JP2008306279A - Image processing apparatus and function restricting method for image processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus capable of preventing a user from wrongly selecting an external device not intended by the user in the environment where many and unspecified users use the device. <P>SOLUTION: This image processing apparatus is provided with a plurality of external interface ports 1, 2 to be connected to an external device, e.g., an external memory 11. The image processing apparatus transmits and receive data to and from the external device via the external interface ports. The image processing apparatus is also provided with an operation display section 108 for making the setting of approval or disapproval to the external interface ports for execution of functions including data storage and printing by data transmitting/receiving to/from the external device; and a storage means (SRAM 103) for storing the contents of setting made by the operating display section 108. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus capable of exchanging image data with an external device (external memory or the like) mounted on an external interface, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus characterized by a technique for changing operation settings of the external interface. .

  The current image processing apparatus has been multi-functionalized, and not only facsimile communication and network communication but also data can be transmitted to and received from an external device through an external interface (for example, Patent Document 1). .

  Examples of the external interface include a USB port and a memory card slot.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a function example using an external device in the image processing apparatus.

  This figure shows an example of functions performed by transmitting / receiving data to / from an external device connected to the external interface port. In FIG. 8, an example of a removable external memory such as a USB memory will be described as an external device.

  FIG. 2A shows a function in which the image processing apparatus 100 receives image data from the external memory 11 via an external interface port, prints it on paper after image processing inside.

  FIG. 2B shows a function in which the image processing apparatus 100 reads an image from the scanner unit, encodes image data, and stores the encoded image data in the external memory 11 via the external interface port.

  FIG. 3C shows a function in which the image processing apparatus 100 receives image data from the digital still camera 12 via an external interface port, prints the image data after processing the image inside.

  In FIG. 4D, the image processing apparatus 100 has a function of storing device information in the external memory 11 via the external interface port.

In FIG. 5E, the image processing apparatus 100 has a function of temporarily storing intermediate data during image processing in the external memory 11 via the external interface port. The temporary save data is instructed to be deleted when the processing is completed.
JP 2002-140273 A

  In recent image processing apparatuses, a plurality of external interface ports are often provided. As a result, even if the user correctly attaches an external device to the correct external interface port, when instructing data transmission / reception from the operation display unit, specify the port different from the user's intention and instruct the operation. The possibility of performing an erroneous operation such as performing increases.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a problem when a plurality of external devices are mounted on an image processing apparatus according to a conventional example.

  Consider a case where one image processing apparatus 100 has three external interface ports as shown in FIG.

  Assume that an external device is attached to all three ports. In this figure, an external memory (eg, USB memory) 11-1 is provided at port 1, an external memory (eg, USB memory) 11-2 is provided at port 2, and an external memory (eg, memory card) 11-3 is provided at port 3. It shows the case where is attached.

  At this time, consider a case where the user reads an image from the scanner unit of the image processing apparatus 100 and tries to store data in the USB memory 11-1. At this time, since the scanned image data may be transmitted to all three external memories, the operation display unit 108 is prompted to input the selection of the transmission destination.

  However, when there are a plurality of ports, there is a possibility that the user may mistake which port the USB memory 11-1 that the user wants to transmit corresponds to. As a result, even when the user correctly attaches his / her external memory to the port 1, the data may be stored in the USB memory 11-2 or the memory card 11-3 which is not intended by the user.

  In addition, such an image processing apparatus is often shared and used by a plurality of users. Therefore, a plurality of external devices of a plurality of users are often connected to the external interface port at the same time. Therefore, if the data designation destination is wrong as described above, it is difficult to specify which user is affected.

  On the other hand, external devices of a plurality of users are switched and mounted, and some external devices are always in a connected state for acquiring device information, and various usage modes of the external interface port are conceivable.

  Therefore, there are many cases where it is useful to use each external interface port based on a specific rule depending on the usage status of each user group. For example, one is used as a constant connection memory dedicated to device information acquisition, port 1 is dedicated to scan data transmission, and port 2 is dedicated to print data reception.

