JP2003039751A - Printer and printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve confidentiality in printing of information with some confidentiality. SOLUTION: In the case where a printer 30 prints a print job in private and confidential printing which is one kind of printing of a document with confidentiality, the operated print job data is erased without maintaining it in a hard disk drive 32 even when the printer 30 is set to a mode of holding the print job data. As a result, it is possible to improve the confidentiality in the private and confidential printing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer and
The present invention relates to a printing system, and more particularly, to a printer suitable for printing a print job having some confidentiality and a printing system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, a printing system which shares a printer by using a network has been actively used. That is, while connecting multiple computers as clients to one network,
For example, by connecting one printer to this network, one printer can receive print jobs from a plurality of clients and perform printing.

In the printing system using this network, the client and the printer may be apart from each other to some extent in terms of distance. Therefore, in preparation for printing some confidential print job which is not desired to be seen by others. The function called confidential printing is supported.

In this confidential printing, when a user sends a print job from a client to a printer, confidential attribute information indicating the confidential printing, user information, and a password are included. The printer that receives this print job does not immediately start printing based on this print job, but temporarily saves it as print job data in the hard disk. When the user comes to the printer and inputs the correct user information and password from the operation panel of the printer, the print job data is read from the hard disk and printing is started. This prevents the user who sent the print job from seeing the print result of the print job by another person before the user arrives at the printer.

[0005]

However, in some printers that support such a confidential printing function, the print job after printing can be set to be held in the hard disk as it is. That is, there is a printer that can be set so that the print job is saved in the hard disk so that the print job that has been printed can be printed again at the request of the user. Then, for example, after a certain period of time has passed or when a certain amount of print jobs are held,
The print jobs are sequentially deleted from the hard disk.

In the printer having such a holding function,
When confidential printing is performed as described above, even confidential confidential print jobs are held as print job data on the hard disk after printing is completed.
In this case, for example, there is a possibility that a third party having an unintended intention may steal the print job data after printing which is forcibly held in the hard disk by some means.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in a printer having a print job holding function after printing, the setting of the printer itself is a setting for holding the print job after printing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer and a printing system in which a print job having some confidentiality is not held in an auxiliary recording device such as a hard disk.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the printer according to the present invention holds the print job as print job data in the auxiliary storage device even after the printing of the received print job is completed. Whether or not
A setting means for comprehensively setting without depending on individual print jobs. This comprehensive setting can be set from the client via the network, and the setting means that the received print job has some confidentiality. Even when the setting of the setting unit is completed after the printing is completed, when the determination unit and the determination unit determine that the print job is set to have some confidentiality. Even if the auxiliary storage device is set to hold the print job as print job data, the auxiliary storage device does not hold the print job as print job data, and the determination unit determines that the print job has some confidentiality. If it is determined that the setting does not have, and even after the setting of the setting unit has finished printing, the printing is performed in the auxiliary storage device. If it has been set to hold the job as the print job data, it said holds the print job in the auxiliary storage device as a print job data, characterized in that it comprises, a selection holding means. By doing so, even if the setting unit is set to hold the print job after printing in the auxiliary storage device, the print job having some confidentiality is not held in the auxiliary storage device. Therefore, the confidentiality of the print job can be improved.

In this case, the printer according to the present invention temporarily stores the received print job in the auxiliary storage device as print job data, and a storage means for storing the print job from the auxiliary storage device at the time of printing. You may further comprise the reading means for reading data, and the execution means for executing printing based on the print job data read by the reading means. By temporarily storing the received print job in the auxiliary storage device in this way, it becomes possible for the printer to hold a large number of print jobs.

Further, when the selection holding means holds the print job in the auxiliary storage device as print job data after printing is completed, the print job data stored in the auxiliary storage device before printing is stored. Status
When the status indicating that the data is the data in the holding state after printing is changed and the print job for which printing is completed is not held in the auxiliary storage device, the print job data stored in the auxiliary storage device is deleted. Yes, you may. In this way, when holding the print job after printing as print job data in the auxiliary storage device, if the status of the print job data stored in the auxiliary storage device before printing is only changed, It is possible to shorten the processing time required to hold the print job data in the auxiliary storage device.

