JP2006240006A - Secret printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a secret printing system which improve defects of conventional systems and security as in the conventional systems, it is necessary to input a user ID and a password, and therefore, there exists a possibility of that these user ID and password become known to persons except the user, and when these user ID and password become known to the persons except the user, there exists a problem on holding confidentiality. <P>SOLUTION: When a removable memory device storing recognition notations such as numbers and English letters inherent to a respective device is connected with a PC, the PC automatically reads these recognition notations. When this device is connected with a computer apparatus such as the PC and a printer, the computer and the printer are operated by using the recognition notations of the device, and printing data corresponding to the recognition notations are secretly printed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a confidential printing method for printing a confidential document such as a confidential document, and more particularly to a confidential printing method with improved confidentiality.

  In recent years, with the development of computer devices such as personal computers (hereinafter referred to as PCs), a plurality of PCs and a shared printer are connected via a network, and necessary print data is sent from each PC to the shared printer. In general, a method of printing desired print data from the printer is generally performed.

  However, in such a printing method, since a common printer is used, the print data sent from each PC may be printed without permission, and it is also possible to print without permission to those who do not need confidential documents. And the confidentiality may be lost.

To solve such problems, use a printer with a user recognition function, enter a user ID and password from a PC, and the printer authenticates these user IDs and passwords so that only a specific person can print. It has been proposed to increase confidentiality by allowing data to be printed. (Patent Document 1)
JP 2003-305905 A

  In the conventionally proposed method, since it is necessary to input a user ID and password, these user IDs and passwords may be known to people other than users, and these user IDs and passwords may be known to people other than users. There was also a problem in maintaining confidentiality.

  The present invention seeks to provide a confidential printing method that improves the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks and further improves security.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides, as a first means, a removable memory device having a unique recognition symbol in a system for printing from a plurality of computer devices to a shared printer connected to a network. Connectable to both the printer and the computer device, connect the removable memory device and the computer device, read the recognition symbol, and send print data with the recognition symbol added from the computer device to the printer, At the time of printing, connecting the removable memory device to the printer to read the recognition symbol, confirming a match between the recognition symbol added to the print data and the recognition symbol read by the printer, and starting printing Removable by adopting a confidential printing system featuring Only those who owns the table memory device is obtained by a confidential printing method with improved security protection as printable.

  Further, as a second means, in a system for printing from a plurality of computer devices to a shared printer connected to a network, print data to which a first identification symbol unique to the computer device is added is sent from the computer device. The second recognition code is read from the removable memory device by connecting the printer to a removable memory device having a unique second identification code and reading the second identification code. A removable memory device by adopting a confidential printing method in which printing is started by confirming whether or not there is a correspondence between the recognition symbol and the first recognition symbol stored in the storage device of the printer device in advance. Confidential printing that can maintain confidentiality properly even if a computer device that cannot be connected is used One in which the.

  As a third means, in the confidential printing method according to the first or second means, print data transmitted from the computer apparatus to the printer is encrypted with an encryption key, and the encryption key is stored in a memory of a removable memory device. A confidential printing method wherein the printer reads out the encryption key from the removable memory device and decrypts and prints the print data at the start of printing of the print data. As a result, the confidentiality of the print data is improved, and a confidential printing method with higher security is achieved.

  As a fourth means, in the confidential printing method according to at least one of the first to third means, the recognition symbol is added and print data is recorded in the storage device of the printer, and the recognition is performed. The computer device or printer recognizes the connection by means of a symbol, starts printing, and after the printing is finished, the print data is automatically erased, thereby providing the confidential printing method by another person. This is a confidential printing method in which printing data is surely prevented from being printed.

  According to the confidential printing method of the present invention, only the person who owns the removable memory device can print the specific print data, and the confidential printing method can be achieved with improved confidentiality.

  As an embodiment of the present invention, when a removable memory device storing an identification number such as a unique number or an English letter is connected to a PC, such as an SD (Secure Digital) card token, Focusing on the fact that the PC can automatically read the recognition symbol and confirm the owner of this device, and when this device is connected to a computer device or printer such as a PC, By operating the printer, the print data corresponding to the recognition symbol can be printed so that the confidentiality of printing can be improved.

  The removable memory device that stores such a unique identification symbol in the memory may be any removable memory device that cannot normally modify the unique recognition symbol. An xD picture card or the like can be preferably used.

