JP2006246350A - Image processing apparatus and history information management server - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase the quantity of storable histories and to reduce a history storage area by storing only an electronic watermark in place of history information if the electronic watermark is included in an image, in order to reduce image information histories at chasing. <P>SOLUTION: In addition to an ordinary configuration of the image processing apparatus, an electronic watermark reading means is provided and if electronic watermark information is included in a copy target image, only the electronic watermark information is stored in a history management area. If no electronic watermark is included, the image processing apparatus is controlled to hold image data as they are similarly to the prior art. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a history information management server.

Interest in information security aimed at preventing leakage of confidential information is increasing. For this purpose, it is an effective means to limit the act of copying confidential documents. However, preventing the copying of paper information is difficult to achieve for information other than very specific information such as banknotes. For this reason, in recent digital multifunction devices, etc., there is a function that suppresses unlimited copying by the user by enhancing the usage history management of the user's device and leaving a log. In addition, not only the job history performed by the user but also the user By providing a mechanism for storing image information handled by the device in the device, a multifunction device having a function that enables the user to investigate the purpose of using the device later is being realized (for example, , See Patent Document 1).
Japanese National Patent Publication No. 10-503901

  However, there is a problem that a large amount of storage capacity is required even if a copy image made by the user can be stored inside the device. For this reason, the image information is stored only for a certain amount on the device side, and when the amount exceeds the certain amount, the old image information is deleted and stored to avoid the problem of increasing the storage capacity. In this case, the device can leave only incomplete history information, and can provide only an incomplete function from the viewpoint of ensuring security, which is the original purpose of storing image information.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation. Even when a large amount of image information is handled, the present invention holds the image information of a copy made by the user while minimizing an increase in storage capacity. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus and a history information management server that can satisfy requirements required as security.

  The present invention can solve the above problems by providing the following configuration.

  (1) Reading means for reading image information and converting it into electronic image data, storage means for storing a large amount of data, history management means for recording the usage status of the device, and image data read by the reading device A digital watermark recognizing means for extracting specific watermark information; and at least the digital watermark recognizing means, and when the digital watermark recognizing means can extract the digital watermark information from the image data to be processed, the history managing means extracts the extraction If the digital watermark information cannot be extracted from the image data to be processed and the digital watermark recognition means cannot extract the digital watermark information, it can be controlled to record the image information as history information in the history management means. An image processing apparatus characterized by the above.

  (2) Connection means for connecting to an external device via a network or the like, and transmission means for transmitting data inside the device to the external device using the connection means, and connected by the connection means The image processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the image processing apparatus has a function of transmitting the history information to an external history information management server by the transmission unit.

  (3) The image processing apparatus according to (2), wherein the history information transmission processing performed by the transmission unit is performed by a history information transmission processing request to the device from the history information management server.

  (4) A history information management server having a function of receiving history information transmitted from a device and accumulating and managing history information for each device.

  (5) A history information management server characterized by issuing a history information transmission request to a device, receiving history information transmitted from the device based on the request, and managing the history information for each device.

  (6) The history information managed for each device can be aggregated in response to a user request, and the aggregated history information including the history information of all devices managed by the history information management server can be configured. Feature history information management server.

  The present invention solves the problems of the prior art, and even when dealing with a large amount of image information, it is sought as security by holding image information of a copy made by a user while minimizing an increase in storage capacity. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus that can satisfy the required requirements.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of an external view of a device to which the present invention is applied.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the internal configuration of the device in FIG. In the device configuration shown in this example, the main modules are connected to each other by a system bus 201 that mediates transmission and reception of data and control signals. These configurations are examples used in the description of the embodiments, and the present invention can be applied to any configuration as long as the items described in the claims are satisfied.

  The operation unit 202 is a part that includes one or a plurality of keys and a display device that are normally provided in the device, and is a part that inputs and outputs operations on the user's device.

  The primary storage device 203 and the secondary storage device 204 are devices such as a semiconductor storage device and a magnetic recording device that are used by the system for printing processing and for storing data used by the system temporarily or for a long term.