  However, even if the port usage rule is set as described above, a user who does not know the rule may erroneously save the scan image in the device information acquisition dedicated memory. Such a dedicated setting of the external interface port is considered to be highly necessary on the image processing apparatus main body side.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus that can avoid erroneous selection of an external device that is not intended by the user in an environment in which an unspecified number of users use it.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image processing apparatus according to claim 1 includes a plurality of external interfaces to which an external device can be connected, and a plurality of devices realized using the external devices connected via the external interface. An image processing apparatus capable of executing a function, wherein setting information is set in association with each of the plurality of external interfaces to determine whether the function execution is permitted or restricted for each of the plurality of functions. Storage means for storing, and control means for controlling to permit or restrict execution of any of the plurality of functions based on setting information stored in the storage means.

  The function restriction method according to claim 6 includes a plurality of external interfaces to which an external device can be connected, and can execute a plurality of functions realized by using the external device connected through the external interface. A function restriction method in an image processing apparatus, wherein setting information set in association with each of the plurality of external interfaces is stored in a storage unit as to whether or not the execution of the function is permitted for each of the plurality of functions. And a control step for performing control so as to permit or restrict execution of any of the plurality of functions based on setting information stored in the storage means.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can avoid selecting the external device which a user does not intend inadvertently in the image processing apparatus provided with the some external interface.

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

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a block configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, an image processing apparatus 100 includes the following functional blocks.

  The CPU 101 is a control unit of the system and controls the entire apparatus. The ROM 102 stores a control program for the CPU 101. The SRAM 103 stores setting values registered by the operator, device management data, and the like. Also, various work buffers.

  The DRAM 104 stores program control variables and the like, and accumulates image data, text data, and the like. A reading unit (scanner unit) 105 reads an image and converts it into image data. The recording unit 106 outputs an image based on the image data on a recording sheet.

  The facsimile communication control unit 107 is an interface unit with a telephone line. The operation display unit 108 is an interface unit with a user that displays information in the device or accepts various inputs by the user.

  An encoding / decoding processing unit (CODEC) 109 performs encoding / decoding processing of image data handled by the communication control apparatus. In the encoding / decoding processing unit 109, the text data is converted into image data by software. The JBIG code is decoded by hardware in this processing unit.

  The network communication control unit 110 performs an interface to a network line. The network communication control unit 110 is used for transmission / reception of Internet facsimile machines and e-mail data.

  There are a plurality of external interface ports (hereinafter also simply referred to as ports) (external interface ports 1, 2, and 3), and each can be connected to a different external device. The image processing apparatus 100 transmits / receives data to / from the connected external device via the external interface port (1, 2, 3).

  The external interface port is a port that can interface with an external device, such as USB, IEEE1394, or a memory card slot. The external device includes a removable storage medium such as a USB memory, an SD card (registered trademark), and a removable hard disk, and devices such as a digital camera, a digital video camera, and a portable audio player. In addition, as an external device, a personal digital assistant such as a PDA, a notebook PC, or a mobile phone is also applicable.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of functions using an external device in the image processing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 2A shows the correspondence between the port of the image processing apparatus and an external memory as an example of an external device, and FIG. 2B shows whether each port is permitted or restricted to execute the function of the image processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting information set in relation to.

  In order to solve the problem shown in FIG. 9, in the present embodiment, an executable function can be set in each external interface port. Here, consider a case where one image processing apparatus 100 has three external interface ports.

  Assume that the external memory 11 is attached to all three ports 1, 2, and 3. This figure shows a case where the USB memory 11-1 is installed in port 1, the USB memory 11-2 is installed in port 2, and the memory card 11-3 is installed in port 3.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2B, permission or prohibition (restriction) of the execution of the function for each port is set for each port. Here, the function is an operation performed by transmitting or receiving data with an external device that can be executed by the image processing apparatus 100. In the present embodiment, the image processing apparatus 100 can realize the following functions (1) to (5) as functions using an external device.
(1) A function of storing a scanned image in an external memory.
(2) A function for printing image data in the external memory.
(3) A function for printing a captured image stored in a digital camera connected to the port.
(4) A function of securing a temporary storage area used when the image processing apparatus 100 processes image data in an external memory connected to the port.
(5) A function of saving device information (device setting values, etc.) of the image processing apparatus 100 in an external memory.

