JP2005057490A - Peripheral equipment management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a peripheral equipment management system that properly manages the use state of peripheral equipment in environment wherein peripheral equipment and an information processor are connected to a network. <P>SOLUTION: The peripheral equipment management system 1 is characterized in that: peripheral devices 20a to 20n that users use and an information processor 10 for management which manages uses of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n are connected through the network NW; the peripheral devices 20a to 20n acquire and store various information regarding the uses of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n and image data regarding the uses as use history information and store it in history information storage parts 22a to 22n; and the information processor 10 for management gathers and analyzes the stored use history information on the peripheral devices 20a to 20n and provides the management of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n based upon image data of the use history information. Consequently, the uses of the peripheral devices are confirmed with the use history information including the image data to prevent the peripheral devices 20a to 20n from being used on private business and a secret document from leaking. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a peripheral device management system, and more particularly to a peripheral device management system that appropriately manages the usage status of the peripheral device in an environment in which the peripheral device and the information processing apparatus are connected to a network.

  As the network environment is improved, scanners, printers, copying machines, facsimile machines, etc. are connected to the network as peripheral devices for information processing devices such as computers connected to the network, and these peripheral devices are connected to the network. A plurality of information processing apparatuses being shared are used.

  In such network environments, protection of environmental resources, concepts such as TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), ISO14001, and the like have become widespread today, and it is an important issue to properly grasp the usage status of peripheral devices. .

  Conventionally, collection / aggregation / analysis of usage history information such as “who printed what, what, etc.” for the purpose of grasping the usage status of peripheral devices and transferring expenses by department, etc. (See Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

  Conventionally, the usage history information of peripheral devices is information necessary for grasping the lifetime of each unit and transferring expenses, for example, the used user, the number of used devices, and the like.

JP 2000-267201 A

JP-A-7-104616

  However, in such a conventional technique, usage history information is collected / aggregated / analyzed in order to manage peripheral devices, but the collected information is used to grasp the life of each unit. Because the information is necessary for the transfer of expenses and expenses, the purpose of using peripheral devices and the prevention of information leakage cannot be prevented, and improvement is necessary.

  In other words, since there is no image data itself in the usage history information item in the prior art, a peripheral device is used privately, for example, a person uses a printer privately to print a travel information homepage. However, in the past, it was only possible to guess what was printed from the file name, etc., and it was not possible to properly grasp the use of peripheral devices, and there was a need for improvement in order to save unnecessary expenses. It was.

  Further, in the prior art, the content printed by the printer can only be determined from the file name or the like, and the leakage of confidential documents cannot be reliably prevented, and improvement has been required.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a peripheral device management system that stores data itself handled by the peripheral device as peripheral device usage history information, and can reliably prevent wasteful use and maintain confidentiality. The purpose is that.

  Specifically, according to the first aspect of the present invention, at least a peripheral device used by a user and a peripheral device management apparatus that manages the use of the peripheral device for each user are connected via a network, and the peripheral device However, various information related to the use of the peripheral device and image data related to the use are acquired and stored as usage history information for each user, and the peripheral device management apparatus collects the usage history information stored in each peripheral device. By analyzing the data and providing management of peripheral devices based on the image data of the usage history information, it is possible to determine who and what documents (originals) were copied / printed / scanned / faxed using the peripheral devices. Confirm with usage history information including image data, reduce the use of peripheral devices for private use, reduce unnecessary expenses, prevent leakage of confidential documents, And its object is to provide a peripheral device management system that prevents unauthorized.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the data format of the image data to be stored as usage history information is specified by the data format specifying means, and the peripheral device stores the image data in the data format specified by the data format specifying means. In this way, the data format of the image data to be stored can be set according to the purpose of use, and the relationship between the image data quality and the data capacity can be set according to the purpose of use. To reduce unnecessary use, reduce unnecessary expenses, prevent leakage of confidential documents, prevent fraudulent peripheral devices, and provide a peripheral device management system with good usability It is aimed.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, the data amount of the image data to be stored as the usage history information is specified by the data amount specifying means, and the peripheral device can select the image within the range of the data amount specified by the data amount specifying means. By accumulating data, it is possible to set the amount of image data to be accumulated according to the purpose of use and the capacity of the means for accumulating usage history information, reducing the use of peripheral devices for private use, and wasting An object of the present invention is to provide a peripheral device management system that can reduce unnecessary expenses, prevent leakage of confidential documents, prevent fraudulent actions of peripheral devices, and further improve usability.

