JP4936066B2 - Information processing apparatus and information processing program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, and an information processing program.

  As the “Personal Information Protection Law” came into effect in April 2005, it is necessary for each company to handle personal information more carefully.

  In other words, the “Personal Information Protection Law” stipulates as follows.

Personal information should be handled with caution under the philosophy of respecting the personality of individuals, and those who handle personal information must endeavor to handle personal information appropriately in accordance with the following principles.
(1) Restriction by purpose of use: Personal information shall be handled within the scope necessary to achieve the purpose of use, while the purpose of use is clarified.
(2) Acquisition by an appropriate method: Personal information shall be acquired by a lawful and appropriate method.
(3) Ensuring content accuracy: Personal information must be kept accurate and up-to-date within the scope necessary to achieve its purpose of use.
(4) Implementation of safety protection measures: Personal information shall be handled after appropriate safety protection measures are taken.
(5) Ensuring transparency: Regarding the handling of personal information, necessary transparency must be ensured such that the person can be appropriately involved.

  In this way, rules for handling personal information by private businesses are established for the purpose of protecting the rights and interests of individuals while taking into consideration the usefulness of personal information.

  As a result of the enforcement of this “Personal Information Protection Law”, awareness of preventing leakage of personal information has increased, and a flag prohibiting the printing of all or part of print data such as documents is provided. There is an increasing number of cases where documents are distributed so that they cannot be printed.

  For example, according to DocuWorks (Docus Works: trademark of Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.), which is a kind of electronic document management software, it is possible to set whether or not printing is possible for each file.

  In addition, a print prohibition attribute and a password for opening a file can be set even in a data file of a PDF (format for an electronic document developed by Adobe Systems).

  However, the difference between a printable document file and a document file for which printing prohibition has been set is not apparent at first glance.

  For this reason, if all files are selected and printing is specified, the entire document cannot be printed properly (for example, a trouble such as an error occurs during printing and the printing process is interrupted) occurs. There was a problem.

  Further, when a plurality of document files are downloaded from a document database or the like and printed together, there is a problem that the same problem occurs when a document file that is prohibited from printing is included in the document file.

  On the other hand, although the print prohibition is set to the document file, there is a case where the contents are accurately transmitted to the other party to whom the document is to be delivered.

  For example, a document file (print data) sent to a personnel manager or the like may contain personal information such as the employee's personal name, address, age, and school of origin, but this information is printed. In many cases, printing is prohibited because there is a risk of information leakage due to removal of documents. On the other hand, there may be a case where work related to personnel cannot be performed unless the contents of the personal information are accurately transmitted to the person in charge.

  The document file (print data) sent to the customer support staff may contain personal information such as the customer's personal name, address, age, and telephone number. If this is the case, there is a risk of information leakage in the same manner as described above. On the other hand, there may be a case where accurate support cannot be provided unless the contents of the personal information are transmitted to the person in charge.

  Various techniques have been proposed to solve such problems.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-252784 discloses a technology that assigns a print permission attribute to a document and prohibits printing of a document without print permission. However, this conventional technique has a drawback that printing can only be stopped when a print-prohibited document is requested to be printed. In other words, the leakage of the document can be prevented by stopping printing, but the contents cannot be transmitted to the other party to whom the document is delivered.
JP 2004-252784 A

It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus and an information processing program that can accurately convey the contents of print data for which printing prohibition has been set to a partner who delivers a document or the like.

To solve the above problems, an information processing apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 includes a receiving unit of the print data, the distribution means for the electronic distribution of some or all of the print data received by said receiving means as an e-mail The print data includes a prohibition control command for prohibiting part or all of the print data from being printed, and the distribution means determines whether the print data includes the prohibition control command. When the determination unit determines that the prohibition control command is included in the determination unit, the data of the portion of the print data that is prohibited by the prohibition control command is electronically distributed as an e-mail And a delivery destination registration means for registering a predetermined delivery destination .

An information processing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein when the determination unit determines that the prohibition control command is included, the prohibition control is performed on the print data. A deletion unit that deletes data of a part for which printing is prohibited by the command; and a part that cannot be printed for the print data when the determination unit determines that the prohibition control command is included. An informing means for informing, and a process selecting means for selecting a predetermined process registered in advance for the print data when the judging means judges that the prohibition control command is included. This processing is less in the process of deleting the data of the part that is prohibited from printing by the prohibition control command and the notifying process that there is a part that cannot be printed in the print data. Also it includes one, wherein the.

An information processing apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the information processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the print data received by the receiving unit is electronically distributed with a list of printed data. The printing apparatus further comprises means for printing out a sheet in which the list of data is distinguished from the data list .