Further, the auxiliary storage device can be constituted by, for example, a hard disk built in the printer.

Further, the judgment means may judge whether or not the received print job is set to have some confidentiality, by judging whether or not the print job is confidential print. At the time of printing the job, it may be determined whether or not the setting is such that at least the user inputs the password and then the printing is started.

Further, the confidentiality of the print job may be set on a print job basis,
You may make it set for every connection established between the said printer and a client.

The present invention can be realized as a control method for controlling the printer as described above, or can be realized as a program for controlling the printer as described above or a recording medium recording the program. You can also Furthermore, the printer and the client described above can also be realized as a printing system connected via a network.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION First Embodiment A printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention is confidential even if the printer is set to hold the data of a print job after printing on a hard disk. When a print job for printing is received, the print job is not held in the hard disk. More details will be described below.

First, the configuration of the printing system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a printing system according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system according to the present embodiment comprises a plurality of clients 20, 20, 20 connected to the network 10 and a printer 30 also connected to the network 10. I have it.
The client 20 is various computers called a host computer or a personal computer, and in this embodiment, in particular, is a computer that generates a print job and transmits the print job to the printer 30 via the network 10.

In the present embodiment, the printer 30 is a so-called network printer and has a CPU (Central
Processing Unit) 31a and RAM (Random Access Mem)
an ory) 31b, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 31c, and a hard disk 32.

In this printer 30, the network 10
The print job received from the
It is temporarily stored in the hard disk 32. In the present embodiment, the hard disk 32 is provided inside the printer 30, but may be provided externally to the printer 30 or may be provided separately via the network 10. The hard disk 32 constitutes the auxiliary storage device in this embodiment.

Upon receiving the print job that is not the confidential print, the printer 30 generates a print request from the print job data and prints it according to the availability of the printer engine of the printer 30. That is, the printer 30
The print job data stored in the hard disk 32 is sequentially read, and a print request is generated based on this print job data. Then, when the printer engine becomes available, a print request is sent to the printer engine and printing is executed.

On the other hand, the printer 30, which has received the confidential printing print job, stores the print job data in the hard disk 32 until the user inputs the user information and the password to the printer 30. This state is called a hold state in this embodiment. In this hold state, when the user inputs the user information and the password to the printer 30, the printer 30 is set to the hard disk 3
The print job data stored in No. 2 is read out, and a print request is generated based on this print job data.
Then, when the printer engine becomes available, a print request is sent to the printer engine and printing is executed.

A series of processing from receiving these print jobs to executing printing is realized by the CPU 31a executing various programs. During this series of processing, the CPU 31a may use the RAM 31b or R as necessary.
The OM 31c and the hard disk 32 are accessed. This CPU 31a constitutes the arithmetic processing unit in this embodiment.

Next, in the printing system according to this embodiment, a specific process for printing will be described in detail.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a confidential printing process in the printing system according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, first, (1) the client 20
Generates a print job for confidential printing based on an input instruction from the user. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the data configuration of a print job of confidential printing according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the confidential printing print job includes print data D1.
And at least the confidential attribute information D2, the user information D3, and the password D4.

The print data D1 stores actual data for the printer 30 to drive the printer engine and print on the printing paper. The confidential attribute information D2 stores information indicating whether or not the print job is confidential printing. The user information D3 stores information for identifying the user who created the print job. In the present embodiment, a user ID (for example, ABC12345) is used as the information for identifying the user.
6) is used. The password D4 is a password to be input to the printer 30 when the user performs confidential printing (for example, 1234567890XYZ).
Is stored. The password D4 may be input to the client 20 by the user for each print job, or may be registered in the client 20 as a user-specific password so that the password D4 need not be input for each print job. Good.

