reading identification information for each page of a document and an operation for selecting an operation requirement specified by the identification information. An image forming apparatus having a requirement selection unit and an operation control unit that controls execution of a predetermined operation according to one or more operation requirements selected by the operation requirement selection unit stores operation requirements for each page of the document. A page information management table, wherein the operation requirement selection means stores operation requirements corresponding to each page of the document in the page information management table, and the operation control means obtains the operation requirements from the page 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, the operation requirements for each page of the document are managed, and even when the permission and prohibition requirements are mixed on each page of the document, the operation on the read document data is controlled according to the requirements for each page. be able to.

  Further, the present invention can be configured such that the operation requirement is a security requirement for the document.

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

  Further, according to the present invention, the operation requirement can be configured to be a requirement indicating that the document data is prohibited to be read or permitted to be read.

  In such an image forming apparatus, even when read permission and prohibition requirements are mixed in each page of the document, the operation on the read document data can be controlled according to the requirements for each page.

  Further, according to the present invention, the operation requirement can be configured to be a requirement to use a predetermined communication path for distributing the document data.

  In such an image forming apparatus, the operation on the read document data can be controlled in accordance with the requirement to use a predetermined communication path for data distribution specified for each page of the document.

  In 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.

  In 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.

  Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 7, when there is a page in which the predetermined operation is not permitted or a page that cannot satisfy the selected operation requirement, the operation control unit It can be configured to delete data.

  In such an image forming apparatus, when there is a prohibition requirement on a document page or when a selected operation requirement is not satisfied, the operation can be controlled for document data from which only data on a predetermined page is deleted. it can.

  Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 8, when there is a page in which the predetermined operation is not permitted or a page that cannot satisfy the selected operation requirement, the operation control unit includes the page as a corresponding page. It can be configured to form an image indicating that the requested action is not permitted, or indicating that there are pages that cannot meet the selected requirements.

  In such an image forming apparatus, when a document page has a prohibition requirement or does not satisfy a selected operation requirement, only data on a predetermined page is deleted, and information indicating that it is not permitted instead. The operation can be controlled for document data to which information indicating that the requirements are not satisfied is added.

  Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 9, when there is a page in which the predetermined operation is not permitted or a page that cannot satisfy the selected operation requirement, the operation control unit A blank image can be formed for the data.

  In such an image forming apparatus, when there is a prohibition requirement on a document page or when the selected operation requirement is not satisfied, the operation is controlled for document data in which a blank image is formed with respect to the data of the page. can do.

  Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 10, when there is a page in which the predetermined operation is not permitted or a page that cannot satisfy the selected operation requirement, the operation control unit selects the corresponding page. It can be configured to stop operations on the containing document.

  In such an image forming apparatus, when there is a prohibition requirement on a document page or when the selected operation requirement is not satisfied, the operation is controlled with respect to document data in which the operation for the document including the page is stopped. Can do.

  Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 11, when there is a page in which the predetermined operation is not permitted or a page that cannot satisfy the selected operation requirement, the operation control unit A blank image can be formed for the data.

  In such an image forming apparatus, when there is a prohibition requirement on a document page or when the selected operation requirement is not satisfied, the operation is controlled for document data in which a blank image is formed with respect to the data of the page. can do.

  Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 12, the operation control means has an operation result when there is a page where the predetermined operation is not permitted or a page that cannot satisfy the selected operation requirement. It is possible to have a configuration having operation information notification means for notifying the user of the above.

  In such an image forming apparatus, it is possible to notify the user of the operation result when there is a page where the predetermined operation is not permitted or there is a page that cannot satisfy the selected operation requirement.

  Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 13, the operation information notification means includes a page that cannot satisfy the selected requirement that there is a page where the requested operation is not permitted. It can be configured to notify at least one of the fact that the corresponding page is deleted, the operation is performed, and the operation is stopped.