An information processing program according to a fourth aspect of the invention causes a computer to function as the information processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects .

  According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

In other words, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when it is determined that the prohibition control command is included in the print data as compared with the case where this configuration is not provided, printing is performed with the prohibition control command. Since the data of the prohibited portion is electronically distributed as an electronic mail, there is an excellent effect that the contents of the print data can be reliably transmitted.
Further, as compared with the case where the present configuration is not provided, since a predetermined distribution destination is registered, there is an excellent effect that the contents of the print data can be reliably transmitted.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when it is determined that the prohibition control command is included in the print data, printing is prohibited by the prohibition control command, as compared with the case where this configuration is not provided. Since the data of the part that has been deleted is deleted, information leakage can be effectively prevented.
In addition, when it is determined that the prohibition control command is included in the print data as compared to the case where this configuration is not included, the fact that there is a part that cannot be printed is notified, Appropriate measures can be taken immediately.
Furthermore, compared to the case where this configuration is not provided, when it is determined that the prohibition control command is included in the print data, a predetermined process registered in advance is selected. Can select and implement the appropriate measures.
Then, it is possible to select and execute an appropriate measure as compared with the case where this configuration is not provided.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it can be seen that there is electronically distributed data in addition to the printed data , as compared with the case where this configuration is not provided.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when it is determined that the prohibition control command is included in the print data , printing is prohibited by the prohibition control command as compared with the case where this configuration is not provided. Since the data of the part is electronically distributed as an e-mail, the contents of the print data can be reliably transmitted.
In addition, since the predetermined distribution destination is registered as compared with the case where this configuration is not provided, the contents of the print data can be reliably transmitted.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment as an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, in the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same members, and duplicate descriptions are omitted. In addition, since description here is the best form by which this invention is implemented, this invention is not limited to the said form.

  As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1, the information processing system S1 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a printer server SA1 that accepts print requests, a public server SA2 that publishes distribution data, and a printer server SA1. General-purpose printers (hereinafter referred to as printers) PR1 and PR2 that print out received print data, an information processing device (for example, a personal computer) PC1 that receives distribution data from the public server SA2, and a cable connecting these devices And a network N such as a LAN.

  The printer server SA1 includes a print request reception unit 101 that receives a print request from an external device such as the information processing apparatus PC1, a data conversion / generation unit 102 that performs data conversion and generation of print data, and device control that controls each unit. Unit 105, mail transmission control unit 106 that performs transmission control of email, electronic distribution setting unit 107 that performs setting of e-mail attributes, and the like, a memory that stores electronic distribution settings and print instruction settings, a hard disk, and the like Storage unit 108 and the like.

  The data conversion / generation unit 102 includes an image information acquisition unit 103 that acquires image information based on print data, and an image generation unit 104 that generates an image based on the image information.

  The “server” in the printer server SA1 and the public server SA2 broadly provides various services such as files and printing in response to requests from other information processing apparatuses (computers, etc.) on the network. This refers to the computer itself or the program.

  The public server refers to a server that installs software that becomes a WWW server in an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, associates an assigned global IP address with a domain name, and accesses a desired public file from the outside. In the present embodiment, the public server SA2 stores the data of the portion where the print prohibition of the print data is set in the storage means such as a memory or a hard disk as distribution data and publishes it externally via the network N.

  In the information processing apparatus PC1, an HTTP browser, FTP software, or the like for accessing the public server SA2 is installed, and a public file (distributed data) of the public server SA2 is confirmed or downloaded by operating those software. It becomes possible.

  Further, depending on the setting in the electronic distribution setting unit 107 of the printer server SA1, the data of the portion where the print prohibition of the print data is set to the predetermined terminal (for example, the information processing apparatus PC1) from the printer server SA1 side is electronically stored. It can also be distributed electronically as e-mail.

  Here, as an electronic distribution form as an electronic mail, there are a form in which the data of a part set for printing prohibition is sent as the body of the electronic mail and a form in which the data for a part set for printing prohibition is set as an attached file. .

  When sending the data of the part where printing prohibition is set as an attached file, for example, a format as shown in FIG. 8 can be considered.

  In the example shown in FIG. 8, the message (e-mail) has a header area A1 in which delivery information such as sender, destination, and time is recorded, and a text area A2 corresponding to the text in the letter.

  The body area A2 stores a body text B1 in which a sentence indicating the content of the instruction is written, and data of a portion where printing prohibition is set as the attached files B2 and B3.

  Although there is no particular limitation, the confidentiality of the data of the part for which printing prohibition has been set can be enhanced if the attached file is compressed or encrypted with predetermined software.

  Next, the flow of email delivery will be described with reference to FIG.

