JP2007173916A - Image recording system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform dispersion processing efficiently according to the setting of authentication processing in each image recording device. <P>SOLUTION: When the setting of the authentication processing is valid, a master into which image data are inputted transmits an inputted authentication code to an authentication server for requesting authentication. When the inputted authentication code is authenticated, the master selects a slave for requesting the dispersion processing. The master adds the authentication code to the image data for transmitting to the slave. The slave receives the authentication of an authentication server by the transmitted authentication code for executing the dispersion processing. When the setting of the authentication processing of the master is invalid, the master transmits the image data to the slave. In this case, when the setting of authentication processing is valid in the slave, the slave does not perform dispersion processing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording system capable of executing distributed processing in which a plurality of image recording apparatuses connected through a network share one job and record an image.

  In an image recording system in which a plurality of image recording devices are connected to a network, when recording a large number of copies as processing of input image data, the plurality of image recording devices share and perform image recording in parallel. Distributed processing can be executed.

  In an image recording apparatus that performs such distributed processing, when processing input image data, processing is started after authentication is performed in order to ensure the security of an image that is printed and output.

For example, as described in Patent Document 1, the image recording apparatus requests distribution processing according to the security level of another image recording apparatus. That is, distributed processing is executed when the security level of the device is equal to or higher than the security level of other image recording apparatuses.
JP 2005-316603 A

  When the security level of another image recording apparatus is equal to or higher than its own security level, the requested image recording apparatus may not require authentication, and the other image recording apparatus may require authentication. That is, the requesting image recording apparatus does not acquire authentication information necessary for authentication. On the other hand, the image recording apparatus that receives the request requires authentication information, but the authentication information is not transmitted from the requesting image recording apparatus. Therefore, even if the distributed processing can be executed, since the authentication is not actually performed in another image recording apparatus, the distributed processing cannot be executed.

  In this case, in order to execute distributed processing, authentication information must be input to another image recording apparatus. That is, it is necessary to go to the installation location of another image recording apparatus and operate it. This is not different from normal copying, and the effect of distributed processing is not exhibited.

  In the above case, the user does not request authentication for image recording. Nevertheless, requesting authentication in other image recording apparatuses must be said to be excessive security and is not efficient.

  As described above, the image recording system does not perform efficient processing. In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an image recording system capable of executing distributed processing with increased processing efficiency while ensuring security.

  The present invention is an image recording system in which a plurality of image recording apparatuses are communicably connected via a network, and each image recording apparatus is capable of executing distributed processing for sharing and recording an image. , An authentication unit that requests authentication at the time of image recording, a setting unit that sets whether to enable or disable the authentication unit, and a determination unit that determines whether or not to execute distributed processing according to the setting It is.

  When the authentication unit is set to be valid, authentication is required when performing image recording. When set to invalid, image recording is performed without authentication. The determination means determines whether or not to request the distributed processing in consideration of the setting status of the own device and the setting status of the other image recording device, and performs the distributed processing when the distributed processing is requested. Determine whether to execute.

  Here, it is assumed that the image recording apparatus that requests the distributed processing is the master unit, and the image recording apparatus that receives the request is the slave unit. When the setting unit is enabled, the determination unit of the parent device requests another image recording apparatus, that is, the child device, to perform distributed processing. If the master unit is authenticated, the distributed processing is executed regardless of whether or not the slave unit is authenticated. In particular, when a slave unit is installed near the master unit, distributed processing is always executed, so that even a large number of image records can be processed efficiently.

  The image recording apparatus includes an acquisition unit that acquires authentication information necessary for authentication. When acquiring the authentication information, the master unit transmits this authentication information to the slave unit. When the setting unit is enabled and the authentication unit receives authentication information from another image recording apparatus, the determination unit executes distributed processing. That is, when the setting unit of the child device is enabled, the child device is authenticated by the authentication information received from the parent device and can execute distributed processing.

  In addition, when the setting unit is disabled, the determination unit executes the distributed processing when requested by another image recording apparatus for the distributed processing. That is, in the slave unit, if the setting unit is disabled, image recording can be executed without authentication. When receiving the request for distributed processing, the slave device executes the distributed processing regardless of the presence or absence of authentication information from the parent device.