  The peripheral device management system according to claim 1 is a peripheral device in which at least a peripheral device used by a user and a peripheral device management apparatus that manages the use of the peripheral device for each user are connected via a network. In the management system, the peripheral device acquires and accumulates various information related to the use of the peripheral device and image data related to the use as usage history information for each user, and the peripheral device management apparatus The object is achieved by collecting and analyzing the usage history information stored in the peripheral device and providing management of the peripheral device based on the image data of the usage history information.

  According to the above configuration, at least the peripheral device used by the user and the peripheral device management apparatus that manages the use of the peripheral device for each user are connected via the network, and the peripheral device uses the peripheral device. Information and image data related to the use is acquired and stored for each user as usage history information, and the peripheral device management apparatus collects and analyzes the usage history information stored in each peripheral device, and uses the usage history. Peripheral device management based on image data of information is provided, so who used what peripheral (peripheral device) to copy / print / scan / fax, etc., using usage history information including image data It can be confirmed and the use of peripheral devices for private use can be reduced to save unnecessary expenses, and the leakage of confidential documents can be prevented. It is possible to prevent the fraud.

  In this case, for example, as described in claim 2, the peripheral device management system includes data format specifying means for specifying a data format of the image data when storing as the usage history information, and the peripheral device includes: The image data may be stored in the data format specified by the data format specifying means.

  According to the above configuration, the data format of the image data to be stored as usage history information is specified by the data format specifying means, and the peripheral device stores the image data in the data format specified by the data format specifying means. The data format of the image data to be stored can be set according to the purpose of use, and the relationship between the image data quality and the data capacity can be set according to the purpose of use. As a result, it is possible to reduce unnecessary costs, prevent leakage of confidential documents, prevent fraudulent actions of peripheral devices, and improve usability.

  Further, for example, as described in claim 3, the peripheral device management system includes a data amount designating unit that designates a data amount of the image data when accumulating as the use history information, and the peripheral device includes: The image data may be stored within the range of the data amount specified by the data amount specifying means.

  According to the above configuration, the amount of image data to be stored as usage history information is designated by the data amount designation means, and the peripheral device selects the image data within the range of the data amount designated by the data amount designation means. Since it is stored, the amount of image data to be stored can be set according to the purpose of use and the capacity of the storage means of usage history information, etc., reducing the use of peripheral devices for private use and wasting expenses In addition, it is possible to prevent leakage of confidential documents, prevent fraudulent actions of peripheral devices, and further improve usability.

  According to the peripheral device management system of the first aspect of the invention, at least the peripheral device used by the user and the peripheral device management apparatus that manages the use of the peripheral device for each user are connected via a network, The peripheral device acquires and accumulates various types of information related to the use of the peripheral device and image data related to the use as usage history information for each user, and the peripheral device management apparatus stores the usage history information stored in each peripheral device. Since it collects and analyzes and provides management of peripheral devices based on the image data of the usage history information, who used what peripherals to copy / print / scan / fax etc. Can be confirmed with usage history information including image data, and the use of peripheral devices for private use can be reduced to save unnecessary expenses. To prevent the leakage of the document, it is possible to prevent the abuse of peripheral devices.

  According to the peripheral device management system of the second aspect, the data format of the image data to be stored as the usage history information is specified by the data format specifying means, and the peripheral device is specified by the data format specifying means. Since image data is stored in the data format, the data format of the stored image data can be set according to the purpose of use, and the relationship between the image data quality and the data capacity can be set according to the purpose of use. , Use of peripheral devices for private use can be reduced, wasteful expenses can be saved, leakage of confidential documents can be prevented, and illegal acts of peripheral devices can be prevented. Can be improved.

  According to the peripheral device management system of the third aspect of the invention, the data amount of the image data to be stored as the usage history information is designated by the data amount designation means, and the peripheral device is designated by the data amount designation means. Since the image data is stored within the range of the data amount, the data amount of the stored image data can be set according to the purpose of use and the capacity of the storage means for the usage history information. It is possible to reduce use, reduce unnecessary expenses, prevent leakage of confidential documents, prevent fraudulent peripheral devices, and further improve usability it can.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below are preferred embodiments of the present invention, and thus various technically preferable limitations are given. However, the scope of the present invention is particularly limited in the following description. As long as there is no description which limits, it is not restricted to these aspects.

  1 and 2 are diagrams showing an embodiment of a peripheral device management system of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a peripheral device management system 1 to which an embodiment of the peripheral device management system of the present invention is applied. It is a system configuration diagram.