  The network adapter 205 is a device that transmits / receives information to / from an external device connected via the network 1, and the protocol analysis unit 206 processes the data received by the network adapter 205 according to the protocol that supports it, and can be processed in the device It is for converting to a different format. However, since the functions of the network adapter 205 and the protocol analysis unit 206 are not the essence of the present invention, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  The PDL interpretation unit 207 functions to convert print target data (PDL data) into image data. The converted image data is sent to the print engine 209 via the engine controller 208 to perform physical printing processing. Done. A description of these detailed configurations is also omitted for the same reason as described above.

  A scan engine 211 and a scan engine controller 210 are devices for optically scanning a paper document and converting it into electronic information. A description of these detailed configurations is also omitted for the same reason as described above.

  The billing management unit 212 is a module in charge of management for performing billing correctly according to the usage status of the user's device and the amount of consumables required for print processing.

  The digital watermark detection unit 214 is for extracting digital watermark information from image data obtained as a result of scanning. Various methods can be considered as a method for detecting a digital watermark. However, the method is not the essence of the present invention, and the description thereof will be omitted. However, it goes without saying that the present invention is effective as long as the measures described in the claims are satisfied.

  The history management unit 215 is a module for recording device usage records and the like. The digital watermark recording and management, which is a feature of the present invention, is also performed here.

  The user management unit 216 manages a user ID registered in the device and a password for authentication. Authentication processing is also performed in this part.

  The main controller 213 controls the overall operation of each module described above, and executes steps for realizing the functions of the present invention.

  FIG. 3 illustrates a user authentication screen in the operation unit 202 of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention. When the user inputs a user ID and password using a numeric key (not shown), the numbers entered in the user ID field 302 and password field 305 are displayed. When the OK button 303 is pressed, authentication processing is performed. When the cancel button 304 is pressed, the input user ID and password are deleted, and the initial screen, that is, the state shown in FIG. 3 is restored.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the case where the user actually inputs the user ID and password using the numeric keys on the screen in FIG. 3, and the user ID field 302 and password field are shown as shown. It can be seen that a specific ID is entered in 305. Note that the password is displayed with an asterisk instead of the characters actually input from the viewpoint of confidentiality, but the information input by the user is recognized correctly in the device.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a screen when the OK button 303 in FIG. 4 is pressed and user authentication is successful and the device is ready for use. If the authentication process fails, the screen shown in FIG. 5 is not displayed, and the screen returns to the user authentication initialization screen shown in FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of history information managed by the device history management unit 215. The history information managed by the device according to the present invention includes a log ID for uniquely identifying each log, the date and time when the device was used, the user ID of the user used, the number of copies when used, and the present invention. The history type indicating whether the information to be left as the history, which is the feature of the document, is a digital watermark included in the document image or the document image itself if the digital watermark is not included in the document, and finally the history type is If it is a digital watermark, the document ID is stored as a digital watermark. If it is not a digital watermark, the history information field stores the file name of an image file stored in the device.

  In this way, when the digital watermark is included, the device only needs to hold the document management ID, not the image information file, so that the storage device necessary for holding history information can be greatly reduced. .

  In the present embodiment, the digital watermark is shown for the case where a document ID expressed by a fixed-digit number is adopted, but the watermark information needs to be limited to the format shown in the present embodiment. Needless to say, the present invention is effective even when any expression is used as a digital watermark as long as the items described in the claims are satisfied.

  Similarly, the seven fields shown in the present embodiment as history information managed by the history management unit 215 are for explaining one embodiment. Therefore, any information as long as the items described in the claims are satisfied. It goes without saying that the present invention is effective even if it is managed as a history.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a basic operation flow when a device is activated and enters an operating state to process a request from a user.

  First, when the device is turned on, a startup sequence for executing processing necessary for starting the device, such as memory initialization, device warm-up, network initialization, and necessary process startup, is executed (step S701). ).

  Next, preparation processing for server connection for responding to a history transmission request from the history management server is executed (step S702). The history management server and the history transmission request from the server will be described later.

  When step S702 is completed, the device becomes available and waits for a processing request from the user (step S703). The history transmission request from the history management server is also regarded as a processing request from the user for the device.

  If there is any processing request, the process proceeds from step S703 to the next step. First, in step S704, it is determined whether or not the processing request is a key or button input on the operation unit 202 made by the user. The key or button input here means any key or button input. For example, the above-described user ID input and authentication processing when the OK button is pressed, processing when the cancel button is pressed, or operation after the device becomes available All the button presses that can be pressed on the unit 202 are included, but the details of each of these keys or button inputs are not directly related to the description of the effects of the present invention, and thus the description thereof is omitted. .