  The image recording apparatus includes a confirmation unit that confirms a setting state of another image recording apparatus, and the determination unit determines whether or not to request the distributed processing based on the confirmation result. The confirmation unit communicates with another image recording apparatus to obtain the setting status. As described above, the image recording apparatuses communicate with each other to recognize each other's setting status. Accordingly, since the master unit recognizes the setting status of the slave unit, the determination unit of the master unit can determine whether the slave unit can execute the distributed processing and can determine whether to request the distributed processing. As a result, it is possible to prevent the request from being rejected by requesting an image recording apparatus that cannot execute the distributed processing, and the processing from being delayed.

  Here, the determination unit prohibits the request for distributed processing when the setting unit of the own apparatus is set to invalid and the setting unit of another image recording apparatus is set to valid. That is, the authentication information is not acquired in the parent device. On the other hand, authentication information is required in the slave unit. However, since authentication information is not transmitted from the parent device, authentication is not performed in the child device, and distributed processing cannot be executed. For this reason, the parent device does not request the child device for distributed processing. This eliminates the need for the base unit to perform unnecessary operations.

  A management device that manages each image recording device is connected to the network, and the management device has user information regarding registered users. This user information includes authentication information. In response to the authentication request from the image recording apparatus, the management apparatus transmits an authentication result and transmits user information to the image recording apparatus. The image recording device is customized based on the received user information.

  Therefore, a user registered in the management apparatus can perform image recording that requires authentication, for example, printing of a confidential document, in the image recording apparatus. The user information also includes display information of the operation panel customized according to the user. As a result, the operation panel of the image recording apparatus is customized for each user, and user convenience is improved.

  The image recording apparatus includes an operation detection unit that detects an operation state of another image recording apparatus, and the image recording apparatus selects an image recording apparatus that requests distribution processing based on the detection result. By detecting this operation state, it can be determined whether another image recording apparatus is currently operating for some processing or is in a standby state. By knowing the operation status of the other image recording apparatuses, the master unit can determine whether or not it can be executed immediately when requesting distributed processing. Therefore, distributed processing can be performed efficiently.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to execute distributed processing while ensuring security by being authenticated in the parent device. At this time, distributed processing is executed in the slave unit regardless of the presence or absence of authentication. Therefore, each image recording apparatus in the image recording system shares the image recording so that the entire system can perform processing efficiently.

  An image recording apparatus in the image recording system of this embodiment is shown in FIG. The image recording apparatus 1 is a digital multi-function peripheral that executes a copy mode, a print mode, a scanner mode, and a facsimile mode, and includes a scanner unit 2 that reads a document and inputs image data, and an image data processing unit that processes the image data. 3 and an information processing unit 4 for processing input information such as authentication information.

  The image data processing unit 3 prints image data, an image processing unit 5 that edits, stores, and outputs input image data, a network communication unit 7 that transmits and receives data to and from an external device via a network 6, and prints image data. It has a print unit 8 for output, a management unit 9 that stores control information and setting information for the entire apparatus, and a device control unit 10 that controls the entire apparatus. The image processing unit 5 includes a hard disk device that stores image data.

  The information processing unit 4 includes an operation unit 11 for input operation, a display unit 12 such as a liquid crystal display, an interface unit 13 that communicates with a mobile terminal device such as a USB device or an IC card, and authentication for input authentication information. An authentication unit 14 that performs authentication, a memory 15 that stores information such as authentication information, and a control unit 16 that processes input operation information and authentication information. Communication by the interface unit 13 is not limited to wired communication but may be wireless.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of image recording apparatuses 1 are connected to a network 6 such as a LAN or a WAN. The image recording apparatus 1 includes a model that can process color image data and a model that can process only monochrome image data. The image recording apparatus 1 has a modem device (not shown) and can perform data communication with a facsimile apparatus through a telephone line.

  The network 6 is connected to a host device 20 and an authentication server 21 that are personal computers. Furthermore, the network 6 is connected from the router to the Internet via a communication line such as a telephone line or an optical fiber. The image recording apparatus 1, the host apparatus 20, and the authentication server 21 form an image processing system.

  The image recording device 1 can communicate with an external device such as a host device 20 or an information processing device connected to the Internet and an authentication server 21 through a network 6 using a predetermined communication protocol. The image recording apparatuses 1 can also communicate with each other.

  The image data is transmitted from the external device to the image recording apparatus 1 through the network 6. The network communication unit 7 of the image recording apparatus 1 receives and inputs image data. In the case of facsimile communication, the modem device inputs image data. Image data is also input from the scanner unit 2. That is, the network communication unit 7, the modem device, and the scanner unit 2 function as data input means.