  In FIG. 1, a peripheral device management system 1 includes a management information processing apparatus 10 and a plurality of peripheral devices 20a to 20n connected to a network NW such as a LAN (Local Area Network), and is not shown in the network NW. Is connected to an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer.

  The peripheral devices 20a to 20n are devices having at least one of a printer function, a copying function, a facsimile function, and a scanner function, and respond to a request from an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer connected to the network NW. In response, print processing, copy processing, facsimile processing, scanner processing, and the like are executed. For example, the peripheral devices 20a to 20n receive a print request and print data from an information processing apparatus connected to the network NW when the printer function is used, and record and output the print data on recording paper. Then, the image data of the document read by performing the main scanning and the sub scanning on the document is transferred to the designated information processing apparatus via the network NW.

  The peripheral devices 20a to 20n include peripheral device management system control units 21a to 21n and history information storage units 22a to 22n in addition to the configuration necessary to execute at least one of the above functions. Yes.

  The peripheral device management system control units 21a to 21n collect use history information including user information of users who use the peripheral devices 20a to 20n and image data information using the peripheral devices 20a to 20n, and a history information storage unit 22a. And the I / F for collecting the collected usage history information on the management information processing apparatus 10 side is provided.

  The history information storage units 22a to 22n are large-capacity storage devices such as a hard disk and a RAM (Random Access Memory), and image data information using the peripheral devices 20a to 20n collected by the peripheral device management system control units 21a to 21n. The usage history information is stored in the peripheral device management system control units 21a to 21n.

  The management information processing device (peripheral device management device) 10 is a personal computer or the like that can be connected to a network, and includes a peripheral device management system control unit 11 and a history information storage unit 12.

  The peripheral device management system control unit 11 collects / aggregates / analyzes usage history information stored in the history information storage units 22a to 22n of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n, and uses the collected usage history of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n. Temporarily store information.

  The history information storage unit 12 is a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk or a RAM, and the usage history information of each peripheral device 20a to 20n collected / aggregated by the peripheral device management system 11 is controlled by the peripheral device management system control unit 11. Remember below.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. In the peripheral device management system 1 according to the present embodiment, each peripheral device 20a to 20n collects usage history information including its own image data, accumulates it in the history information storage units 22a to 22n, and each peripheral device 20a to 20n. Usage information including image data of the history information storage units 22a to 22n is collected / aggregated / analyzed by the peripheral device management system control unit 11 of the management information processing apparatus 10 to perform not only normal use management but also private use. Prevent the purpose of private use and leakage of confidential information.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 2, in the peripheral device management system 1, first, conditions (data format, data capacity) of image data collected and stored as usage history information by the user (administrator of the peripheral device management system 1). Is set (step S101).

  That is, in the peripheral device management system 1, it is necessary in advance to set the conditions (data format, data capacity) of the image data stored by the administrator in the peripheral device management system control units 21a to 21n of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n. The administrator sets the image data conditions from, for example, the operation panels of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n as data format setting means and data amount designation means, or remotely from the management information processing apparatus 10 side. Set with.

  The setting contents of the image data condition of the private history information include the setting of the data format of the image data and the setting of the data capacity. First, when the setting condition is the data format, for example, the density of the image data (resolution ) The density of the image data is selected from, for example, three of 100 dpi, 300 dpi, and 600 dpi. Next, when the image data setting condition is a data format, a compression method is selected, for example, a compression method such as LZW or JPEG is selected. In JPEG, a compression rate is further selected. Next, when the setting condition of the image data is the data capacity, the size of the image data is designated. As a means for realizing the designated data size, for example, an optimal compression is performed so as to be within the size. A method such as multiplying, reducing the density (resolution), or storing only the image data of some pages, not the entire document, is used.

  Next, the peripheral device management system 1 performs a process of monitoring the use of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n by the user (step S102). That is, the user makes a print request from the information processing apparatus to the peripheral devices 20a to 20n to print out, perform a copy operation, or perform a facsimile operation.

  When the peripheral devices 20a to 20n are used by the user, the peripheral device management system control units 21a to 21n of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n collect use history information related to the use and store them in the history information storage units 22a to 22n. Accumulate (step S103). For example, when the user causes the peripheral devices 20a to 20n to perform the print operation process, the peripheral device management system control units 21a to 21n of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n include the usage history including the image data according to the conditions set in advance in step S101. Information is collected and stored in the history information storage units 22a to 22n.