In the present embodiment, the confidential attribute information D2, the user information D3, and the password D4 constitute the attribute information for the print data D1. If confidential printing is not performed, user information D3 and password D4
Is not a necessary item. Further, the confidential attribute information D2 may be added to the print data D1 only when confidential printing is performed. In the case of this specification, the confidential attribute information D2, the user information D3, and the password D4 can be omitted when the confidential printing is not performed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the client 20 that has generated the confidential print print job (2) transmits this print job to the printer 30 via the network 10. Printer 3 that received this print job
0 stores (3) this print job in the hard disk 32 as print job data.

Next, the printer 30 reads out the print job data stored in the hard disk 32 at an appropriate timing and performs a printing process. 4 and 5 are flowcharts illustrating the printing process executed by the printer 30. This print processing is executed by the CPU using a print processing program stored in the ROM 31c or the hard disk 32.
It is realized by 31a executing.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 2, the printer 30 (4) hard disk 3 at a predetermined timing.
The print job data stored in No. 2 is read (step S10).

Subsequently, as shown in FIG.
Extracts and reads attribute information from the read print job data (step S11). Then, the attribute information is stored in association with the print job data (step S12). In the present embodiment, this attribute information is stored in the RAM 31b included in the printer 30. Also, the attribute information is previously stored in the RAM
The reason why the data is stored in 1b is that it is not necessary to read the print job data stored in the hard disk 32 each time in subsequent processing (for example, step S13 and step S20 described later).

Next, the printer 30 determines whether or not the print job is confidential printing (step S13). If it is not confidential printing (step S13: No), the process jumps to the printing process of step S16 described later. If it is confidential printing (step S13: Yes), it is determined whether or not the user has input user information and a password for the print job (step S14). If the user information and the password are not input (step S14: No), this step S1
The process of 4 is repeated to wait.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the user inputs the user information and the password in step S14 from the operation panel 34 of the (5-A) printer 30, or (5-
B) Input from the client 20. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the operation panel 34 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the user operates the input key 36 displayed on the operation panel 34 of the printer 30 to input the user information and the password in the input field 38.

On the other hand, when the user information and the password are input from the client 20, the user inputs the user information and the password from the input device of the client 20, and inputs the user information and the password via the network 10. , To the printer 30.

In any case, if the user inputs the password after designating the print job, the print job contains the user information.
The input of user information can be omitted.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, when the user information and the password are input (step S1)
4: Yes) (6) It is determined whether these input user information and password match the user information D3 and password D4 included in the print job (step S15).

As shown in FIG. 4, when the input user information and password do not match the user information D3 and password D4 included in the print job (step S15: No), the above-mentioned steps are performed. It returns to S14 and waits.

If these match (step S15:
Yes), and if it is determined in step S13 that the printing is not confidential printing (step S13: No), as shown in FIG. 2, (7) actual printing processing is performed (step S16). Specifically, the printer 30 performs language interpretation based on the print data D1 of the print job and generates a print request. The generated print request is transmitted to the printer engine when the printer engine is idle to print on the printing paper.

Next, as shown in FIG.
Checks the setting information of this printer itself (step S
17). Then, based on the setting information, it is determined whether or not the printer 30 is set to hold the print job after printing on the hard disk 30 (step S18). That is, the printer 3 according to the present embodiment
With 0, whether or not to retain the data of the print job after printing in the hard disk 32 as it is can be comprehensively set regardless of the individual print job.

The print job after printing is stored in the hard disk 32.
If it is set to hold (step S18: Y
In es), the attribute information of the print job is checked (step S19), and it is determined whether the print job is confidential printing (step S20). If it is not confidential printing (step S20: No), the print job data is not deleted from the hard disk 32 at this point (step S21). Specifically, the status of the print job data stored in the hard disk 32 is changed from the holding state before printing to the holding state after printing. Then, this printing process is ended.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S20 that confidential printing is performed (step S20: Yes), and when it is determined in step S18 that the print job after printing is not held (step S1)
8: No), as shown in FIG. 2, (8) the print job data stored in the hard disk 32 is deleted (step S22). Then, this printing process is ended.