  If it is determined in step S704 that the processing request is a key or button input from the user, the process proceeds to step S705 to execute the processing of the device corresponding to the button or key press, and when the processing is completed, the processing request in step S703 is performed again. Return to the waiting state.

  If it is determined in step S704 that the processing request from the user is not a key or button input, the process proceeds to step S706 to determine whether or not the content of the processing request is a history transmission request from the server. If the content of the processing request is a history transmission request from the server, the process proceeds to step S707, where the history transmission process is executed. When the processing is completed, the process returns to the processing request waiting state in step S703. The history transmission process will be described later.

  If the processing request from the user is not the history transmission request from the server in step S706, the process proceeds to step S708 to execute other processing. Since what kind of processing is specifically included as other processing is not directly related to the description of the effect of the present invention, it is omitted.

  When step S708 ends, the process returns to the processing request waiting state in step S703 again.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the flow from when the user executes the authentication process to when the copy is executed in order to describe the effect of the present invention in more detail.

  First, it starts from the input of the user ID and password described in FIG. 3 (step S801). For the user who performs copying, all the processes are started from this step.

  When the user ID and password are input and the OK button 303 is pressed, the process proceeds to step S802, and authentication processing is performed to determine whether the input user ID is the correct user ID and password registered in the user management unit 216. If the authentication fails, the process returns to step S801 again to instruct the user to input the user ID and password again. If the authentication is successful, the process proceeds to step S803, where the recognized user ID is registered in the history management unit 215.

  The processing contents performed by the user using the device at the stage where the user ID is registered in the history management unit 215 are ready to be registered as a history as shown in FIG.

  Next, various functions are set for the user to perform a copying operation (step S804). Since what kind of setting the user specifically selects for performing the copy is not important in explaining the effect of the present invention, the description is omitted. It is regarded as a user setting process until the start button is pressed. Proceed to the next step when the start button is pressed.

  When the start button is pressed, first, a document scanning process to be copied is executed based on the contents set by the user in step S804, and image information is stored in the secondary storage device 204 (step S805). .

  Next, the digital watermark extraction unit 214 performs digital watermark extraction processing from the image information stored in the secondary storage device 204 (step S806), and determines whether the digital watermark extraction is successful. (Step S807).

  If the extraction of the digital watermark is successful, the history management unit 215 registers the digital watermark as the history type and the digital watermark number extracted as the history information (step S808). As a result of the determination in step S807, if the digital watermark cannot be extracted, the history management unit 215 normally uses the file name of the image information stored in the secondary storage device in step S805 as the history type as the history type. Registration is performed (step S809).

  Up to this stage, the history management unit 215 stores three types of history information: a user ID, a history type, and history information.

  Next, in step S805, the image information stored in the secondary storage device 204 is printed based on the contents set by the user in step S804 (step S810). When the processing is completed, the log ID, date, time, The remaining fields of the history information such as the number of copies are registered in the history management unit 215 based on the contents processed by the user (step S811).

  The above is a flow from user authentication until actual copying is performed and history information is registered.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining in detail the processing at the time of step S707 in FIG. 7, that is, the history information transmission request from the history management server.

  First, in step S901, connection processing with the requested history management server is performed. In step S901, when both the history management server and the device are ready to transmit and receive data, the history information to be transmitted is converted into a format requested by the server in step S902, and then actual history data is transmitted (step S903). ).

  Note that the data conversion process performed in step S902 refers to a process of converting the internal representation of the history information illustrated in FIG. 6 managed in the history management unit 215 into a format suitable for transmission to the server via the network. Details regarding what kind of conversion is performed are not important for explaining the effects of the present invention, and will be omitted. However, whatever means is used, as long as the contents described in the claims are satisfied. Needless to say, the present invention is effective.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of an operation mode when a plurality of devices according to the present invention and a history management server are connected via a network.

  As shown in the figure, a history management server 1006 and four devices according to the present invention from the multifunction peripherals A to D () are connected to a network 1001.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of an external view of a history management server according to the present invention.