  This setting is performed from the operation display unit 108. That is, the operation display unit 108 permits or prohibits execution of functions including data storage and printing performed by transmitting / receiving data to / from an external device for each of the external interface ports (1, 2, 3). (Restriction) settings can be entered. The contents of this setting are stored as setting information (or setting table) as shown in FIG. 2B in the SRAM (storage means) 103, for example. The SRAM 103 is configured to be backed up by a battery (not shown), so that the setting table stored in the SRAM 103 is held even when the power of the image processing apparatus 100 is turned off.

  With the above setting, when three external memories 11-1, 11-2, and 11-3 are attached to the ports 1, 2, and 3, for example, “scanned image storage” is performed. If an attempt is made, transmission can be made only at port 1. As a result, the user will not erroneously transmit to port 2 or port 3. As a result, the scan image is not stored in an external memory unintended by the user, so that the scan image can be prevented from leaking to another person via the external memory not intended by the user.

  3 and 4 are flowcharts showing the procedure of the first embodiment of the scan image external memory storage process executed by the image processing apparatus of FIG.

  This process is performed by the CPU 101 in FIG. 1 unless otherwise specified.

  3 and 4, the user first attaches the external memory 11 to the port of the image processing apparatus 100 (step S301). This process is performed by a user who uses the image processing apparatus 301. Here, it is assumed that the user has attached the external memory to port 1. Then, the user gives an operation instruction to read an image and store data in the external memory 11 from the operation display unit 108, and the CPU 101 receives the operation instruction (step S302).

  Since the CPU 101 does not know in which external memory 11 the read image is stored in which external memory 11, the CPU 101 requests the operation display unit 108 to input a destination. When creating the destination input screen, it is checked whether the external interface port 1 prohibits the “scanned image storage” function with reference to the setting table of FIG. 2B (step S303).

  When port 1 is permitted, a display is made on the operation display unit 108 so that port 1 can be selected (step S304). On the other hand, when port 1 is prohibited, a display such as graying out is performed on the operation display unit 108 so that the port 1 cannot be selected (step S305).

  Similarly, the same check is performed for ports 2 and 3 to create and display a “scanned image storage” destination selection screen (steps S306 to S311).

  Here, if there is a port for which priority is set as well as permission or prohibition, the initial position of the selection cursor is moved to the port for which priority is set (step S312). For example, in the example of the setting table in FIG. 2B, port 2 is set as a priority among the ports 1 and 2 that are permitted for the function of storing the scanned image in the external memory. That is, the operation display unit 108 permits the priority setting input of the external interface port. The user selects one of the permitted ports, operates the operation display unit 108 to instruct a destination, and the CPU 101 accepts the operation instruction (step S313), and ends this processing. Thereafter, the image processing apparatus 100 executes an image processing function (a process for storing a scanned image in an external memory) corresponding to the received operation instruction.

  As a result, the transmission instruction is not performed for the unauthorized port.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display example of the operation display unit when the function restriction illustrated in FIG. 2 is performed at each port. (A) shows a state of connecting an external memory to the image processing apparatus, (b) shows a copy screen of the operation display unit, and (c) shows a transmission screen of the operation display unit.

  When the function restriction as described in FIG. 2 is performed at each port, when the user connects (attaches) the external memory 11 to the port for which the function restriction setting is valid, the port is permitted. It is obvious to use the function that is present.

  Therefore, the operability can be improved by automatically changing the display screen of the operation display unit 108 to the screen of the permitted function.

  In the example of FIG. 5, when the user attaches the external memory 11 to a port where only “save scan image” is permitted and other functions are prohibited, the function of “save scan image” is automatically performed. It shows that the screen is changed to the transmission screen that is used.

  As described above, according to the image processing apparatus of the first embodiment, it is possible to prevent an external device that is not intended by the user from being erroneously designated.

  FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts showing the procedure of the second embodiment of the scan image external memory storage process executed by the image processing apparatus of FIG.

  This process is performed by the CPU 101 in FIG. 1 unless otherwise specified.

  In the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, when there is one external device connected to the port of the image processing apparatus 100, it is possible to select even a function that is not permitted at that port. To do.

  Even if there are multiple external interface ports, if there is only one external device connected at the same time, the user will not select an unintended external device when selecting an external device. Avoid restricting external devices. This enhances user convenience.

  6 and 7, the same processes as those in the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 and 4 are denoted by the same step numbers and description thereof is omitted.

  The user gives an instruction to read an image from the operation display unit 108 and store the data in the external memory 11, and after the CPU 101 accepts the instruction (step S302), the external connected to the external interface port The number of memories 11 is checked (step S501).

  Here, when a plurality of external memories are mounted, there is a possibility that the selection may be erroneous when selecting a destination. Therefore, in step S303 and subsequent steps, as described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, it is set for each port. Check whether the function is enabled or disabled.

  On the other hand, when there is only one of the plurality of external interface ports to which the external memory 11 is attached, it is obvious that the external memory 11 is the destination.

  Therefore, regardless of the setting contents of permission or prohibition of each port, only the port to which the external memory 11 is currently connected is selected and displayed on the operation display unit 108 (step S502). Then, the user instructs the destination to the port whose permission is displayed (step S313).

  Thereby, operability when only one external device is attached can be improved.

  As described above, according to the image processing apparatus of the second embodiment, it is possible to prevent an external device that is not intended by the user from being erroneously designated. In a situation where only one external device is attached to the port, it is possible to improve user convenience in situations where there is no possibility that an external device unintended by the user will be erroneously designated.

It is a block block diagram of the image processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a function example using an external device in the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a first embodiment of scan image external memory storage processing executed by the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a continuation flowchart of FIG. 3. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of the operation display part in case the restriction | limiting of the function shown in FIG. 2 is performed in each port. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a second embodiment of a scan image external memory storage process executed by the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG. 7 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 6. It is explanatory drawing which shows the function example which used the external device in an image processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows a problem when mounting a some external device to the image processing apparatus which concerns on a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

101 CPU
102 ROM
103 RAM
104 DRAM
105 Reading Unit 106 Recording Unit 107 Facsimile Communication Control Unit 108 Operation Display Unit 109 Code Decoding Processing Unit 110 Network Communication Control Unit 1 and 2 External Interface Port

Claims (6)

An image processing apparatus comprising a plurality of external interfaces to which an external device can be connected, and capable of executing a plurality of functions realized using the external device connected via the external interface,
Storage means for storing setting information set in association with each of the plurality of external interfaces as to whether or not to permit execution of the function for each of the plurality of functions;
An image processing apparatus comprising: control means for controlling to permit or restrict execution of any of the plurality of functions based on setting information stored in the storage means.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an operation unit that inputs setting information stored in the storage unit. Furthermore, a display means for displaying a screen relating to the operation of the image processing apparatus is provided,
2. The display unit according to claim 1, wherein, when an external device is attached to the external interface, the display unit displays a screen relating to an operation of a function permitted for the external interface based on the setting information. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2.   The setting information stored in the storage means can set a plurality of external interfaces that permit execution of the function for one of the plurality of functions, and further, the plurality of external interfaces can be set. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein any one of the settings can be set to be used with priority over another external interface.   2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when only one external device is attached to the external interface, execution of a function using the external device is permitted regardless of the setting content of the setting information. . A function limiting method in an image processing apparatus, comprising a plurality of external interfaces to which an external device can be connected, and capable of executing a plurality of functions realized using the external device connected via the external interface, ,
A storage step of storing, in a storage unit, setting information set in association with each of the plurality of external interfaces as to whether or not to permit execution of the function for each of the plurality of functions;
And a control step of performing control so as to permit or restrict execution of any of the plurality of functions based on setting information stored in the storage unit.

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