As described above, according to the printing system of this embodiment, in the case of confidential printing, which is a type of printing confidential documents, the printer 30 is set to hold the print job data after printing. Even if it is set, the print job data after printing is not stored in the hard disk 32,
Since it is decided to delete it, confidentiality of confidential printing can be further improved. That is, when the setting of the printer 30 is set to hold the print job data after printing in the hard disk 32 as in the conventional case, the print job data is held in the hard disk 32 as it is, and thus the illegal It is possible to avoid the possibility that a person may steal the contents held in the hard disk 32 by some means.

Further, by simply changing the status of the print job data stored in the hard disk 32 from the hold status to the hold status, processing for holding the print job data after printing in the hard disk 32 can be performed. Therefore, the processing time can be shortened as much as possible.

[Second Embodiment] In the second embodiment of the present invention, a directory server 40 for managing user information and passwords over the entire network is provided in the above-described first embodiment. When the password and the password are input, the collation is requested to the directory server 40, and when the collation result is a coincidence, confidential printing is performed. More details will be described below.

First, the configuration of the printing system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the printing system according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 7, the printing system according to the second embodiment is configured by adding the directory server 40 to the printing system according to the first embodiment described above. That is, the printing system according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a plurality of clients 20, 2 connected to the network 10.
0, 20 and one printer 30 which is also connected to the network 10 and 1 which is also connected to the network
And a directory server 40. The directory server 40 is a system that centrally manages user information and passwords of users who use the network 10. That is, in the present embodiment, the password is set for each user through the entire network, and not for each print job. Therefore, when the user information and the password are input to the printer 30, the printer 30 requests the directory server 40 to perform the matching.
The configuration other than this is the same as that of the first embodiment described above.

Next, in the printing system according to this embodiment, the process for printing will be described in detail.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram for explaining a confidential printing process in the printing system according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, first, (1) the client 20
Generates a print job for confidential printing based on an input instruction from the user. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the data structure of a print job of confidential printing according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, in the confidential printing print job of the second embodiment, the password D4 is omitted as compared with the confidential printing print job of the first embodiment described above (see FIG. 3). That is, the print job of the second embodiment includes print data D1, confidential attribute information D2, and user information D3.
At least include.

In this embodiment, the confidential attribute information D2 and the user information D3 form the attribute information for the print data D1. If confidential printing is not performed, the user information D3 is not a necessary item.
Further, the confidential attribute information D2 may be added to the print data D1 only when confidential printing is performed. In the case of this specification, the confidential attribute information D2 and the user information D3 can be omitted when the confidential printing is not performed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the client 20 which has generated the confidential print print job (2) transmits this print job to the printer 30 via the network 10. Printer 3 that received this print job
0 stores (3) this print job in the hard disk 32 as print job data.

Next, the printer 30 reads out the print job data stored in the hard disk 32 at an appropriate timing and performs a printing process. FIG. 10 shows the printer 3.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a part of the printing process executed in 0, and is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 in the above-described first embodiment. This print processing also uses the print processing program stored in the ROM 31c or the hard disk 32 as a CP.
It is realized by executing the U31a. Note that the processing after this FIG. 10 is the same as the processing in FIG. 5 of the above-described first embodiment, so description will be omitted here.

Explaining only the parts different from the above-described first embodiment, when the user information and the password are input in step S14 (step S14: Ye
In s), the printer 30 transmits the input user information and password to the directory server 40 (step S30). When the input of user information is omitted, the printer 30 stores the user information included in the print job and the password input by the user here via the network 10 in the directory server 40. Will be sent to.

As shown in FIG. 8, (6) the directory server 40 which has received the user information and the password.
Determines whether the user information registered in advance in the user table of the directory server 40 and the password registered corresponding to this user information match the user information received this time and the password. . If these match, the directory server 4
0 transmits the collation result indicating that they match with each other to the printer 30 via the network 10, and when these do not match, the collation result indicating that both do not match is transmitted to the printer 30.