  FIG. 12 is a block diagram for explaining the internal configuration of the history management server in FIG. In the configuration of the history management server shown in this example, main modules are connected to each other by a system bus 1201 that mediates transmission and reception of data and control signals. These configurations are examples used in the description of the embodiments, and the present invention can be applied to any configuration as long as the items described in the claims are satisfied.

  The keyboard 1202 is a part composed of a plurality of keys normally provided in the history management server, and is a part for inputting / outputting data to / from the history management server of the user.

  A display 1204 is a device for performing screen display.

  The pointing device 1203 is for instructing the history management server to move a pointer on the display or to select a specific area on the screen.

  The primary storage device 1205 and the secondary storage device 1206 are devices such as a semiconductor storage device and a magnetic recording device that are used by the system for temporarily or long-term storing programs and data used by the system.

  The network adapter 1209 is a device that transmits / receives information to / from an external device connected via a network. The protocol analysis unit 1210 performs processing according to a protocol that supports data received by the network adapter 1209, and performs processing within the history management server. It is for converting to a possible format. However, since the functions of the network adapter 1209 and the protocol analysis unit 1210 are not the essence of the present invention, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  The MPU 1208 is an apparatus for controlling the operations of all the modules and executing programs and the like.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the data area stored in the secondary storage device 1206 of the history management server. The management area 1301 is a file management area normally provided in a disk device or the like.

  The basic software area 1302 is an area that stores programs that operate on the history management server and basic software for managing devices, and is a program that is first read and executed by the MPU 1208 when the history management server is started. It is.

  The driver area 1303 is a storage area for programs for operating the network and various devices.

  An application area 1304 is an area where various applications running on the history management server are listed.

  The history management application area 1305 is an area in which a program for realizing a history management function in the history management server, which is a feature of the present invention, is stored.

  The history information area 1306 is an area for storing history information managed by the history management function of the present invention.

  The free area 1307 is an area in the secondary storage device 1206 that has not been used yet. The swap area 1308 is an area provided for temporarily saving information in the temporary storage device 1205 when the procedure of the temporary storage device 1205 is insufficient.

  The above is a description related to a schematic diagram for describing an embodiment of the present invention. The above-described areas do not necessarily have to be stored in the secondary storage device 1206 in the order shown in the drawing, but in the secondary storage device 1206. It may be stored physically in a distributed form.

  FIG. 14 schematically shows the state in the temporary storage device 1205 when the history management server is in operation. In the temporary storage device 1205, basic software 1401, driver 1402, application 1403, history management application 1404, history information 1405, etc. are read from the secondary storage device 1206 described above, and programs in these temporary storage devices 1205 are read by the MPU 1208. Executed.

  The area that is not used from anywhere described above is a free area 1406.

  Similarly to the secondary storage device 1206, the description of the temporary storage device 1205 in this figure is also a description of a schematic diagram for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, and the above-described areas are not necessarily in the order shown in the figure. It is not necessary to store in 1205, and it may be stored in a physically distributed form in primary storage device 1205.

  The four tables shown in FIG. 15 are examples of history information managed in the devices A to D, respectively. Since the detailed description regarding the history information has been given in FIG. 6, the description thereof is omitted here.

  FIG. 16 illustrates an example of an application screen displayed on the display 1204 by the history management application executed on the history management server. As shown in the figure, the history management application main screen 1601 includes a history information collection button 1602, a device registration / deletion button 1603, a user history collection button 1604, a document history collection button 1605, other buttons 1606, and an end button 1607. .

  The history information collection button 1602 is a button that is selected when requesting each device to perform processing so that history information is transmitted to the device managed by the history management server.

  A device registration / deletion button 1603 is used by the history management server to register or delete a device to be subject to history management.

  The user history collection button 1604 is used to execute a function of collecting and displaying history information for each user from the collected history information.

  A document history collection button 1605 is used to execute a function of collecting and displaying history information for each document ID from the collected history information.

  The other button 1606 is used to select a function that does not correspond to the above-described functions. However, what kind of processing is included here is not important in explaining the effect of the present invention, and therefore, here. Description is omitted.

  An end button 1607 is a button for ending the history management application.

  FIG. 17 shows an example of a screen displayed on the display 1204 after the history information collection button 1602 is pressed on the screen of FIG. A dialog box 1701 indicating that the history information of the device registered in the history management server is being collected is displayed. When the collection of history information is completed, the dialog box 1701 disappears and the screen returns to the state shown in FIG.