  In such an image forming apparatus, there is a page that the requested operation is not permitted, there is a page that cannot satisfy the selected requirement, an operation that the corresponding page is deleted, and an operation is performed. It is possible to notify the user of at least one operation result of stopping the operation.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the confirmation information acquisition means for acquiring confirmation information indicating that the information has been confirmed from the user based on the information notified by the operation information notification means. It can comprise so that it may have.

  In such an image forming apparatus, confirmation information can be acquired from a user who confirmed the notified information.

  Further, according to the present invention, the information input to the user by the operation information notification unit and the confirmation information acquired by the confirmation information acquisition unit are displayed on the display input unit. Can be configured.

  In such an image forming apparatus, information notified to the user and confirmation information to be acquired from the user can be displayed on the display input unit.

  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, an image that manages the requirements for each page of a document and can control the operation on the read document data according to the requirements for each page even when the permission and prohibition requirements are mixed in each page of the document. An image forming method and program for causing a computer to perform processing in the image forming apparatus and the image forming apparatus, and a computer-readable recording medium storing the program 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, and information regarding the security policy for each page of the document is displayed to the user, and input information or setting information is acquired 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 assigned as attribute information for each page 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 according to such a security policy will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 2, 8, 10, 12, and 18. 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 page management table It has DB63.

  Further, the document attribute acquisition unit 111 acquires the attribute of the document from each page of the paper document 60 describing the DSP to be read 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 the operation requirement for each page according to the DSP of the paper document 60 and stores the result in the page management table DB 63. 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 page management table DB 63 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 the 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 according to the present invention manages the requirements for each page of the document with the page management table DB 63, so that the requirements for each page are satisfied even when the permission and prohibition requirements are mixed on each page of the document. The operation on the read document data can be controlled according to the above.

  Next, a table stored in the page management table DB 63 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a table stored in the page management table DB. The table 630 illustrated in FIG. 3 stores operation requirements for each page from the operation requirement selection unit 112. The table 630 includes an item indicating the page number of the document to be read, an item indicating whether each page can be processed (permitted or prohibited), and a plurality of requirements (requirement 1, requirement 2, requirement 3, etc.) for the page. It is comprised with the item which shows. For example, the table 630 indicates that the process for the page with the page number “3” is “prohibited”, indicates that the process for the page with the page number “2” is “permitted”, and the requirement 1 “ Information of “stamp display” and requirement 2 “use of reliable communication path” is stored. Hereinafter, “requirement” (“operation requirement”) indicates the above-described availability item and a plurality of requirement items.

  Note that the requirement stored in the table 630 is only to store data processing of various documents 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 description will be given of a process of deleting data of a page having a read prohibition requirement when the image forming apparatus 100 performs a read process. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining data processing of a document having a read prohibition requirement. In FIG. 4, the image forming apparatus 100 reads a document (paper document) 600 to be read (step S1). In the document 600, the requirement “prohibited” is defined for the page 601 with the page number “3”. The document attribute acquisition unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 100 reads the attribute of the document 600 and notifies the operation requirement selection unit 112 of the attribute. The operation requirement selection unit 112 stores the notified attribute (requirement) of the document 600 in the page management table DB 63. The operation processing unit 113 reads the requirements of each page from the page management table DB 63 and controls the operation on the data of the document 600 read by the reading unit 71 according to the requirements. In FIG. 4, since the requirement of the page 601 with the page number “3” is “prohibited (scan prohibited)”, document data 602 obtained by deleting the data of the third page from the data read from the document 600 is stored in the accumulated data DB 62. To store.

  As described above, when there is a prohibition requirement on a predetermined page from the requirements stored in the page management table DB 63, it is possible to control the operation of the document data in which only the data on the page is deleted.