  An e-mail delivery system includes a message (e-mail) E to be transmitted / received, a mail server (SMTP server: equivalent to the printer server SA1 in the present embodiment) and a mail client (information in the present embodiment) that are responsible for the transmission / reception mechanism. Corresponding to the processing apparatus PC1).

  Then, the e-mail E is transmitted to a mail address registered in advance in an address book or the like. In the present embodiment, for example, mail addresses of individuals and groups corresponding to the distribution destination of the print document based on the print data are registered in advance, and a partner to which the e-mail E is to be transmitted is designated from among them. Will be delivered.

  The e-mail E is delivered to the destination using a mechanism such as SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol).

  SMTP is a protocol for sending electronic mail via the Internet or an intranet, and is used when mail is exchanged between servers as described above, or when a client sends mail to a mail server.

  Here, the e-mail address is so-called e-mail address information, and the e-mail is transmitted to the other party based on the e-mail address. The e-mail address is configured by separating two pieces of information of a user ID, which is personal identification information, and a host address (domain name) of a computer that exchanges e-mail with “@”.

  Next, with reference to a flowchart of FIG. 2, a processing procedure of print data distribution processing executed in the information processing system S1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  In step S101, the print request receiving unit 101 receives print data, and the process proceeds to loop L1 in steps S103 to S106.

  In the loop L1, the processes in steps S103 to S106 are repeatedly executed until there is no data to be printed.

  In step S103, it is determined whether the print data is data with a print prohibition attribute.

  Here, the attributes of the print data will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the example of the attribute shown in FIG. 3, “prohibition / permission” can be set as an attribute value for each of the attributes “document editing”, “annotation editing”, “printing”, and “transcription”. A predetermined value can be set as the “user-defined attribute”.

  Note that “annotation” means that related information (metadata) is given as annotation to certain data. For example, metadata may be tagged using a description format such as XML (Extensible Markup Language). In addition, the added metadata or tag may be referred to as an annotation.

  The attributes that can be set may differ depending on the software used (for example, DocuWorks (trademark of Fuji Xerox)) and the file type (for example, the above-mentioned PDF).

  In the example of FIG. 3, an expiration date, a destination, and the like can be set as the “user-defined attribute”. By referring to this attribute, a “destination” when a part of print data is delivered by e-mail. Can be acquired. Further, by referring to the attribute value of “expiration date”, it is also possible to acquire and use the document expiration date.

  If the result of determination in step S103 of FIG. 2 is “No”, the print data can be printed. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S104, the print data is added to the print target list, and the process returns to loop L1. .

  On the other hand, if the determination result is “Yes” in step S103, the process proceeds to step S105.

  In step S105, it is determined whether or not the document with the print prohibition attribute is electronically distributed by electronic mail.

  Whether or not to be distributed electronically can be determined according to the contents preset in the printer server SA1, but it is determined according to the contents set by the user of the printer server SA1 or the administrator of the information processing system S1. It may be.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 4, a setting example of handling of a document with a print prohibition attribute will be described.

  4 is displayed on a monitor or the like provided in an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer constituting the printer server SA1, and is set by operating a pointing device such as a keyboard or a mouse. Is done.

  The setting items are “Electronic distribution to registered destination (normal end)” C1, “Exclude from print target (end with warning)” C2, “Exclude from print target (normal end)” C3, “Error” (Abnormal termination) ”C4 and the like.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4, C1 is checked, and a document with a print prohibition attribute is set to perform a process of “electronic distribution to a registered destination”.

  In addition, in the case of “electronic distribution to a registered destination”, it can be set from the item of “destination setting” C5. Although not particularly limited, for example, if e-mail addresses of individuals or groups (departments) to be distributed are registered in advance using the address book function, the trouble of inputting e-mail addresses can be saved.

  As described above, when “destination” is set as the attribute of the print data itself, the delivery destination may be determined according to the setting.

  Further, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the electronic distribution setting of the document with the print prohibition attribute can also be performed.

  In this example, for example, “7 days” is set in the item D1 of “publication period”. Note that this period can be set by an administrator or the like by operating the keyboard or the like. However, if “valid period” is set as an attribute of the print data itself as described above, The publication period may be determined according to the setting.

  Also, “print electronically distributed document on banner sheet” is prepared as item D2 of the banner sheet, and “electronically distribute banner sheet” is prepared as item D3.

  Here, the banner sheet is a sorting sheet on which a user name, a document name, a date and time, etc. are described.

  Although not particularly limited, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the banner sheets BS1 to BS3 are attached to the first page of each of the printed documents P1, P2, and P3, or attached to the last page. To do. By attaching the banner sheets BS1 to BS3, it is possible to prevent mixing of printed materials, and in the present embodiment, it is possible to confirm (or notify) whether a part of the document is separately electronically distributed by e-mail. .

