JP2006303812A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus discriminating whether or not an image file is falsified when a perusal or a printing command is inputted by a user to the image file in a folder for a common bulletin board and capable of informing the user of the falsification in the case of the falsification. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus has a means storing peculiar information added to the image file when the image file is registered in the folder for the common bulletin board. The device for forming the image further has a means comparing the peculiar information added to the image file as a selected perusal/printing object and the peculiar information corresponding to the image file as the perusal/printing object stored in a peculiar-information folder when the perusal or printing command of the image file in the folder for the common bulletin board is inputted by the user for the common bulletin board and the image file to be perused or printed is selected and discriminating whether or not all peculiar informations coincide. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a shared bulletin board function.

  Many recent digital multi-function peripherals are equipped with an HDD, and many functions using the HDD are installed. The shared bulletin board function is one of them, and there is a shared bulletin board folder in the HDD, and things that are shared by multiple people, such as notifications and various application forms, are stored in that folder. This function allows the user to browse and print. In the shared bulletin board function, in many cases, a plurality of people can freely access the shared bulletin board folder for that purpose.

While the shared bulletin board function is convenient for multiple people to freely access the shared bulletin board folder, the image data stored in the shared bulletin board folder is altered without being noticed by the person who registered it. There is a risk that. If the user uses the altered image data without knowing it, there is a possibility that incorrect information is notified or an incorrect form is used.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-2028

  In the present invention, when a user inputs a browse or print command to an image file in a shared bulletin board folder, it is determined whether or not the image file has been tampered with. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of notifying the user to that effect.

  In addition, the present invention periodically checks whether each image file in the shared bulletin board folder has been tampered with. If there is a tampered image file, the image forming apparatus manages that fact. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of notifying a person.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus including the HDD in which the shared bulletin board folder is provided, the HDD includes a unique information folder separately from the shared bulletin board folder. When a file is registered, a means for storing the unique information added to the image file in the unique information folder, and a user of the shared bulletin board inputs an instruction to view or print the image file in the shared bulletin board folder. Or, when an image file to be printed is selected, it corresponds to the unique information added to the selected image file to be browsed / printed and the image file to be browsed / printed stored in the unique information folder. The unique information to be compared, and a means for determining whether or not all of the unique information is identical. In this case, the means for performing the process for displaying or printing the image file to be browsed / printed in accordance with the browsing or printing command, and part of the specific information to be compared do not match. If the image file to be browsed / printed is falsified, the user who performed the input operation of the browse or print command is notified, and then the view / print target is selected according to the browse or print command. Means for performing processing for displaying the image file or processing for printing.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a PC of an administrator of the image forming apparatus is connected to the image forming apparatus via a network, and even part of both pieces of unique information to be compared is included. If they do not match, the image forming apparatus has means for notifying the administrator PC of the image forming apparatus by e-mail that the image file to be browsed / printed has been falsified.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in an image forming apparatus including an HDD provided with a shared bulletin board folder, a PC of an administrator of the image forming apparatus is connected to the image forming apparatus via a network. A unique information folder is provided separately from the shared bulletin board folder, and when the image file is registered in the shared bulletin board folder, means for storing the unique information added to the image file in the unique information folder, the shared bulletin board If it is determined by the tamper check means that periodically checks whether or not each image file in the folder has been tampered with, and the tamper check means, there is an image to that effect. It is provided with a notification means for notifying the forming apparatus administrator's PC by e-mail. For each image file in the bulletin board folder, the unique information added to the image file is compared with the unique information corresponding to the image file stored in the unique information folder. It is determined whether or not they match, and it is determined that the image file has been tampered with when both of the compared pieces of unique information do not match.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus provided with the HDD provided with the shared bulletin board folder, the converted image storage folder is provided in the HDD separately from the shared bulletin board folder. Means for storing the converted image data obtained by converting the registered image data by a one-way function when the image file is registered in the converted image storage folder, in the shared bulletin board folder by the user of the shared bulletin board When an image file browsing or printing command is input and an image file to be browsed or printed is selected, the image data in the selected image file to be browsed / printed is converted and obtained by the above one-way function. When the converted image data and the image file to be browsed / printed are registered, they are stored in the converted image storage folder. Means for comparing the converted image data and determining whether or not the two converted image data match; if the two converted image data to be compared match, the browsing / printing target is selected according to the browsing or printing command; Means for performing processing for displaying or printing an image file, and if both converted image data to be compared do not match, the fact that the image file to be browsed / printed has been altered. And a means for performing processing for displaying or printing the image file to be browsed / printed in accordance with the browsing or printing command after notifying the user who has performed the browsing or printing command input operation. It is characterized by.