  Next, a process for indicating that a predetermined page is prohibited to be read when the image forming apparatus 100 performs the reading process will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining data processing of a document having a read prohibition requirement. In FIG. 5, the image forming apparatus 100 reads a document (paper document) 600 to be read (step S1). In the document 600, the requirement “prohibited (prohibited scanning)” is defined for the page 601 with the page number “3”. The document attribute acquisition unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 100 reads the attribute of the document 600 and notifies the operation requirement selection unit 112 of the attribute. The operation requirement selection unit 112 stores the notified attribute (requirement) of the document 600 in the page management table DB 63. The operation processing unit 113 reads the requirements of each page from the page management table DB 63 and controls the operation on the data of the document 600 read by the reading unit 71 according to the requirements. In FIG. 5, the data of the page 601 with the page number “3” whose requirement is “prohibited” is erased, and instead, information indicating that the corresponding page is prohibited to be read, for example, as indicated by 604 Information indicating “reading prohibition” is written in the document data 603 and stored in the accumulated data DB 62.

  As described above, when there is a prohibition requirement on a predetermined page from the requirements stored in the page management table DB 63, only the data of the page is deleted, and the document data is indicated that the corresponding page portion is prohibited to read. Can be controlled.

  Next, a process when the operation requirement selected by the operation requirement selection unit 112 cannot be satisfied during the reading process by the image forming apparatus 100 will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining data transmission processing of a document having a requirement to use a reliable communication path. In FIG. 6, the image forming apparatus 100 reads document data 602 stored in the accumulated data DB 62. Further, the operation control unit 113 reads the requirements for each page stored in the page management table DB 63 and notifies the data transmission unit 75 of information for controlling the operation according to the requirements.

  For example, the document data 606 stores the data of the page number “3” whose requirement is “prohibited” in a deleted state, and the requirement of the page 605 of the page number “2” is “trusted (reliable). "Use communication path)". If a reliable communication path cannot be secured, the data transmission unit 75 transmits the document data 606 from which the data of the page 605 has been deleted to other image forming apparatuses (step S3).

  As described above, when the requirements defined in a predetermined page cannot be satisfied from the requirements stored in the page management table DB 63, the data of the page can be deleted and transmitted to another image forming apparatus. Information leakage can be prevented.

  Next, a process when the operation requirement selected by the operation requirement selection unit 112 cannot be satisfied during the reading process by the image forming apparatus 100 will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a document data transmission process having a requirement to use a reliable communication path. In FIG. 7, the image forming apparatus 100 reads out document data 602 stored in the accumulated data DB 62. Furthermore, the operation control unit 113 reads the requirements for each page stored in the page management table 63 and notifies the data transmission unit 75 of information for controlling the operation according to the requirements.

  For example, the document data 606 stores the data of the page number “3” whose requirement is “prohibited” in a deleted state, and the requirement of the page 605 of the page number “2” is “trusted (reliable). "Use communication path)". If a reliable communication path cannot be secured, the data transmission unit 75 deletes the data of the page 605 and writes information indicating that the data of the corresponding page cannot be transmitted to the document data 607 instead. To the image forming apparatus (step S3). For example, as shown in 608, information indicating “could not be transmitted because a reliable communication path cannot be used” is written in the document data 607 and transmitted.

  As described above, when the requirement stored in the page management table DB 63 cannot satisfy the requirement stipulated in the predetermined page, information indicating that the data of the page cannot be transmitted is written to the other items. 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 100, if the processing is prohibited or the requirements 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 second embodiment of the present invention provided with this operation information notification unit will be described below.

  FIG. 8 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. 8, the same components as those of the image forming apparatus 100 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Since 101 differs from the image forming apparatus 100 in that it includes the operation information notification unit 76, the difference will be described below. In FIG. 8, 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 of notifying the processing result, the operation panel 36 of the image forming apparatus 100 displays a message such as “A page that is prohibited to be read is included” and “Reading of the third page is prohibited”. Assumed to be performed.

  Next, a display example on the operation panel 36 of the image forming apparatus 101 will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a display example for notifying the user of the processing result. FIG. 9 shows a display example that is displayed on the operation panel 36 of the image forming apparatus 101 and notifies the user of the processing result, for example, a predetermined page requirement and document data processing corresponding to the requirement. In the display area 760 of FIG. 9A, a message “A page prohibited to be read is included. Processing has been canceled” is displayed. In the display area 761 of FIG. 9B, a message “A page prohibited to be read is included. Reading was performed by skipping the corresponding page” is displayed.