  In the example of FIG. 4, since the item D2 is selected, the electronically distributed document is printed on a banner sheet.

  Details of the creation of the banner sheet BS will be described later.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 2, if “No” is determined in step S105, the process returns to the loop L1, and if “Yes” is determined, the print data is electronically distributed as an e-mail. After moving to step S106 and adding the print data to the electronic distribution target list, the process returns to the loop L1.

  Then, when there is no print target data, each process of the loop L1 is terminated, and the process proceeds to step S107.

  In step S107, a banner sheet creation process subroutine is executed.

  Here, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5, a processing procedure of the banner sheet creation processing will be described.

  In step S201, it is determined whether data to be electronically distributed by e-mail is to be printed on a banner sheet.

  If the determination result is “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S202, where it is determined whether there is an electronic distribution target list. If “No”, the process proceeds to step S204, and if “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S204. The process proceeds to step S203.

  In step S203, a banner sheet is created from the print target list and the electronic distribution target list, and the process returns to the process of FIG.

  On the other hand, if “No” is determined in step S201, the process proceeds to step S204 to determine whether the banner sheet output is on.

  If the determination result is “No”, the process returns to the process of FIG. 2, and if “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S205.

  In step S205, after a banner sheet is created from the print target list, the process returns to the process in FIG.

  By the above banner sheet creation processing, for example, a banner sheet BS as shown in FIG. 7 is printed out.

  In the output example of the banner sheet BS shown in FIG. 7, in addition to the distribution date and time, the distribution destination, and the distribution document list, an “electronic distribution document list (with print prohibition attribute)” is described. It is clearly understood that there is data distributed electronically by e-mail.

  As a result, the person who received the print document attached with the banner sheet BS reads all the information that the distribution source of the print data tried to transmit by looking through the e-mails listed in the “electronic distribution document list”. Can be grasped.

  That is, according to the information processing system S1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to accurately convey the contents of print data for which printing prohibition has been set to a partner to whom a document or the like is delivered. it can.

  Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not limited to the disclosed technology. Should not be considered. That is, the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed restrictively based on the description in the above embodiment, but should be construed according to the description of the scope of claims. All modifications that fall within the scope of the claims and the equivalent technology are included.

  When using a program, it can be provided via a network or stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

  The information processing apparatus, information processing system, information processing program, image forming apparatus, and printer server according to the present invention can be applied to a host computer, a personal computer, a laser printer, a full color printer, a facsimile apparatus, and the like.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of information processing system S1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of print data distribution processing. It is a table | surface shown about the attribute of print data. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a setting of the handling of a document with a printing prohibition attribute. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the subroutine of a banner sheet preparation process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of attachment of a banner sheet. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of an output of a banner sheet. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the format which sends the data of the site | part to which printing prohibition was set as an attached file. It is explanatory drawing which shows the flow of delivery of an email.

Explanation of symbols

S1 Information processing system SA1 Printer server SA2 Public server (public means)
PC1 Information processing apparatus PR1, PR2 Printer (image forming apparatus)
N network (communication means)
101 Print Request Reception Unit 102 Data Conversion / Generation Unit 103 Image Information Acquisition Unit 104 Image Creation Unit 105 Device Control Unit 106 Mail Transmission Control Unit (Distribution Unit)
107 Electronic distribution setting unit 108 Storage unit

Claims (4)

Print data receiving means;
Some or all of said received print data in said receiving means and a delivery means for electronically delivered as an e-mail,
The print data includes a prohibition control instruction that prohibits part or all of the print data from being printed.
The delivery means includes
Determination means for determining whether or not the prohibition control command is included in the print data;
Control means for electronically distributing, as an e-mail, data on a portion of the print data that is prohibited by the prohibit control instruction when the determination means determines that the prohibit control instruction is included;
A distribution destination registration means for registering a predetermined distribution destination;
An information processing apparatus characterized by that. A deletion unit that deletes, when the determination unit determines that the prohibition control command is included, deletes data of a portion of the print data that is prohibited from printing by the prohibition control command ;
Informing means for informing that there is a part that cannot be printed with respect to the print data when the judging means judges that the prohibition control command is included;
A process selection unit that selects a predetermined process registered in advance for the print data when the determination unit determines that the prohibition control command is included;
The predetermined process includes at least one of a deletion process of data of a part that is prohibited from printing by the prohibition control command and a notification process that there is a part that cannot be printed with respect to the print data.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The printing data received by the receiving means further comprises means for printing out a paper in which a list of data that has been printed is distinguished from a list of data that has been electronically distributed.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus. Allowing a computer to function as the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An information processing program characterized by that.

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