  The dialog box 1701 includes a cancel button 1702, and when the user selects this button, the history information collecting process being executed by the history management server is immediately terminated and the screen returns to the screen of FIG.

  When the cancel button is pressed to return to the screen of FIG. 16, the history information stored in the device is in a state before the history information collection button 1602 is selected.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining a screen displayed on the display 1604 in a state where collection of history information is completed. A dialog box 1801 for indicating to the user that the history information collection has been completed is displayed on the main screen of the history management application.

  The dialog box 1801 includes an OK button 1802. By pressing this button, the dialog box 1801 disappears and the state returns to the state of the main screen of the history management application shown in FIG.

  FIG. 19 illustrates the history information 1405 and the status in the history information area 1306 after the history information of each device shown in FIG. 15 is collected by pressing the history information collection button 1802 of the history management application. belongs to. This information is collected by the history management application after the history information collection button 1802 of the history management application is pressed and the history information of each device is once collected.

  This information is composed of a plurality of fields. First, the device field for identifying the device log, the log ID for storing the log ID managed by each device, the date and time fields for storing the date and time when the log was written, and the user who executed the job A user ID field, a copy number field indicating the number of copies when the user has copied, a history type field, and a history information field. Since the details of the history type field and the history information field were described in the description of FIG. 6, they are omitted here.

  Here, in order to make the following explanation easy to understand, the collected history information is shown in a form arranged in order of date and time, but in any order, it is stored in the history information 1405 and the history information area 1306. There is no particular restriction on what is done. Therefore, in any case, the present invention is effective as long as the requirements described in the claims are satisfied.

  FIG. 20 shows an example of a screen displayed on the display 1204 after the user history collection button 1604 is pressed on the screen of FIG. A dialog box 2001 is displayed on the main screen of the history management application. When a user ID of a user to be collected is input into the internal user ID input field 2002 and an OK button 2003 is pressed, a user history collection process is started.

  FIG. 21 shows an example of the result of executing the user history collection process for the user whose user ID is 11870 in the screen of FIG. 20 in the state of FIG. It can be seen that the history information when the user with the user ID 11870 uses the device is collected and displayed in the user history display screen 2101.

  The user history display screen 2101 includes a device field 2102, a date field 2103, a time field 2104, a document ID field 2105, and a copy number field 2106 for each history field, and each history information is displayed in the order of these fields. .

  When the entire history does not fit in the screen, the scroll button 2107 can be used to scroll the screen up and down.

  A close button 2108 is for closing the user history collection screen 2101 and returning to the main screen 1601 of the history management application.

  A print button 2109 is used to instruct the collected user history information to be printed to a device such as a printer.

  In the collected history, when an image without a digital watermark is copied, the document ID field is No docID as shown in the figure, and it means that copying of an image not including the digital watermark has been executed. Show.

  Although it is not always necessary to collect a job history that does not include a digital watermark as a user history from the original gist of the invention, in this embodiment, an example of collecting such information as a history is shown. However, since this part is not an essential part of the invention, it goes without saying that the present invention is effective as long as the items described in the claims are satisfied regardless of the presence or absence of this function.

  FIG. 22 shows an example of a screen displayed on the display 1204 after the document history collection button 1605 is pressed on the screen of FIG. A dialog box 2001 is displayed on the main screen of the history management application. When a document ID of a document to be collected is input into a document ID input field 2202 in the inside thereof and an OK button 2203 is pressed, a document history collection process is started.

  FIG. 23 shows an example of the result of executing the document history collection processing for the document whose document ID is 35027718 on the screen of FIG. 22 in the state of FIG. It can be seen that the history information of document ID 35027718 is collected and displayed in the document history display screen 2301.

  The document history display screen 2301 includes a device field 2302, a date field 2303, a time field 2304, a user ID field 2305, and a copy number field 2306 for each history field, and each history information is displayed in the order of these fields. .

  When the entire history does not fit in the screen, the screen can be scrolled up and down by a scroll button 2307.

  A close button 2308 is for closing the document history collection screen 2301 and returning to the main screen 1601 of the history management application.

  A print button 2309 is used to instruct the collected document history information to be printed to a device such as a printer.