  As described above, as a result of processing according to the requirements of each page of the document in the image forming apparatus 101, for example, it is possible to notify the user of the requirements of the document and the processing corresponding to the requirements.

  The image forming apparatus 100 may automatically read, control the operation on the document, or stop the operation. However, in addition to the operation information notification unit 76 shown in the second embodiment, confirmation information is received from the user. It is also possible to obtain. In this case, it is necessary to provide a confirmation information acquisition unit for acquiring confirmation information from the user, and a third embodiment of the present invention provided with this confirmation information acquisition unit will be described below.

  FIG. 10 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. 10, the same components as those of the image forming apparatus 101 of the second 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. 10, 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, as a method for inputting the confirmation information, it is assumed that the user selects a predetermined operation from a plurality of confirmation information input areas displayed on the operation panel 36 of the image forming apparatus 110.

  Next, a display example on the operation panel 36 of the image forming apparatus 110 will be described. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a display example for prompting the user to confirm the operation. FIG. 11 shows a display example in which, for example, a predetermined page 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 110. In FIG. 11A, a display area 762 and input areas 766 and 767 are displayed. In the display area 762, a message “A page that is prohibited to be read is included” is displayed. In the input area 766, an operation “Skip the corresponding page and perform reading” is displayed. In an area 767, an operation of “stop reading” is displayed. In FIG. 11B, a display area 763 and input areas 768 and 769 are displayed. In the display area 763, a message “There are pages that cannot be transmitted because a reliable communication path cannot be used” is displayed. In the input area 768, an operation “Send the corresponding page and perform transmission” is performed. In the input area 769, an operation “stop transmission” is displayed.

  In this way, the operation panel 36 in the image forming apparatus 101 is notified to the user of the requirements for each page of the document, and the input area indicating a plurality of operations for the requirements of each page of the document is displayed to the user. Confirmation and selection of operation can be prompted.

  An image forming apparatus as a copying apparatus that has the page management table DB 63 of the present invention and performs processing according to the requirements for each page of a document will be described below.

  FIG. 12 is a system configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus as a copying apparatus that performs processing according to the requirements for each page of a document. In the image forming apparatus 120 shown in FIG. 12, the same components as those in the image forming apparatus 100 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. In FIG. 12, an image forming apparatus 120 as a copying apparatus includes a copying condition acquisition unit 81 instead of a reading condition acquisition unit 72 and a data transmission destination acquisition unit 73 of the image forming apparatus 100, and a data transmission unit 75 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 a document attribute from each page 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.

  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 for each page according to the DSP of the paper document 60 and stores the result in the page management table DB 63. 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 page management table DB 63 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 120 can control the printing process for the document data read in accordance with the requirements for each page, based on the requirements for each page of the document managed by the page management table DB 63 and the copy conditions.

  Next, a table stored in the page management table DB 63 of the image forming apparatus 120 will be described. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a table stored in the page management table DB. A table 631 shown in FIG. 13 stores operation requirements for each page from the operation requirement selection unit 112 in the image forming apparatus 120 as a copying apparatus. The table 631 includes an item indicating the page number of the document to be read, an item indicating whether each page can be processed (permitted or prohibited), and a plurality of requirements (requirement 1, requirement 2, requirement 3, etc.) for the page. It is comprised with the item which shows. For example, the table 631 indicates that the printing process for the page with the page number “3” is “prohibited (copy prohibited)”, and the process for the page with the page number “2” is “permitted”. The information of requirement 1 “stamp printing” is stored.