  Also, in the present invention, confidential printing is basically performed by authenticating the owner of the device using the recognition symbol stored in the removable memory device. Removable memory indirectly when a specific PC is used by using a unique recognition code of the computer device associated with this recognition code, for example, the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the PC, without using it directly. Printing can be enabled only when print data is sent using the device recognition symbol.

  In this case, in addition to the IP address, when the IP address of the PC changes in a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) environment, etc., the MAC (Media Access Control Address) address, HDD serial number, CPU processor serial number, etc. It can be used as a unique recognition symbol of the computer device.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Example 1
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration applied to the confidential printing method of the system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. A plurality of PCs 1a and 1b are connected on a network, and a shared printer 2 is also connected. Yes. Accordingly, when print data is sent from the respective PCs 1a and 1b to the printer 2, the print data is printed by the printer 2 in accordance with instructions from the respective PCs 1a and 1b.

  In this case, the printer 2 has a storage device 3 such as a hard disk, and the print data sent from each PC 1a and PC 1b is once recorded and stored in the storage device 3, and is sent in the order of feeding or the PC 1a and PC 1b. Printing is started by an instruction.

  The PC 1a, PC 1b, and printer 2 have a slot 5 that can be connected to an SD card 4 in which a unique identification symbol is stored in a memory, and the SD card 4 is loaded into the slot 5. Thus, the SD card 4 is electrically connected to the PC 1a, PC 1b, or the printer 2.

  A case where necessary print data is printed using this system will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 2 shows a flowchart for creating required print data from a PC and sending the print data to the printer 2. First, when performing confidential printing, for example, confidential printing is performed using the PC 1a. In this case, confidential print data is created by the PC 1a. In this case, a flag is set in the header of the print data so that the print data can be recognized on the PC. It is determined whether or not confidential printing is performed based on the presence or absence of this flag (step S1).

  In the case of “YES” (Y), the SD card 4 is loaded into the slot 5 of the PC 1a and the SD card 4 and the PC 1a are connected. The PC 1a reads the unique recognition symbol ID of the SD card 4 (step S2). The ID is added to the print data and sent to the printer 2 (step S3).

  On the other hand, if the print data is not confidential printing (N), the print data is sent to the printer 2 as it is (step S4).

  Next, FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of printing of required print data sent from the PC to the printer 2, and the desired print data sent from the PC is received by the printer 2 (steps). S5) It is determined whether or not the received print data requires confidential printing based on the presence or absence of the flag (step S6). If the print data requires confidential printing (Y), the received print data is A record is stored in the storage device 3 of the printer 2 (step S7).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the SD card 4 is loaded in the PC 1a or the printer 2 and connected to the SD card 4 and the PC 1a or the printer 2 (step S8). The recognition symbol ID is read (step S9), and it is then determined whether or not the read recognition symbol ID of the SD card 4 matches the recognition symbol ID of the SD card 4 in the received print data (step S9). Step S10) In the case of “Y”, the print data received in S7 is printed (Step S11).

  In this case, if “N” in S8 and S10, the process is retried again from step S8. If this retry is repeated twice, printing is stopped without proceeding to S11.

  When the step of S11 is completed, the confidential print data recorded in the storage device 3 of the previous printer 2 in S7 is automatically deleted.

  On the other hand, if “N” is determined in S6, the received print data is printed by normal processing (step S13).

  As described above, since the SD card 4 is loaded and whether or not the confidential printing needs to be executed is determined depending on whether or not the ID of the SD card 4 matches, only the owner of the SD card 4 can print the specific print data. This makes it possible to execute confidentiality and to maintain confidentiality easily and reliably.

  Further, in this example, the print data that has been automatically printed is erased after the printing is completed, but this automatic erasure is not necessarily required, and may be erased as necessary. However, as in this example, when automatic deletion is performed, it is preferable because confidential information is difficult to be leaked to others.

(Example 2)
Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 show that the encryption processing is performed on the print data, the encryption key is recorded and stored in the memory of the SD card 4, and the encryption stored in the SD card 4 together with the confirmation of the owner of the SD card 4 at the time of printing. 6 is a flowchart for improving the confidentiality of print data by decrypting the print data encrypted using the encryption key.