As shown in FIG. 10, the printer 30 receives this collation result via the network 10 (step S31). Then, the collation result indicates that the user information and the password input by the user match the user information registered in the directory server 40 and the password registered corresponding to this user information. Determine whether (step S3
2).

If the collation result indicates that they do not match (step S32: No), the process returns to step S14 and waits until the user information and the password are input again. On the other hand, if the collation results indicate that they match (step S32: Yes), and
When it is determined that the confidential printing is not performed in step S13 described above (step S13: No), as shown in FIG. 8, (7) actual printing processing is performed (step S16).

Since the subsequent processing is the same as that of the above-described first embodiment, its detailed description is omitted here.

As described above, according to the printing system of this embodiment, in the case of confidential printing, which is a type of printing confidential documents, the printer 30 is set to hold the print job data after printing. Even if it is set, the print job data after printing is not stored in the hard disk 32,
Since it is decided to delete it, confidentiality of confidential printing can be further improved. That is, when the setting of the printer 30 is set to hold the print job data after printing in the hard disk 32 as in the conventional case, the print job data is held in the hard disk 32 as it is, and thus the illegal It is possible to avoid the possibility that a person may steal the contents held in the hard disk 32 by some means.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a method of setting the comprehensive holding function setting and the confidential print setting of the printer 30 according to the above-described first and second embodiments from the client 20 will be described. The third embodiment will be described.

As described above, the printer 30 according to the first and second embodiments determines whether or not the print job data after printing is held in the hard disk 32, regardless of the individual print job. It is possible to set comprehensively. The setting of this holding function is performed by the R
It is stored in the AM 31b.

The setting of the holding function can be set by the user from the operation panel 34 shown in FIG. That is, the user can operate the operation panel 34 to make a comprehensive setting of holding or not holding the print job data after printing. That is,
As a setting of the holding function of the printer 30 itself, whether or not to hold the print job data after printing in the hard disk 32 can be set.

Further, the setting of the holding function can be performed from the client 20. 11 is one
7 is a timing chart showing transmission / reception of signals between the client 20 and the printer 30 when the holding function is set from one client 20. Here, a timing chart is shown when the user operates the client 20 to set the holding function for holding the print job data after printing, and then cancels the setting of the holding function.

First, the user operates the client 20 to instruct the printer 30 to hold the print job data after printing. Upon receiving this instruction, the client 20 inquires via the network 10 whether (1) the printer 30 has a holding function of holding print job data after printing. Upon receiving this inquiry, the printer 30 replies whether it has the holding function. In the example of FIG. 11, the printer 3
Since 0 has a holding function, (2) a reply indicating that the holding function is present is transmitted to the client 20.

The client 20, which has received the reply that the holding function is available, transmits (3) a holding setting request to the printer 30 in order to make a setting to hold the print job data after printing in the hard disk 32 comprehensively. The printer 30, which has received the holding setting request, sets the holding function setting to the holding setting. As a result, the printer 30 is basically set to hold the print job data after printing in the hard disk 32.

When the user releases this holding setting,
First, the client 20 is operated to instruct to check the current setting of the holding function of the printer 30. The client 20 receiving this instruction inquires (4) the printer 30 what kind of setting the holding function is currently set to. Upon receiving this inquiry, the printer 30 replies to the client 20 what kind of setting the holding function is currently set to. Here, since the printer 30 is set to hold the print job data after printing, the printer 30 sends to the client 20 a reply that (5) the holding function is set to hold.

The user who receives this reply operates the client 20 to send (6) holding setting cancellation request from the client 20 to the printer 30 in order to cancel the holding setting of the printer 30. The printer 30, which has received the hold setting release request, releases the hold setting and sets the print job data after printing to a setting not to be held in the hard disk 32 comprehensively regardless of the individual print jobs.

On the other hand, in the printer 30 according to the above-described first and second embodiments, the client 20
For each connection between the printer and the printer 30, it is possible to set whether to perform confidential printing. That is, in the above-described first and second embodiments, it is set whether or not confidential printing is performed for each print job. However, this setting is set for each connection between the client 20 and the printer 30. You can also do it in.