  Note that the requirements stored in the table 631 are only to store data processing of various documents in the image forming apparatus 120 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 of deleting data of a page having a copy prohibition requirement during the printing process by the image forming apparatus 120 will be described. FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining reading and printing processing of document data having a copy prohibition requirement. In FIG. 14, the image forming apparatus 120 reads a document (paper document) 610 to be read (step S1). In the document 610, the requirement “prohibited” is defined for the page 601 with the page number “3”. The document attribute acquisition unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 120 reads the attribute of the document 610 and notifies the operation requirement selection unit 112 of the attribute. The operation requirement selecting unit 112 stores the notified attribute (requirement) of the document 610 in the page management table DB 63. The operation processing unit 113 reads the requirements of each page from the page management table DB 63, and controls printing by the printing unit 82 on the data of the document data 611 read by the reading unit 71 according to the requirements (step S2). In FIG. 14, since the requirement of the page 609 with the page number “3” is “prohibited (copy prohibited)”, document data 611 obtained by deleting the data on the third page from the data read from the document 610 is stored in the accumulated data DB 62. To store.

  As described above, when there is a copy prohibition requirement for a predetermined page from the requirements stored in the page management table DB 63, it is possible to print the document data in which only the data of the page is deleted.

  Next, a process for indicating that a predetermined page is prohibited from being copied during the printing process by the image forming apparatus 120 will be described. FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining reading and printing processing of document data having a copy prohibition requirement. In FIG. 15, the image forming apparatus 120 reads a document (paper document) 610 to be read (step S1). In the document 610, a requirement “prohibited (copy prohibited)” is defined for the page 609 of the page number “3”.

  The document attribute acquisition unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 120 reads the attribute of the document 610 and notifies the operation requirement selection unit 112 of the attribute. The operation requirement selecting unit 112 stores the notified attribute (requirement) of the document 610 in the page management table DB 63. The operation processing unit 113 reads the requirements of each page from the page management table DB 63 and controls printing by the printing unit 82 on the data of the document 610 read by the reading unit 71 according to the requirements. In FIG. 15, the data of the page 609 with the page number “3” whose requirement is “prohibited” is deleted, and information indicating that the corresponding page is “copy prohibited” as indicated by 613 instead, The document data 612 is written and stored in the accumulated data DB 62.

  As described above, when there is a copy prohibition requirement for a predetermined page from the requirements stored in the page management table DB 63, only the data on the page is deleted, and the document data is printed with the copy prohibition indicated in the corresponding page portion. be able to.

  Next, a description will be given of a printing process when a predetermined page has a copy prohibition requirement for a document printed on both sides. FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining reading and printing processing of document data having a copy prohibition requirement in the case of duplex printing. In FIG. 16, the image forming apparatus 120 reads a double-side printed document (paper document) 615 to be read (step S1). In the document 615, the requirement “prohibited” is defined for the page 616 with the page number “3”.

  The document attribute acquisition unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 120 reads the attribute of the document 615 and notifies the operation requirement selection unit 112 of the attribute. The operation requirement selection unit 112 stores the notified attribute (requirement) of the document 615 in the page management table DB 63. The operation processing unit 113 reads the requirements for each page from the page management table DB 63, and controls double-sided printing by the printing unit 82 for the data of the document data 617 read by the reading unit 71 in accordance with the requirements (step S2). In FIG. 16, since the requirement of the page 615 with the page number “3” is “prohibited (copy prohibited)”, the document data 617 obtained by deleting the data on the third page from the data read from the document 615 is stored in the accumulated data DB 62. To store. When printing is performed, the deleted third page data is packed and printed.

  As described above, when there is a copy prohibition requirement for a predetermined page from the requirements stored in the page management table DB 63, double-sided printing is performed by filling the corresponding page with respect to document data from which only the data of the page is deleted. it can.

  Next, a process for indicating that a predetermined page is prohibited from being copied when a printing process is performed on a double-side printed document will be described. FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining reading and printing processing of document data having a copy prohibition requirement in the case of duplex printing. In FIG. 17, the image forming apparatus 120 reads a document (paper document) 615 to be read (step S1). In the document 615, the requirement “prohibited (copy prohibited)” is defined for the page 616 of the page number “3”.