  Next, the peripheral device management system control unit 11 of the management information processing apparatus 10 uses the usage history stored in the history information storage units 22a to 22n of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n periodically or at the request of the user. Information is collected and aggregated and stored in the history information storage unit 12.

  The peripheral device management system 1 collects / aggregates the usage history information of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n and stores the collected history information in the history information storage unit 12 of the management information processing apparatus 10 by at least the peripheral devices 20a to 20n. Do it every time it is used.

  Then, the peripheral device management system control unit 11 of the management information processing apparatus 10 uses the use history information stored in the history information storage unit 12 at a predetermined time, for example, when there is a request operation by the user, Management of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n, in particular, determination of whether or not the peripheral devices 20a to 20n are private, and whether or not a confidential document is leaked are performed. For example, the peripheral device management system control unit 11 of the management information processing apparatus 10 first analyzes which user has the largest number of prints from the result of the usage history information, and narrows down the users. Detailed information on what kind of document the user is printing and copying is analyzed.

  Then, as a result of the analysis, if there is a suspicion of private use of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n or leakage of confidential documents, the administrator of the peripheral device management system 1 is notified of this, depending on the operation of the administrator, etc. The image data used by the user is displayed on the display unit of the management information processing apparatus 10.

  As described above, the peripheral device management system 1 according to the present embodiment includes at least the peripheral devices 20a to 20n used by the user, the management information processing apparatus 10 that manages the use of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n for each user, Are connected via the network NW, and the peripheral devices 20a to 20n acquire various information regarding the use of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n and image data related to the use as usage history information for each user, and a history information storage unit The management information processing apparatus 10 collects and analyzes use history information stored in the peripheral devices 20a to 20n and manages the peripheral devices 20a to 20n based on the image data of the use history information. Is provided.

  Accordingly, it is possible to check who has used what kind of document (original) by copying / printing / scanning / faxing using the peripheral device, using the usage history information including the image data, and the peripheral device 20a for private use. The use of .about.20n can be reduced to save useless expenses, and the leakage of confidential documents can be prevented, thereby preventing the fraudulent actions of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n.

  In addition, the peripheral device management system 1 according to the present embodiment designates the data format of image data to be accumulated as usage history information, and the peripheral devices 20a to 20n accumulate image data in the designated data format. ing.

  Accordingly, the data format of the image data to be stored can be set according to the purpose of use, and the relationship between the image quality of the image data and the data capacity can be set according to the purpose of use. It is possible to reduce the use of up to 20n, reduce unnecessary expenses, prevent leakage of confidential documents, prevent illegal acts of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n, and further improve usability. Can be improved.

  Furthermore, the peripheral device management system 1 according to the present embodiment designates the data amount of image data to be stored as usage history information, and the peripheral devices 20a to 20n can perform image data within the range of the designated data amount. Has accumulated.

  Accordingly, the amount of image data to be stored can be set according to the purpose of use and the capacity of the history information storage units 22a to 22n and the history information storage unit 12, and the use of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n for private use. Can reduce unnecessary costs, prevent leakage of confidential documents, prevent fraudulent actions of the peripheral devices 20a to 20n, and further improve usability. be able to.

  The invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

  It is possible to appropriately manage peripheral devices connected to the information processing apparatus via the network, particularly management of private use and prevention of leakage of confidential documents.

1 is a system configuration diagram of a peripheral device management system to which an embodiment of a peripheral device management system of the present invention is applied. The flowchart which shows the peripheral device management process by the peripheral device management system of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Peripheral device management system 10 Management information processing apparatus 11 Peripheral device management system control part 12 History information storage part 20a-20n Peripheral device 21a-21n Peripheral device management system control part 22a-22n History information storage part NW network

Claims (3)

  A peripheral device management system in which at least a peripheral device used by a user and a peripheral device management apparatus that manages the use of the peripheral device for each user are connected via a network, the peripheral device including the peripheral device Various information related to the use of the device and image data related to the use are acquired and stored as use history information for each user, and the peripheral device management device collects the use history information stored in each peripheral device. A peripheral device management system that analyzes and provides management of the peripheral device based on image data of the usage history information.   The peripheral device management system includes data format designating means for designating a data format of the image data to be stored as the usage history information, and the peripheral device has the data format designated by the data format designating means. 2. The peripheral device management system according to claim 1, wherein image data is stored. The peripheral device management system includes a data amount designating unit for designating a data amount of the image data to be stored as the usage history information, and the peripheral device has a data amount range designated by the data amount designating unit. The peripheral device management system according to claim 1, wherein the image data is stored in the device.

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