  According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the invention of the fourth aspect, the PC of the administrator of the image forming apparatus is connected to the image forming apparatus via a network, and the converted image data to be compared match. If there is no image file, the image forming apparatus has a means for notifying the administrator PC of the image forming apparatus by e-mail that the image file to be browsed / printed has been falsified.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in an image forming apparatus including an HDD provided with a shared bulletin board folder, a PC of an administrator of the image forming apparatus is connected to the image forming apparatus via a network. A converted image storage folder is provided separately from the shared bulletin board folder, and converted image data obtained by converting the registered image data by a one-way function when an image file is registered in the shared bulletin board folder Is stored in the converted image storage folder, the falsification check means for periodically checking whether each image file in the shared bulletin board folder has been falsified, and the image file that has been falsified by the falsification check means If it is determined that there is, there is an email notification to the administrator of the image forming apparatus And a tamper check means for each image file in the shared bulletin board folder, the image data in the image file is converted by the one-way function, and the obtained converted image data and the image Compared with the converted image data stored in the converted image storage folder when the file is registered, and if both converted image data do not match, it is determined that the image file has been tampered with. It is characterized by.

  According to this invention, when a user inputs a browse or print command for an image file in the shared bulletin board folder, it is determined whether or not the image file has been tampered with. If so, the user can be informed accordingly.

  In addition, the present invention periodically checks whether each image file in the shared bulletin board folder has been tampered with. If there is a tampered image file, the image forming apparatus manages that fact. Person can be notified.

  An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a digital copying machine having a shared bulletin board function will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a digital copying machine having a shared bulletin board function.

  The digital copying machine includes an operation display unit 1, an image reading unit 2, a printing unit 3, a network control unit 4, an HDD 5, a memory 6, and a control unit 7. The network control unit 4 is connected to the network.

  This digital copying machine has a shared bulletin board folder 11 in the HDD 5 and stores in common shared bulletin folder 11 a plurality of people, such as notifications and various application forms. It has a shared bulletin board function that users can view and print. The shared bulletin board folder 11 can be freely accessed by users of the shared bulletin board.

  Since there is a possibility that the data in the shared bulletin board folder 11 is tampered with, it has a function of checking whether the data in the shared bulletin board folder 11 has been tampered with. For this check function, a unique information folder 12 is provided in the HDD 5 in addition to the shared bulletin board folder 11. This unique information folder 12 cannot be freely accessed even by a user of the shared bulletin board.

  Note that the network to which the network control unit 4 is connected is connected to the PC of the user of the shared bulletin board and the PC of the administrator of the digital copying machine.

  Registration of image data in the shared bulletin board folder 11 can be performed by operating a digital copier or by operating a PC connected to the digital copier via a network.

  At this time, the digital copying machine stores the unique information added to the image file registered in the shared bulletin board folder 11 in the unique information folder 12. Specific information includes the following, for example.

(A) File name (b) File creation date and time (c) File save date and time to HDD (d) File size

  Note that when a registrant name is input when registering an image file in the HDD, the registrant name can also be unique information.

  A user of the shared bulletin board operates the digital copying machine or operates a PC connected to the digital copying machine via a network to transfer the image file registered in the shared bulletin board folder 11 to the digital copying machine. Can be viewed on the operation display unit 1 or the PC screen, or can be printed by a digital copying machine.

  When browsing, a list of image files (list of file names) registered in the shared bulletin board folder 11 is displayed on the operation display unit 1 (or on the PC screen) of the digital copying machine, and browsing is desired from the list. By selecting one, an image in the selected image file is displayed on the operation display unit 1 (or on the PC screen) of the digital copying machine.

  When printing, a list of image files (file name list) registered in the shared bulletin board folder 11 is displayed on the operation display unit 1 (or on the PC screen) of the digital copying machine, and printing is desired from the list. By selecting one, the image in the selected image file is printed by the digital copier.