  FIG. 24 is a flowchart for explaining the main process of the history management application. First, it waits for a processing request until any button in FIG. 16 is pressed (step S2401).

  If any button is pressed, it is first determined whether or not the device registration / deletion button 1603 is pressed (step S2402). If the device registration / deletion button 1603 is pressed, device registration / deletion processing is performed. The process is executed (step S2403). When the process is completed, the process returns to the process request waiting state (step S2401).

  If it is determined in step S2402 that the device registration / deletion button 1603 has not been pressed, the process advances to step S2404 to determine whether the history information collection button 1602 has been pressed. If the history information collection button 1602 has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S2405 to execute the history information collection process of the device. When the process is completed, the process returns to the process request wait state again (step S2401). Details of the history information collection processing will be described later.

  If it is determined in step S2404 that the history information collection button 1602 has not been pressed, the process advances to step S2406 to determine whether or not the user history collection request button 1604 has been pressed. If the user history collection request button 1604 has been pressed, the user history collection process is executed (step S2407). When the process is completed, the process returns to the process request wait state again (step S2401). Details of the user history collection processing will be described later.

  If it is determined in step S2406 that the user history collection request button 1604 has not been pressed, the process advances to step S2408 to determine whether or not the document history collection request button 1605 has been pressed. If the document history collection request button 1605 has been pressed, the process advances to step S2409 to execute the document history collection process. When the document history collection request button 1605 has been completed, the process returns to the process request wait state again (step S2401). Details of the document history collection processing will be described later.

  If it is determined in step S2408 that the document history collection request button 1605 has not been pressed, the process advances to step S2410 to determine whether the end button 1607 has been pressed. If it is determined that the end button 1607 has been pressed, the history management application is ended. If the end button 1607 has not been pressed, it can be determined that the remaining other button 1606 has been pressed. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S2411 to execute other processes, and the process returns to the process request wait state again (step S2401).

  FIG. 25 is a flowchart for explaining details of the history information collection processing in step 2405 in FIG.

  First, it is determined whether or not there is a device that has not yet collected the history among the devices that are the history information collection target (step S2501). If there is still a history collection target device remaining, the process proceeds to step S2502, where the next processing target device is selected from the uncollected device list, and a history transmission request is transmitted to the device (step S2503).

  When the device transmits history information, the history information is received (step S2504), and the history information is recorded in the temporary storage device 1205 or the secondary storage device 1206 (step S2505).

  Until the above steps are executed for all history management target devices, the processing from step S2501 to step S2505 is repeated to collect history information of all target models.

  As a result of the determination in step S2501, when the collection of history information of all history management target models is completed, the process proceeds to step S2506, and the history information collected for each model is collected into a single history information. This means that the information of FIG. 19 is created from the information of FIG.

  When single history information that holds information of all models is created, the history information is sorted in order of date (step S2507), and the sorted history information is stored in history information 1405 in the temporary storage device 1205 or in the secondary storage device 1206. Is stored in the history information area 1306 (step S2508).

  Thus, the history information collection process is completed.

  FIG. 26 is a flowchart for explaining details of the user history collection processing in step 2407 in FIG.

  First, a screen as shown in FIG. 20 is displayed to input a user ID (step S2601).

  When the user ID is input, the process proceeds to step S2602, and only the information corresponding to the input user ID is searched and extracted from the history information of all the history management target devices as shown in FIG. 19 collected by the history information collecting process. .

  Next, format conversion is performed so that the history information of the corresponding user ID extracted in step S2602 conforms to the display format shown in FIG. 21 (step S2603). In this embodiment, only the fields that do not need to be displayed are deleted.

  In step S2604, the result is displayed. The displayed results are as shown in FIG.

  After displaying the result, the process waits for input from the user (step S2605). If there is a user input, it is determined whether or not it is the selection of the close button 2108 by the user, and if it is the close button 2108, the screen is displayed. Is closed to end the user history collection process.

  If the result of determination in step S2606 is that the close button 2108 has not been pressed, other button press processing is executed (step S2608), and the process again returns to an input wait state (step S2605).

  In step S2608, as to which button is specifically pressed and what processing is specifically executed at those times, processing when the print button 2109 or scroll button 2107 is pressed corresponds. Since it is not important in explaining the effect of the embodiment, it will be omitted.