FIG. 12 shows the client 20 and the printer 3 in the case of setting confidential printing for each connection.
6 is a timing chart showing transmission / reception of a signal with respect to 0. As shown in FIG. 12, the client 20 opens (1) a connection with the printer 30 via the network 10. Then client 2
In order to confirm whether or not the printer 30 has a confidential printing function, 0 inquires (2) the presence or absence of the confidential function to the printer 30. Printer 30 that received this inquiry
Sends to the client 20 an answer as to whether or not it has a confidential printing function. Here, the printer 30
Has a confidential print function, (3) sends an answer with the confidential print function to the client 20.

The client 20, which has received the response indicating that the confidential printing function is present, transmits (4) a confidential setting request to the printer 30 in order to perform confidential printing for this connection. Upon receiving this confidential setting request, the printer 30 sets the print job received by this connection to confidential printing. After that, (5) the client 20 transmits the print job to the printer 30, but the printer 30 handles the print job as confidential print even if the confidential print setting is not made. The number of print jobs transmitted from the client 20 is not limited to one, and a plurality of print jobs may be transmitted.

The client 20, which has completed the transmission of the series of print jobs, (6) closes the connection between the printer 30 and the client 20. If the connection is closed, this client 20 and printer 3
The setting for confidential printing between 0 and 0 is canceled.

The confidential print setting for each connection is made between each client 20 and the printer 30. Therefore, even if the confidential print setting is made in the connection between one client 20 and the printer 30, this confidential print setting affects the print job sent from the other client 20 to the printer 30. Does not extend.

As described above, according to the printer 30 of this embodiment, the printer 30
The setting as to whether or not to hold the print job data after printing in the hard disk 32 can be set not only by the printer 30 but also by the client 20. Therefore, the convenience of the user can be improved.

Further, according to the printer 30 of the present embodiment, the confidential printing can be set even for each connection established between the client 20 and the printer 30, so that the user can set the print job for each print job. You do not need to set confidential printing. Therefore, the convenience of the user can be improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be variously modified. For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the printer 30 determines whether or not the print job has some confidentiality based on whether or not the print job is confidential printing. The presence or absence of sex may be determined. For example, when the printer 30 receives a print job and the print job starts printing only when the user inputs a valid password, the print job has confidentiality. You may make it judge that it is.

Further, the printer 30 according to each of the above-described embodiments has a function of selectively setting whether or not to hold the print job after printing in the hard disk 32.
This selective setting function is not always necessary.
That is, the present invention is similarly applied to the printer 30 that does not have such a selective setting function and has a print job after printing in the hard disk 32 as a non-selective function unique to the printer. can do.

Further, in each of the above-mentioned embodiments,
Although the received print job is temporarily stored in the hard disk 32 as print job data before printing, it is not always necessary to store the print job data in the hard disk 32 before printing. In this case, when a print job that is not confidential printing is received, printing is performed by directly driving the printer engine, and when a print job that is confidential printing is received, it is stored in the memory as print job data. Alternatively, only in this case, the print job data may be stored in the hard disk 32.

Further, regarding each process described in each of the above-described embodiments, a program for executing each process is a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a CD-ROM (Co
It can be recorded in a recording medium such as a mpact disc-read only memory), a ROM, or a memory card and distributed in the form of the recording medium. In this case, the above-described embodiment can be realized by causing the client 20, the printer 30, and / or the directory server 40 to read and execute a recording medium on which this program is recorded.

Further, the client 20, the printer 30,
And / or the directory server 40 may include other programs, such as an operating system or another application program. In this case, by utilizing these other programs, the printer 3 can be used as a recording medium.
An instruction for calling a program that realizes the same processing as that of the present embodiment may be recorded from the programs included in 0.