  FIG. 2 shows a processing procedure of the digital copying machine when browsing or printing an image file registered in the shared bulletin board folder 11.

  When an instruction to view or print an image file registered in the shared bulletin board folder 11 is input from the operation display unit 1 of the digital copying machine or a PC connected to the digital copying machine via a network (step S1). A list of image files registered in the shared bulletin board folder 11 is displayed (step S2). When a browsing command or print command is input from the operation display unit 1 of the digital copying machine, a list is displayed on the operation display unit 1 of the digital copying machine, and when a browsing command or print command is input from the PC. A list is displayed on the PC screen.

  The user selects an image file to be viewed or printed from this list. When an image file is selected (step S3), the unique information added to the selected image file and the unique information corresponding to the image file stored in the unique information folder 12 (unique when the image file is registered) The unique information stored in the information folder 12 is compared (step S4). Specifically, the unique information having the same file name as the file name in the unique information added to the selected image file is searched from the unique information folder 12, and the unique information added to the selected image file Compare with the searched unique information.

  If all of the unique information matches (YES in step S5), the image in the selected image file is displayed in accordance with the browsing command or print command input in step S1, and the operation display unit 1 of the digital copying machine. (Or on the PC screen) or printed (step S7). And this process is complete | finished.

  If any part of the unique information does not match in step S5, the fact that it has been tampered with is displayed on the operation display unit 1 (or on the PC screen) of the digital copying machine (step S6). The process proceeds to S7, and an image in the selected image file is displayed on the operation display unit 1 (or on the PC screen) of the digital copying machine in accordance with the browse command or print command input in step S1, or Print.

  In step S5, if any part of the unique information does not match, it is preferable to notify the administrator's PC that the image file has been tampered with by e-mail.

  In this embodiment, the digital copying machine has a function of checking whether or not an image file registered in the shared bulletin board folder 11 has been tampered with.

  FIG. 3 shows a tampering check procedure performed periodically by the digital copying machine.

  When the designated check time comes (step S11), after resetting the flag F (F = 0) (step S12), it is checked whether or not each image file registered in the shared bulletin board folder 11 has been tampered with. To do.

  That is, first, the first image file is selected from the image files in the shared bulletin board folder 11 (step S13), and the unique information added to the selected image file and the unique information folder 12 are stored. The unique information corresponding to the image file is compared (step S14). If all the unique information matches (YES in step S15), it is determined whether or not the check has been completed for all the image files in the shared bulletin board folder 11 (step S17). If all the image files have not been checked, the next image file is selected (step S18), and the process proceeds to step S14.

  In step S15, if any part of the unique information does not match, the flag F is set (F = 1) and the file name of the image file is stored as the file name of the altered image file. (Step S16), the process proceeds to Step S17.

  In this way, when all the image files in all the shared bulletin board folders 11 are checked (YES in step S17), it is determined whether or not the flag F is set (step S19). If the flag F is not set, the current process is terminated. When the flag is set, the administrator notifies the administrator's PC by e-mail that the image files have been tampered with along with the file names of the tampered image files (step S20). And this process is complete | finished.

  In the above embodiment, whether the content of the image file has been altered by comparing the unique information added to the image file with the unique information corresponding to the image file stored in the unique information folder 12. Whether or not the content of the image file has been tampered with may be determined by the following method.

  That is, when the image data is registered in the shared bulletin board folder 11, the digital copying machine converts the image data with a one-way function such as a hash function, and uses the obtained image data as the check image data. Store in folder 12. When it is determined whether or not the content of an image file in the shared bulletin board folder 11 has been altered (steps 4 and 5 in FIG. 2 or steps 14 and 15 in FIG. 3), the shared bulletin board folder 11 is converted by the one-way function, and whether or not the obtained image matches the check image data stored in the unique information folder (converted image storage folder) 12 when the image is registered. Determine. If the two do not match, it is determined that the contents of the image file have been tampered with.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital copying machine having a shared bulletin board function. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the digital copying machine when browsing or printing an image file registered in a shared bulletin board folder. 6 is a flowchart showing a tampering check processing procedure periodically performed by the digital copying machine.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Operation display part 2 Image reading part 3 Printing part 4 Network control part 5 HDD
6 Memory 7 Control unit 11 Shared bulletin board folder 12 Unique information folder