  FIG. 4 shows a flowchart for creating required print data from a PC and sending the print data to the printer 2. This is basically the same as in the first embodiment, and the same steps are performed. Are given the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the identification symbol ID of the SD card 4 is read out in S2, the PC 1a and the SD card 14 are connected, the print data is encrypted using an arbitrary key (step S14), and then this encryption key is used. The data is recorded and saved in the memory of the SD card 4 (step S15), and then the identification code ID of the SD card 4 is added to the encrypted print data and sent to the printer 2 (step S16). If “N” in S1, the same processing as in the first embodiment is performed.

  FIG. 5 shows a print flowchart of required print data sent from the PC to the printer 2, which is basically the same as in the first embodiment, and the same steps are the same. The sign is attached. In this embodiment, steps S17, S18, and S19 for decrypting the encrypted print data are added. That is, the encryption key is read from the SD card 4 in S17, the encrypted print data recorded in the printer 2 is decrypted (step S18), and the decrypted print data is printed (step S19). The subsequent steps are the same as in the first embodiment.

  In this way, not only can the confidential print data be printed only by the owner of the SD card 4 using the ID of the SD card 4, but also the encryption key stored in the SD card 4 is used. , Can enhance the security of confidential print data.

(Example 3)
A third embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the PC 1c and the PC 1d do not have the slot 5 into which the SD card 4 can be inserted, and the case where the slot 5 is formed only in the shared printer 2 is considered.

  In FIG. 6, the PC 1c and PC 1d that do not have the slot 5 into which the SD card 4 can be inserted are connected to the shared printer 2 through the network, and the required print data can be printed from the printer 2 in accordance with an instruction from the PC 1c or PC 1d. It has become. In this case, the slot 2 into which the SD card 4 can be inserted is formed in the printer 2, and the printer 2 and the SD card 4 are connected by inserting the SD card 4 into the slot 5. .

  Further, the fixed IP address of the PC 1c and the recognition symbol ID of the SD card 4 are recorded in the storage device 3 of the printer 2 in association with each other in advance, and the PC 1c is loaded by the printing instruction from the PC 1c and the loading of the SD card 4. After confirming the correspondence between the fixed IP address and the recognition symbol ID of the SD card 4, the printer 2 can print the confidential print data sent from the PC 1c.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for registering the association between the recognition symbol ID of the SD card 4 and the fixed IP address of the PC 1c. First, it is confirmed that the SD card 4 is inserted into the printer 2 and both are connected ( Step S20).

  Subsequently, the recognition symbol ID of the SD card 4 is read from the printer 2 and recorded in the storage device 3 (step S21). Thereafter, the fixed IP address of the PC 1c is sent from the PC 1c to the printer 2, and the recognition symbol ID of the SD card 4 is associated with the fixed IP address of the PC 1c by the table or the like in the storage device 3 of the printer 2 and recorded and registered (step) S22).

  In this case, not only the fixed IP address but also a MAC address, HDD serial number, CPU processor serial number, etc. can be used as the unique recognition symbol of the PC 1c, and these unique symbols are used in the same flowchart shown in FIG. The recognition symbol can be registered in association with the recognition symbol of the SD card 4.

  FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of printing when the fixed IP address of the PC 1c is used. The printer 2 receives the print data sent from the PC 1c (S5), and confirms whether it is confidential printing (S6). In the case of “Y”, the received print data and the fixed IP address of the PC 1c are recorded and stored in the storage device 2 of the printer 2 (step S23).

  Next, as in the case of the first embodiment, confirmation of insertion of the SD card 4 (S8), reading of the ID of the SD card 4 (S9), confirmation of the ID of the SD card 4 (S10) are performed. In the case of “Y”, print data stored in the storage device 3 corresponding to the IP address of the PC 1c corresponding to the inserted SD card 4 is printed (step S24), and then the stored data is deleted (S12). )

  Although not shown in this example, as in the case of FIG. 3, when necessary print data is sent from the PC 1c to the printer 2, a fixed IP address of the PC 1c is read from the PC 1c, It is added to the print data.

  As described above, even when there is no slot in which the SD card 4 can be inserted in the PC, it is possible to cope with it appropriately, and it is possible to print in a state where confidential print data is kept confidential.