  FIG. 27 is a flowchart for explaining details of the document history collection processing in step 2409 in FIG.

  First, a screen as shown in FIG. 22 is displayed to input a document ID (step S2701).

  When the user ID is input, the process proceeds to step S2702, and only the information corresponding to the input document ID is searched and extracted from the history information of all the history management target devices as shown in FIG. 19 collected by the history information collecting process. .

  Next, format conversion is performed so that the history information of the corresponding document ID extracted in step S2702 conforms to the display format shown in FIG. 23 (step S2703). In this embodiment, only the fields that do not need to be displayed are deleted.

  In step S2704, the result is displayed. The displayed result is as shown in FIG.

  After displaying the result, the process waits for an input from the user (step S2705). If there is a user input, it is determined whether or not it is the selection of the close button 2308 by the user. Is closed to end the user history collection process.

  If the close button 2308 is not pressed as a result of the determination in step S2706, the other button pressing process is executed (step S2708), and the process again returns to the input waiting state (step S2705).

  In step S2708, which button is specifically pressed and what process is specifically executed at that time corresponds to a process when the print button 2309 or scroll button 2307 is pressed. Since it is not important in explaining the effect of the embodiment, it will be omitted.

1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions inside an image processing apparatus. It is a user authentication screen in the operation unit of the image processing apparatus. It is a screen in which a user ID and a password are input on a user authentication screen in the operation unit of the image processing apparatus. It is a display screen after user authentication is successful on the operation screen of the image processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the log | history information managed by the log | history management part 215 of an image processing apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the request | requirement from a user in the movable state of an image processing apparatus. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing from when the user executes authentication processing to when copying is executed in the image processing apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the process at the time of the log | history information transmission request from the log | history management server in FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration in which a plurality of image processing devices and a history management server are connected to a network in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the log | history management server which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions inside a log | history management server. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data area inside the secondary storage device 1206 of a log | history management server. It is a figure which shows the state in the primary storage device 1205 at the time of a log | history management server operation. It is a figure which shows an example of the log | history information each managed by the apparatus A to the apparatus D. It is a figure which shows an example of the application screen displayed on the display of a log | history management server. It is a figure which shows the screen after pushing the history information collection button 1602 on the screen of FIG. It is a figure which shows the screen displayed in the state where the log | history management server completed collection of log | history information. It is a figure which shows the historical information which the log | history management server collected. It is a figure which shows the screen after pushing the user history collection button 1604 on the screen of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of the result of having performed the user history collection process about specific user ID on the screen of FIG. It is a figure which shows the screen after pushing the document log | history collection button 1605 on the screen of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of the result of having performed the document log | history collection process about specific document ID on the screen of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the main process of a log | history management application. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of step 2405 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of step 2407 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the document log | history collection process of step 2409 of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

201 System Bus 202 Operation Unit 203 Primary Storage Device 204 Secondary Storage Device 213 Main Controller 215 History Management Unit 1201 System Bus 1202 Keyboard 1203 Pointing Device 1204 Display 1205 Primary Storage Device 1206 Secondary Storage Device

Claims (6)

  Reading means for reading image information and converting it into electronic image data, storage means for storing a large amount of data, history management means for recording the usage status of the device, and a specific watermark from the image data read by the reading device A digital watermark recognizing means for extracting information, and at least the digital watermark recognizing means, and when the digital watermark recognizing means can extract the digital watermark information from the image data to be processed, the history managing means extracts the extracted digital watermark It is controllable to record information and record image information as history information in the history management means when the digital watermark recognition means cannot extract the digital watermark information from the image data to be processed. An image processing apparatus.   A connection means for connecting to an external device via a network or the like, and a transmission means for transmitting internal data to the external device using the connection means, and an external history connected by the connection means The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a function of transmitting the history information to the information management server by the transmission unit.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the history information transmission processing performed by the transmission unit is performed by a history information transmission processing request from the history information management server to the device.   A history information management server having a function of receiving history information transmitted from a device and accumulating and managing history information for each device.   A history information management server, wherein a history information transmission request is issued to a device, history information transmitted from the device is received based on the request, and the history information is managed for each device.   The history information managed for each device is aggregated in response to a user request, and the accumulated history information including the history information of all devices managed by the history information management server can be configured. History information management server.