Claims (6)

In an image forming apparatus provided with an HDD provided with a shared bulletin board folder,
A unique information folder is provided in the HDD separately from the shared bulletin board folder, and when the image file is registered in the shared bulletin board folder, means for storing the unique information added to the image file in the unique information folder;
When a user of the shared bulletin board inputs an instruction to browse or print an image file in the shared bulletin board folder and an image file to be browsed or printed is selected, it is added to the selected image file to be browsed / printed. Means for comparing the unique information and the unique information corresponding to the image file to be browsed / printed stored in the unique information folder, and determining whether or not all the unique information matches,
When all the unique information to be compared match, a means for performing processing for displaying or printing the image file to be browsed / printed according to the browsing or printing command, and for comparison If some of the two pieces of unique information do not match, the user who has performed the browsing or print command input operation is informed that the image file to be browsed / printed has been falsified. Means for performing processing for displaying or printing the image file to be browsed / printed according to a print command;
An image forming apparatus comprising: When the administrator PC of the image forming apparatus is connected to the image forming apparatus via a network, and even if part of both pieces of unique information to be compared does not match, the image file to be browsed / printed is falsified. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for notifying a PC of an administrator of the image forming apparatus by e-mail of the fact that it has been performed. In an image forming apparatus provided with an HDD provided with a shared bulletin board folder,
The image forming apparatus administrator's PC is connected to the image forming apparatus via a network, and a unique information folder is provided in the HDD separately from the shared bulletin board folder, and image files are registered in the shared bulletin board folder. Means for storing the unique information added to the image file in the unique information folder,
If it is determined by the tamper check means that periodically checks whether or not each image file in the shared bulletin board folder has been tampered with, and the tamper check means, there is an image file that has been tampered with. Is notified to the PC of the administrator of the image forming apparatus by e-mail,
The tamper check means compares, for each image file in the shared bulletin board folder, the unique information added to the image file and the unique information corresponding to the image file stored in the unique information folder, It is determined whether or not all of the unique information matches, and it is determined that the image file has been tampered with when both of the compared unique information do not match. Image forming apparatus. In an image forming apparatus provided with an HDD provided with a shared bulletin board folder,
A converted image storage folder is provided in the HDD separately from the shared bulletin board folder, and when the image file is registered in the shared bulletin board folder, the conversion obtained by converting the registered image data by a one-way function Means for storing the image data in the converted image storage folder;
When a user of the shared bulletin board inputs an instruction to browse or print an image file in the shared bulletin board folder and selects an image file to be browsed or printed, the image in the selected image file to be browsed / printed The converted image data obtained by converting the data with the one-way function is compared with the converted image data stored in the converted image storage folder when the image file to be browsed / printed is registered. Means for determining whether or not the converted image data match;
If the two converted image data to be compared match, a means for performing processing for displaying or printing the image file to be browsed / printed in response to a browsing or printing command, and both compared If the converted image data does not match, the user who has performed the input operation of the browsing or printing command is notified that the image file to be browsed / printed has been falsified, and then the browsing or printing command is displayed. Means for performing processing for displaying or printing the image file to be browsed / printed according to the above;
An image forming apparatus comprising: When the PC of the administrator of the image forming apparatus is connected to the image forming apparatus via a network and the converted image data to be compared do not match, the image file to be browsed / printed is falsified. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising means for notifying that the image forming apparatus manager's PC is notified by electronic mail. In an image forming apparatus provided with an HDD provided with a shared bulletin board folder,
The image forming apparatus administrator's PC is connected to the image forming apparatus via a network, and a converted image storage folder is provided in the HDD separately from the shared bulletin board folder, and image files are stored in the shared bulletin board folder. Means for storing the converted image data obtained by converting the registered image data by a one-way function in the converted image storage folder at the time of registration;
If it is determined by the tamper check means that periodically checks whether or not each image file in the shared bulletin board folder has been tampered with, and the tamper check means, there is an image file that has been tampered with. Is notified to the PC of the administrator of the image forming apparatus by e-mail,
For each image file in the shared bulletin board folder, the alteration check means converts the image data in the image file by the one-way function, and when the obtained converted image data and the image file are registered An image forming apparatus for comparing converted image data stored in a converted image storage folder and determining that the image file has been tampered with when the converted image data does not match .

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