  In this case, the case where the PC does not have the slot 5 into which the SD card 4 can be inserted has been described. However, even if the PC has the slot 5 into which the SD card 4 can be inserted, the PC is not connected to the SD card 4 and the printer 2 may be used to connect to the SD card 4 and associate the unique recognition symbol of the PC with the recognition symbol ID of the SD card 4.

Example 4
A fourth embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, a case where PC-specific identification symbols such as a MAC address, HDD serial number, CPU processor serial number, etc. are used instead of the fixed IP address of the PC 1c in the third embodiment is illustrated.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7 of the third embodiment, the recognition symbol unique to the PC 1c corresponding to the recognition symbol ID of the SD card is recorded and registered in the printer 2 in advance.

  FIG. 9 shows a flowchart for creating required print data from the PC 1c and sending the print data to the printer 2. First, when performing confidential printing using the PC 1c, the confidential print data is stored in the PC 1c. create. In this case, a flag is set in the header of the print data so that it can be recognized that the print data is confidential on the PC, and it is determined whether or not the confidential printing is performed based on the presence or absence of this flag (S1). Next, a recognition code unique to the PC 1c is added to the print data and sent to the printer 2 (step S25).

  FIG. 10 shows a flowchart for printing the required print data sent from the PC 1c to the printer 2. The required data sent from the PC 1c is received by the printer 2 (S5). It is determined whether or not the printed data requires confidential printing (S6), and if the printing data requires confidential printing, the received print data and the identification code unique to the transmitting PC are recorded and stored in the storage device 3 (S6). Step S26).

  Next, the presence / absence of the SD card 4 is confirmed (S8), the recognition symbol ID of the SD card 4 is read (S9), the coincidence of the SD card 4 is confirmed (S10), and recorded and stored in the storage device. The confidential print data corresponding to the SD card 4 is printed (step S27), and then the confidential print data is erased (S12).

  In this way, it is possible to print in a state where confidential print data is kept confidential by using a recognition symbol unique to the PC.

  The confidential printing method according to the present invention is not limited to the confidential document as shown in the above-described embodiment, but can be applied to the case of printing a confidential image.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the system used by the confidential printing system by Example 1 of this invention. 6 is a flowchart for creating print data of a confidential printing method according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart of the printing of the confidential printing system by Example 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart of the printing data creation of the confidential printing system by Example 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart of the printing of the confidential printing system by Example 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the system used by the confidential printing system by Example 3 of this invention. It is a flowchart which registers the recognition symbol of PC corresponding to the SD card of the confidential printing system by Example 3 of this invention. It is a flowchart of the printing of the confidential printing system by Example 3 of this invention. It is a flowchart of the printing data creation of the confidential printing system by Example 4 of this invention. It is a flowchart of the printing of the confidential printing system by Example 4 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  1a, 1b: PC, 2: printer, 3: storage device, 4: SD card, 5: slot,

Claims (4)

In a system for printing from a plurality of computer devices to a shared printer connected to a network,
A removable memory device having a unique recognition symbol can be connected to both the printer and the computer device, the removable memory device is connected to the computer device, the recognition symbol is read, and the recognition symbol is added from the computer device. The print data is sent to the printer, and at the time of printing, the removable memory device is connected to the printer to read the recognition symbol, and the recognition symbol added to the print data and the recognition symbol read by the printer A confidential printing method characterized by starting printing after confirming the match. In a system for printing from a plurality of computer devices to a shared printer connected to a network,
Print data added with a unique first recognition symbol of the computer device is sent from the computer device to the printer, and at the time of printing, the removable memory device having a unique second recognition symbol is connected to the printer. The second recognition symbol is read out to confirm whether or not there is a correspondence between the second recognition symbol read from the removable memory device and the first recognition symbol stored in the storage device of the printer device in advance. A confidential printing method characterized by starting printing. In the confidential printing system according to claim 1 or 2,
The print data transmitted from the computer device to the printer is encrypted with an encryption key, and the encryption key is recorded and stored in the memory of a removable memory device. A confidential printing method, wherein the encryption key is read from a device, and the print data is decrypted and printed The confidential printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The print data is recorded in the storage device of the printer with the recognition symbol added, the computer device or printer recognizes the connection by the recognition symbol, starts printing, and after the printing is finished, the print data is A confidential printing method characterized by automatic erasing.

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