  The document attribute acquisition unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 120 reads the attribute of the document 615 and notifies the operation requirement selection unit 112 of the attribute. The operation requirement selection unit 112 stores the notified attribute (requirement) of the document 615 in the page management table DB 63. The operation processing unit 113 reads the requirements of each page from the page management table DB 63 and controls printing by the printing unit 82 on the data of the document 615 read by the reading unit 71 according to the requirements. In FIG. 17, the data of the page 616 with the page number “3” whose requirement is “prohibited” is erased, and instead, information indicating that the corresponding page is copy-prohibited, for example, as indicated by 619 Information indicating “copy prohibited” is written in the document data 618 and stored in the accumulated data DB 62.

  As described above, when there is a copy prohibition requirement for a predetermined page from the requirements stored in the page management table DB 63, only the data on the page is deleted, and the document data is printed with the copy prohibition indicated in the corresponding page portion. be able to.

  Also, in the image forming apparatus 120 as a copying apparatus, the processing desired by the user is often different each time, and information regarding 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 120 illustrated in FIG. 12 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. 18 is a system configuration diagram showing a modification of the image forming apparatus as a copying apparatus that performs processing according to the requirements for each page of a document. In the image forming apparatus 130 as the copying apparatus shown in FIG. 18, the same components as those in the image forming apparatus 120 shown in FIG. Since the image forming apparatus 120 is different from the image forming apparatus 120 in that it includes the confirmation information acquisition unit 77 and the confirmation information acquisition unit 77, the difference will be described below. In FIG. 18, 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 130 as a method for notifying the processing result and inputting confirmation information. In this operation panel 36, notifications such as “copy prohibited pages are included” and “reading of the third page is prohibited” are made as processing results, and confirmation information “applicable” An input area such as “Skip page and copy” or “Cancel copy” is displayed. In addition, when the user designates double-sided printing or aggregation, an image display that shows the print finish may be performed.

  Next, an example of image display on the operation panel 36 will be described. FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image display for prompting the user to notify the processing result and input confirmation information. In FIG. 19, a screen 770 displayed on the operation panel 36 of the image forming apparatus 130 displays a predetermined operation from a display area 771 indicating the requirements of the read document and a plurality of operations for the document displayed in the display area 771. A display area 790 for selecting and inputting is displayed. The display area 771 displays an image 772 that abstractly shows the read document and its requirements, and a display area 773 that indicates the contents of the requirements. The display area 790 displays images 775 to 779 that abstractly indicate the finishing of printing, and input areas 776 to 780 that indicate processing contents for each image as confirmation information. In the input area 776, information “Skip the relevant page and copy” is displayed, and the image 775 shows an image when only the third page of the document is printed with blank paper. In the input area 778, information “copy the relevant page and copy” is displayed, and an image 777 shows an image when the third page of the document is printed. In the input area 780, the information “cancel copying” is displayed, and since the image 779 is not printed, no image is displayed.

  For example, when the user touches and selects the input area 776 (or touches and selects the image 775) from the screen 770 as shown by the shaded area in FIG. 19, the image forming apparatus 130 selects the selected confirmation information. Based on the above, it is possible to perform the printing process for the document according to the requirements for each page of the read document.

  As described above, the user is allowed to select a predetermined print process from a plurality of operations controlled according to the requirements of each page of the document in the image forming apparatus 130 as a copying apparatus, and the user is notified of the requirements for each page of the document. At the same time, it is possible to prompt the user to confirm the printing process for the requirements for each page of the document.

  Therefore, in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, even when the permission and prohibition requirements are mixed on each page of the document, the operation on the document data can be controlled according to the requirements of each page.

  Note that at least one of bar code information, watermark information, and tint block information is used as embedded information for uniquely identifying permission and prohibition requirements for each page of the document. The image forming apparatuses 100, 101, 110, 120, and 130 according to the present invention are apparatuses having at least one of a plurality of different image forming functions such as printer, FAX, and copying.