  When image data is input, the device control unit 10 receives a print mode, a copy mode, a scanner mode, and a facsimile mode based on input information from the operation unit 11 and processing setting information included in header information of the input image data. Execute one of the processes. In the print mode and copy mode, image processing is performed on image data, and then an image is printed on a recording sheet. In the scanner mode, image data is stored in the hard disk device, and the image data is transmitted to the external device when called from the external device. In the facsimile mode, image data is transmitted to the facsimile apparatus.

  Here, in order to ensure the security so that the content of the output image is not leaked to others, when the input image data is processed, an authentication process that requires authentication is performed. In order to perform this authentication process, the authentication unit 14 of the image recording apparatus 1 includes an authentication unit that requests authentication during image recording and an acquisition unit that acquires authentication information necessary for authentication. The authentication information is an authentication code such as a password.

  The acquisition means displays a message prompting the input of the authentication code on the display unit 12 in order to acquire the authentication code. Then, the authentication code input from the operation unit 11 is acquired and stored in the memory 15. When image data is input from the host device 20 by communication, the printer driver mounted on the host device 20 adds the authentication information to the header information of the image data and transmits the image data. As the authentication information added by the external device in this manner, for example, an input password, an authentication code unique to the external device such as an IP address or MAC address of the external device is used. The acquisition unit acquires the authentication code by transmitting data from an external device.

  The authentication unit requests authentication from the authentication server 21 based on the acquired authentication code. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the image recording apparatus 1 transmits the acquired authentication code to the authentication server. In the authentication server 21, user information related to the user is registered. The user information includes an authentication code for each user. The authentication server 21 also has management information regarding each image recording apparatus 1. The image recording apparatus 1 transmits setting information and operation information to the authentication server 21, and the authentication server 21 updates the received information as management information. As described above, the authentication server 21 also has a function as a management apparatus that manages each image recording apparatus 1. In addition, you may provide another server as a management apparatus.

  Upon receiving the authentication code, the authentication server 21 determines whether the authentication code is registered based on the user information, and returns an authentication result to the image recording apparatus 1. The authentication unit 14 of the image recording apparatus 1 determines whether to authenticate based on the authentication result. In response to the determination by the authentication unit 14, the device control unit 10 processes the image data when authenticated, and cancels the image data processing when not authenticated.

  Each image recording apparatus 1 can execute distributed processing. In the dispersion processing, image data input to one image recording apparatus 1 is shared by a plurality of image recording apparatuses 1 and recorded. The image recording apparatus 1 to which the image data has been input becomes a master unit, and the master unit requests another image recording apparatus 1 for distributed processing. The image recording apparatus 1 that is requested to perform the distributed processing is a slave unit. That is, each image recording apparatus 1 can be a parent machine or a child machine.

  In executing the distributed processing, the master unit transmits image recording information together with the image data to the slave unit. The slave unit performs image recording based on the image recording information. The master unit and the slave unit record the number of copies determined according to their processing capabilities. Distributed processing information indicating the execution of distributed processing is added to the header information of the image data, so that it is distinguished from image data for normal printing.

  In the image recording apparatus 1, it is possible to set whether the authentication process is enabled or disabled. In addition, it can be set whether or not the distributed processing can be executed. These settings are performed by an input operation from the operation unit 11. The input setting information is managed as a management table by the management unit 9 as shown in FIG. 3 and stored in the hard disk device. Each setting information may be transmitted to the authentication server 21.

  In each image recording apparatus 1, settings for the master unit and the slave unit are made. For example, if the authentication process is disabled and the distributed process cannot be executed in the setting for the slave unit, the image recording apparatus 1 operates only as the master unit.

  The device control unit 10 executes authentication processing and distributed processing based on these settings. When the authentication process is set to be valid, the process is executed when authenticated, and the process is not executed when not authenticated. When the authentication process is set to invalid, the process is executed regardless of the presence or absence of authentication. If the distributed processing is set to be executable, if it is a parent device, the distributed processing is requested. If it is a slave unit, the requested distributed processing is executed. When the distributed processing is set to be unexecutable, the parent device does not request the distributed processing. Even if the slave unit receives a request for distributed processing, it is not executed.

  That is, the device control unit 10 includes a unit that determines whether or not the distributed processing can be executed according to the authentication processing setting and the distributed processing setting. Here, in each image recording apparatus 1, when the distributed processing is set to be executable, as shown in FIG. 4, when the authentication processing is valid, the parent device can authenticate the authentication code regardless of the setting of the child device. Is sent to the handset. In the slave unit, when the authentication process is valid, authentication is performed using the received authentication code, and distributed processing is executed. When authentication processing is invalid, distributed processing is executed without performing authentication.