Further, such a program can be distributed as a carrier wave through a public network, not in the form of a recording medium. The program transmitted in the form of carrier wave on the public network is the client 2
0, the printer 30, and / or the directory server 4
The above-mentioned embodiment can be realized by executing this program after being loaded into 0 as needed.

Further, the program may be encrypted or compressed when it is recorded on a recording medium or when it is transmitted as a carrier wave on a public network. In this case, the client 20 having read the program from the recording medium or the carrier wave, the printer 30,
And / or the directory server 40 needs to execute the program after decrypting or decompressing the program.

[0079]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even if the printer has the function of holding the print job after printing in the auxiliary storage device, the print job having some confidentiality is not held in the auxiliary storage device after printing, so the confidentiality of the print job is kept. Can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a printing system according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating processing when confidential printing is performed in the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of a print job transmitted from a client to a printer in the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view (No. 1) showing a flowchart for explaining processing when the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention prints a print job stored in a hard disk.

FIG. 5 is a view (No. 2) showing a flowchart for explaining processing when the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention prints a print job stored in a hard disk.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation panel included in the printer.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a printing system according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating processing when confidential printing is performed in the printing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of a print job transmitted from a client to a printer in the printing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a flowchart (corresponding to FIG. 4) illustrating processing when the printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention prints a print job stored in the hard disk.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a timing chart in the case of setting the holding function of the printer according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention from a client (third embodiment).

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a timing chart in the case where confidential print settings of the printers according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention are performed in connection units (third embodiment).

[Explanation of symbols]

10 network 20 clients 30 printers 32 hard disk 34 Operation panel 36 Input key 38 input fields 40 Directory Server

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Haruo Tsurumaki             Seiko, 3-3 Yamato 3-chome, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture             -In Epson Corporation F-term (reference) 2C061 AP01 BB17 CL10                 2C187 AE07 BF26 FA01 GD01 GD02                 5B021 AA01 DD00 NN00                 5C075 EE90 FF03