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 table stored in page management table DB. It is a figure for demonstrating the data processing of the document which has the requirement of reading prohibition. It is a figure for demonstrating the data processing of the document which has the requirement of reading prohibition. It is a figure for demonstrating the data transmission process of the document which has the requirement of using the reliable communication path. It is a figure for demonstrating the data transmission process of the document which has the requirement of using the reliable communication path. 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 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 3rd Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a display for encouraging a user to confirm operation | movement. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus as a copying apparatus that performs processing according to requirements for each page of a document. It is a figure which shows the table stored in page 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 diagram for describing reading and printing processing of document data having a requirement of copy prohibition in the case of duplex printing. FIG. 10 is a diagram for describing reading and printing processing of document data having a requirement of copy prohibition in the case of duplex printing. FIG. 11 is a system configuration diagram illustrating a modification of an image forming apparatus as a copying apparatus that performs processing according to requirements for each page of a document. It is a figure which shows the example of an image display for prompting a user of the notification of a process result, and the input of confirmation information.

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 Page 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 100, 101, 110, 120, 130 Image forming apparatus 111 Document attribute acquisition unit 112 Operation requirement selection unit 113 Operation control unit 121 User attribute acquisition unit B System bus

Claims (18)

Identification information reading means for reading identification information for each page 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;
A page information management table for storing operation requirements for each page of the document;
The operation requirement selecting means stores operation requirements corresponding to each page of the document in the page information management table,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the operation control unit reads an operation requirement from the page information management table and controls execution of a predetermined operation in accordance with 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 operation requirement is a requirement indicating that the document data is prohibited from being read or permitted to be read. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation requirement is a requirement to use a predetermined communication path for distributing the document data. 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. 2. The image formation according to claim 1, wherein when there is a page where the predetermined operation is not permitted or a page that cannot satisfy the selected operation requirement, the operation control unit deletes data of the page. apparatus. If there is a page where the predetermined operation is not permitted or a page that cannot satisfy the selected operation requirement, the operation control means is an image indicating that the requested operation is not permitted for the corresponding page, or The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image indicating that there is a page that cannot satisfy the selected requirement is formed. The said operation control means forms a blank image with respect to the data of the said page, when there exists a page in which the said predetermined | prescribed operation | movement is not permitted, or a page which cannot satisfy the selected operation | movement requirement. The image forming apparatus according to 1. 2. The operation control unit according to claim 1, wherein when there is a page in which the predetermined operation is not permitted or a page that cannot satisfy the selected operation requirement, the operation control unit stops the operation on the document including the page. Image forming apparatus. The said operation control means forms a blank image with respect to the data of the said page, when there exists a page in which the said predetermined | prescribed operation | movement is not permitted, or a page which cannot satisfy the selected operation | movement requirement. The image forming apparatus according to 1. The operation control means includes operation information notification means for notifying a user of an operation result when there is a page where the predetermined operation is not permitted or a page that cannot satisfy the selected operation requirement. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The operation information notifying means that the requested operation is not permitted, that there is a page that cannot satisfy the selected requirement, that the operation is performed after deleting the corresponding page. The image forming apparatus according to claim 12, wherein at least one of notifications to stop is notified. 13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising confirmation information acquisition means for acquiring confirmation information indicating that the information has been confirmed from the user based on information notified by the operation information notification means. 15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, wherein information notified to the user by the operation information notifying unit and the confirmation information acquired by the confirmation information acquiring unit are displayed on a display input unit. An image forming method for causing a computer to perform processing in an image forming apparatus having a page information management table storing operation requirements for each page of a document,
An identification information reading procedure for reading identification information for each page 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 page of the document in the page information management table;
An image forming method comprising: an operation control procedure for reading operation requirements from the page 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 a page information management table storing operation requirements for each page of a document,
An identification information reading procedure for reading identification information for each page 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 page of the document in the page information management table;
An operation control procedure for reading an operation requirement from the page information management table and controlling execution of a predetermined operation according to the operation requirement. A recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to perform processing in an image forming apparatus having a page information management table storing operation requirements for each page of a document,
An identification information reading procedure for reading identification information for each page 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 page of the document in the page information management table;
An operation control procedure for reading operation requirements from the page information management table and controlling execution of a predetermined operation in accordance with the operation requirements.

Images