  When the authentication process is invalid in the parent device, the authentication code is not acquired, and therefore the authentication code is not transmitted to the child device. In the slave unit, when the authentication process is valid, the authentication code cannot be received from the master unit, so the distributed process is not executed. When authentication processing is invalid, distributed processing is executed without performing authentication.

  The operation of each image recording apparatus 1 when performing distributed processing will be described with reference to FIG. It is assumed that the image recording apparatus 1 is set so that the authentication process is valid and the distributed process is executable. Image data for distributed processing is input to the image recording apparatus 1. Image data is stored in the hard disk device.

  The image recording apparatus 1 serves as a master unit, and as shown in FIG. 6, a display requesting input of an authentication code is performed on the display unit 12 of the operation panel. As illustrated in FIG. 7, when the user inputs an authentication code, the authentication unit 14 transmits the authentication code to the authentication server 21 to make an authentication request. The authentication server 21 determines whether authentication can be performed based on the registered user information and returns an authentication result to the parent device.

  The authentication unit 14 of the parent device confirms that it has been authenticated based on this authentication result. When the authentication is confirmed, the device control unit 10 confirms whether the distributed processing is requested by the presence / absence of the distributed processing information in the header information of the image data. When there is no distributed processing information, normal processing such as printing, scanning, or facsimile is executed. When there is distributed processing information, the distributed processing is executed.

  When executing distributed processing, a slave unit that requests distributed processing is selected. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, an operation guidance screen is displayed on the display unit 12. When the user operates according to the display, the image data stored in the hard disk device is called up. A print mode is selected and processing conditions are input. Then, the user designates the image recording device 1 as a slave unit. At this time, the number of copies to be shared is set. When post-processing such as stapling is necessary, a desired item is selected.

  When the processing conditions necessary for the distributed processing are determined, the device control unit 10 adds the acquired authentication information to the header information of the image data, and transmits it to the slave unit together with the processing conditions. If the authentication process of the master unit is set to invalid, image data to which no authentication information is added is transmitted to the slave unit.

  In the slave unit that has received the request for distributed processing, the device control unit 10 stores the received image data in the hard disk device. The authentication unit 14 requests authentication of the authentication data based on the authentication information added to the image data. If this is authenticated, the device control unit 10 prints and outputs an image in accordance with the transmitted processing conditions. If the authentication process is set to invalid, the image is printed without authentication.

  In this way, when performing the distributed processing, when authenticated in the parent device, even if the authentication processing of the child device is set to be invalid, the child device executes the distributed processing when requested. That is, since it is a process of image data input by a registered user, it is not an illegal process, and there is no problem even if an image is printed and output. As a case of such setting, a setting error of the image recording apparatus 1 serving as a slave unit can be considered. Therefore, even if printing of a large number of copies is requested, it can be processed efficiently by distributed processing, and jobs do not stagnate in the system. Note that the user can move to the installation location of the slave unit by making the start of printing in the slave unit later than the start of printing of the master unit. Thereby, the user can obtain the output image without touching the eyes of others.

  Further, when the authentication process of the master unit is set to be invalid and the authentication process of the slave unit is set to be valid, the slave unit does not execute the distributed process even if a request for the distributed process is received. In this case, when the distributed processing is executed in the slave unit, the user must go to the installation location of the slave unit and input the authentication information. For the user, the effect of distributed processing cannot be obtained. Therefore, if the master device recognizes such an image recording apparatus 1 in advance, it prohibits the request for distributed processing. Therefore, unnecessary operations are eliminated.

  Here, in order to execute the distributed processing efficiently, the image recording apparatus 1 may check the setting status of the other image recording apparatuses 1. That is, the device control unit 10 collects and stores the setting information of the other image recording apparatus 1 through data communication with the other image recording apparatus 1. Since this setting information is stored as management information in the authentication server 21, it may be confirmed with the authentication server 21.

  When selecting a slave for a request for distributed processing, the device control unit 10 determines an image recording apparatus 1 that can execute distributed processing based on the setting information. Then, a list of executable image recording devices 1 is displayed on the display unit 12, and the user selects a slave unit from the list. Note that the device control unit 10 may automatically select a slave unit by determining the processing capability of the image recording apparatus 1 and the like. As a result, it is possible to make a request only to the slave unit that can execute the distributed processing, and the distributed processing can be performed efficiently.

  Further, in order to execute the distributed processing efficiently, the image recording apparatus 1 may detect an operation state of another image recording apparatus 1 and select an image recording apparatus 1 that can be processed. That is, each image recording device 1 notifies the operation status of each other. For this purpose, the device control unit 10 collects and stores the operation information of the other image recording apparatus 1 through data communication with the other image recording apparatus 1. Since this operation information is stored as management information in the authentication server 21, the operation status may be detected by obtaining operation information of another image recording apparatus 1 from the authentication server 21.

  When selecting the slave unit, the device control unit 10 determines the image recording apparatus 1 that can execute the distributed processing based on the setting information and the operation information. Then, a list of image recording apparatuses 1 that can be requested is displayed on the display unit 12, and the user selects a slave unit from the list. Note that the device control unit 10 may automatically select a standby image recording apparatus 1 that is not currently processing as a slave unit. As a result, it is possible to request a slave that can execute distributed processing and that can be processed immediately, and can perform distributed processing quickly and efficiently.

  Further, user information is registered in the authentication server 21. Therefore, when requesting authentication from the authentication server 21, the device control unit 10 receives user information together with the authentication result. Then, customization is performed based on the user information. For example, the display unit 12 of the operation panel is changed to a display corresponding to the user. The setting information is also changed according to the user. In other words, the image recording apparatus 1 that is frequently used is selected as the slave unit in accordance with the usage record of the user. As a result, when the distributed processing is executed, a handset that is easy to use for the user performs image recording, and handling of the output recording sheet becomes easy.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Of course, many corrections and changes can be added to the said embodiment within the scope of the present invention. The image recording apparatus may be a multi-function machine having a copy mode and a facsimile mode, or may be a dedicated machine having only a single mode such as a copier or a printer.

  The means for obtaining authentication information includes biometric authentication using fingerprints and irises, and data communication with portable terminal devices such as IC cards, non-contact IC cards, and mobile phones in which authentication codes are stored. May be.

  In the above embodiment, the number of slave units is one, but distributed processing may be performed by a plurality of slave units. Further, instead of using the authentication server, each image recording apparatus registers user information, and the authentication unit performs authentication by comparing the input authentication information with the registered authentication information. May be.

The figure which shows schematic structure of the image recording device of this invention Overall configuration of image processing system Diagram showing the flow of data in distributed processing A diagram showing the relationship between the availability of distributed processing and authentication processing settings Flow chart of processing operations in the master unit and slave units during distributed processing Diagram showing the operation panel when authentication information is requested Figure showing a screen for obtaining an authentication code Figure showing the screen when executing distributed processing Figure showing the screen when executing distributed processing

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image recording device 2 Scanner part 3 Image data processing part 4 Information processing part 6 Network 10 Apparatus control part 11 Operation part 12 Display part 14 Authentication part 20 Host apparatus 21 Authentication server

Claims (9)

A plurality of image recording apparatuses are communicably connected via a network, and each image recording apparatus is an image recording system capable of performing distributed processing for sharing and recording an image. An authentication unit for requesting authentication, a setting unit that sets whether to enable or disable the authentication unit, and a determination unit that determines whether or not to execute the distributed processing according to the setting Image recording system. The image recording system according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit requests another image recording apparatus to perform a dispersion process when the setting unit is enabled. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an acquisition unit configured to acquire authentication information necessary for authentication, wherein the image recording apparatus transmits the acquired authentication information to the image recording apparatus that requests a distributed process. Image recording system. 2. The image recording system according to claim 1, wherein when the setting unit is enabled, the determining unit executes a distributed process when receiving authentication information from another image recording apparatus. 3. The image recording system according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit executes the distributed processing when the setting unit is disabled when the distributed processing is requested by another image recording apparatus. 6. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a confirmation unit that confirms a setting status of another image recording apparatus, and the determination unit determines whether or not to request a distributed process based on the confirmation result. An image recording system according to claim 1. 7. The image according to claim 6, wherein the determination unit prohibits the request for distributed processing when the setting unit of the own apparatus is set to invalid and the setting unit of another image recording apparatus is set to valid. Recording system. A management device that manages each image recording device is connected to the network. The management device has user information related to the registered user, transmits an authentication result in response to an authentication request from the image recording device, and user information. The image recording system according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus is customized based on the received user information. The image recording apparatus includes an operation detection unit that detects an operation state of another image recording apparatus, and the image recording apparatus selects an image recording apparatus that requests distribution processing based on a detection result. The image recording system according to any one of 1 to 8.

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