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. Whether to retain the print job in the auxiliary storage device as print job data even after printing of the received print job is completed, regardless of individual print jobs. Setting means for setting, and setting means capable of setting this comprehensive setting from the client via the network, and judging means for judging whether or not the received print job is set with some confidentiality If the determination unit determines that the print job is set to have some confidentiality, the print job is stored in the auxiliary storage device even after the setting of the setting unit is completed. Even if it is set to be held as data, the print job is not held in the auxiliary storage device as print job data, and the print job is not If it is determined that the setting does not have any confidentiality, and even after the setting of the setting unit has finished printing, the setting is made to hold the print job in the auxiliary storage device as print job data. If it is, the printer is provided with a selection holding unit that holds the print job as print job data in the auxiliary storage device. 2. Storage means for temporarily storing the received print job in the auxiliary storage device as print job data, and reading means for reading the print job data from the auxiliary storage device during printing. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising: an executing unit that executes printing based on the print job data read by the reading unit. 3. The selection holding means stores the print job data stored in the auxiliary storage device before printing when holding the print job as print job data in the auxiliary storage device after printing is completed. If the status is changed to a status indicating that the data is in the hold state after printing, and the print job for which printing has finished is not held in the auxiliary storage device, the print job stored in the auxiliary storage device The printer according to claim 2, wherein data is deleted. 4. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary storage device comprises a hard disk built in the printer. 5. The determining means determines whether or not a received print job is set to have some confidentiality based on whether or not the print job is confidential printing. The printer according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The determination means determines whether or not a received print job is set to have some confidentiality, and at the time of printing the print job, the user inputs at least a password before starting the printing. 5. The judgment is made based on whether or not the setting is made.
The printer according to any one of 1. 7. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the confidentiality of the print job is set in print job units. 8. The confidentiality of the print job is set for each connection established between the printer and the client, according to any one of claims 1 to 6. Printer. 9. Whether to retain the print job in the auxiliary storage device as print job data even after the printing of the received print job is completed, regardless of the individual print jobs. A setting step of setting this comprehensive setting from a client via a network to a setting means to be set, and a determination step of determining whether or not the received print job has some confidentiality. If it is determined in the determination step that the print job is set to have some confidentiality, the print job is stored in the auxiliary storage device even after the setting of the setting unit is completed. Even if it is set to be retained as data, the print job is not retained as print job data in the auxiliary storage device, and the print job is not stored in the determination step. If it is determined that the setting does not have any confidentiality, and even after the setting of the setting unit has finished printing, the setting is made to hold the print job in the auxiliary storage device as print job data. If so, a selective holding step of holding the print job as print job data in the auxiliary storage device is provided, and a printer control method. 10. Whether to retain the print job in the auxiliary storage device as print job data even after the printing of the received print job is completed, regardless of individual print jobs. A setting step of setting this comprehensive setting from a client via a network to a setting means to be set, and a determination step of determining whether or not the received print job has some confidentiality. If it is determined in the determination step that the print job is set to have some confidentiality, the print job is stored in the auxiliary storage device even after the setting of the setting unit is completed. Even if the setting is such that the print job is held as data, the print job is not held as print job data in the auxiliary storage device, and Hold the print job as print job data in the auxiliary storage device even when it is determined that the print job is not set with any confidentiality, and after the setting of the setting unit is finished printing. A program for causing the printer to execute a selection holding step of holding the print job as print job data in the auxiliary storage device when the setting is set. 11. Whether to retain the print job as print job data in the auxiliary storage device even after the printing of the received print job is completed, regardless of individual print jobs. A setting step of setting this comprehensive setting from a client via a network to a setting means to be set, and a determination step of determining whether or not the received print job has some confidentiality. If it is determined in the determination step that the print job is set to have some confidentiality, the print job is stored in the auxiliary storage device even after the setting of the setting unit is completed. Even if the setting is such that the print job is held as data, the print job is not held as print job data in the auxiliary storage device, and Hold the print job as print job data in the auxiliary storage device even when it is determined that the print job is not set with any confidentiality, and after the setting of the setting unit is finished printing. And a setting holding step for holding the print job as print job data in the auxiliary storage device, and a program for causing the printer to execute the step. . 12. A printing system in which a plurality of clients and at least one printer are connected via a network, wherein the client sets confidentiality and prints a print job to the printer. Whether or not the printer retains the print job as print job data in the auxiliary storage device even after the printing of the received print job is completed is provided. Is a comprehensive setting method that does not depend on individual print jobs, and the comprehensive setting can be set from the client via the network, and the received print job has confidentiality. Judgment means for judging whether or not the setting is included, and the print job is set to have confidentiality by the judgment means. If it is determined that the print job is stored in the auxiliary storage device even if the setting of the setting unit is set to retain the print job in the auxiliary storage device as print job data even after printing is completed. Even if the determination unit determines that the print job is not set to have confidentiality without being stored as print job data, and even after the setting of the setting unit finishes printing, the auxiliary storage device stores the print job data. A printing system comprising: a selection holding unit that holds the print job as print job data in the auxiliary storage device when the print job is set to be held as print job data. 13. A method of controlling a printing system in which a plurality of clients and at least one printer are connected via a network, wherein even after printing of a print job received from the client is completed, This comprehensive setting is set via the network to a setting unit that comprehensively sets whether or not to hold the print job as print job data in the auxiliary storage device, regardless of individual print jobs. A setting step for setting from the client by the client, a sending step for setting the confidentiality setting from the client and transmitting the print job to the printer via the network, and a print job received by the printer is secret. Determination step for determining whether or not the print job has a certain property If it is determined that the setting has the property, even if the setting of the setting unit is set to hold the print job in the auxiliary storage device as print job data even after the printing is completed, The print job is not held in the auxiliary storage device as print job data, and it is determined in the determination step that the print job is not set to have any confidentiality, and the setting of the setting unit is print If it is set to hold the print job in the auxiliary storage device as print job data even after the completion, a selection holding step of holding the print job in the auxiliary storage device as print job data, A method for controlling a printing system, comprising: