JP2008098928A - Image forming apparatus, utilization time control method, program and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus having various kinds of functions complexly, in which the utilization time of respective functions is finely controlled in accordance with a user. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus is equipped with: a utilization time management means 112 for managing utilizable time setting in which the utilizable time of each of various kinds of functions is set for each attribute information of all the operators of the image forming apparatus 100; an attribute acquisition means (authentication part 106, suitably) for acquiring the attribute information of the operator; and a utilizable function judgement means 111 for judging the propriety of utilization by referring to the utilizable time setting, the attribute information of the operator and present time information (time, day of the week and date, suitably). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile machine, a usage time control method thereof, a program for usage time control, and a recording medium on which the program is recorded.

  In recent years, image forming devices (for example, MFPs: Multi-Functional Printers) that have become increasingly sophisticated, functionally complex, and functionally integrated are often installed in the office of a company, and are regular employees of the company. In addition to temporary employees and part-time workers, this is generally used by a plurality of users (hereinafter, the term “user” or “operator” is used as appropriate). However, some users use it illegally without proper authority.

  However, there is a possibility of unauthorized use even among legitimate users. In addition, there is a possibility that an unauthorized user impersonates an authorized user and attempts unauthorized use. Unauthorized use is likely to occur during non-business hours, such as outside business hours.

  Therefore, conventionally, an image forming apparatus that allows use only during normal business hours has been proposed. For example, the conventional invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 is an image forming apparatus that can set whether or not a user can be used according to time.

More specifically, in an image forming apparatus having an operation panel, authentication is performed by setting a usable time for each user ID in advance and allowing the user to input the user ID and password to the operation panel. It is considered that the image forming apparatus determines whether or not the apparatus can be used based on whether or not the time when the authentication is performed corresponds to the usable time.
JP 2004-134995 A

  However, on the other hand, as described above, recent image forming apparatuses have advanced functions and are equipped with various functions. Therefore, a certain user may be allowed to use a certain function, but there is a request that a certain user does not want to use it.

  However, the conventional invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 can only control whether or not a device can be used, and cannot use each function of an advanced image forming apparatus in detail. there were.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-described problems of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to finely control the usage time of each function according to the user when the image forming apparatus is provided with a variety of functions. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is an image forming apparatus having at least two or more functions, wherein the usable time of each of the functions is set for each attribute information of all the apparatus operators. Utilization time management means for managing available time settings; attribute acquisition means for obtaining operator attribute information when the operator operates the apparatus; and after the operator operates the apparatus, the function of the apparatus Use to determine whether or not the function can be used by referring to the attribute information of the operator acquired by the attribute acquisition unit, the available time setting, and the current time information for the function when using any one of them An image forming apparatus comprising: a function determining unit.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the usage time setting is set in accordance with a calendar, and the time information includes time information and calendar information.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the attribute information is one of an operator identifier or a group of operators.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the functions include a copy function, a scanner function, an internal facsimile function, an external facsimile function, a color image utilization function, and an in-domain function. It is characterized by at least two or more selected from an e-mail transmission function and an outside-domain e-mail transmission function.

  The invention according to claim 5 is a usage time control method for an image forming apparatus having at least two or more functions, wherein the available time in which each of the functions is available is set for each attribute information of all the apparatus operators. One of the usage time management step for managing the time setting, the attribute acquisition step for acquiring the attribute information of the operator when the operator operates the device, and the function of the device after the operator operates the device. Usable function for determining whether or not the function can be used by referring to the attribute information of the operator, the available time setting, and the current time information acquired by the attribute acquiring unit when using one A use time control method for the image forming apparatus.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in an image forming apparatus having at least two or more functions, a usage time for managing a usable time setting in which each usable time of each function is set for each piece of attribute information of all apparatus operators. Management process, attribute acquisition process for acquiring operator attribute information when the operator operates the device, and after the operator operates the device, the operator tries to use any one of the above functions At the same time, an available function determination process for determining whether or not the function can be used by referring to the attribute information of the operator acquired by the attribute acquisition unit, the available time setting, and the current time information for the function is executed. It is a program characterized by this.

  A seventh aspect of the invention is a computer-readable recording medium on which the program of the sixth aspect is recorded.

  According to the present invention, when the image forming apparatus has various functions in combination, it is possible to finely control the use time of each function according to the user.

[First Embodiment]
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 100 includes a scanner 101, a plotter 102, an encoding / decoding unit 103, a system control unit 104, a network control unit 105, an authentication unit 106, a network control unit 107, a modem 108, and an image storage unit 109. The operation display unit 110 and the usable function determination unit 111 are connected to each other via the system bus 113. The available function determining unit 111 includes a usage time managing unit 112.

  The scanner 101 has a scanner function. The plotter 102 has an image forming function, and also has a copy function for copying the image data read by the scanner 101 and outputting it to a paper medium or the like.

  The encoding / decoding unit 103 has an arithmetic processing function specialized for encoding and decoding, and performs encoding when the image data read by the scanner 101 is compressed and stored in the image storage unit 109. In addition, the image forming apparatus 100 performs an operation for compressing / decompressing the image data into appropriate data when the image forming apparatus 100 performs facsimile communication.

  The system control unit 104 has a central control function that controls the entire image forming apparatus 100. Preferably a CPU or a microprocessor can be applied.

The network control unit 105 is an interface of various networks including a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network) and has a function of transmitting / receiving e-mail.
In addition, the e-mail transmission / reception function is configured such that the available time varies depending on whether the transmission destination is in-house or outside the company.

  The authentication unit 106 is hardware for identifying a user who intends to use the image forming apparatus 100. Since the authentication application is operated by the system control unit 104 using the authentication unit 106, the authentication unit 106 hardware and the authentication software cooperate to identify and authenticate the user of the image forming apparatus 100. Means are configured to serve the purpose.

  When the operator activates the image forming apparatus 100, the operator is prompted to input a user ID / password pair to the operation display unit 110, and if they match those stored in the image forming apparatus 100. If the normal operation of the image forming apparatus 100 is permitted, the attribute information of the operator is acquired. Here, the attribute information may be a user ID, an operator name referred to by the user ID, or a group ID to which the user belongs.

  The network control unit 107 and the modem 108 are connected to the line 114 and serve as a facsimile transmission / reception function of the image forming apparatus 100. The network control unit 107 is a network control unit (NCU: Network Control Unit), and can make and receive calls by controlling a telephone line.

The modem 108 decodes the analog data received by the network control unit 107 into digital data and sends the digital data to the image storage unit 109 via the system bus 113. Conversely, the modem 108 receives an instruction from the system control unit 104 and receives the image storage unit 109. The digital data is received via the system bus 113, encoded into analog data, transferred to the network control unit 107, and transmitted to the outside through the line 114 which is a telephone line.
The facsimile transmission / reception function is configured such that the available time varies depending on whether the transmission destination is in-house or outside the company.

  The image storage unit 109 has a function of storing image data generated when a copy is made by the image forming apparatus 100 or when a facsimile is transmitted / received. It can be implemented preferably by a non-volatile flash memory or a hard disk drive.

  The operation display unit 110 is an interface between the image forming apparatus 100 and a user. For example, a touch panel is suitable. In the case of the touch panel, it is advantageous because the reception of the operation to the image forming apparatus 100 by the user and the display of the signal message from the image forming apparatus 100 to the user can be realized at the same time.

  The usable function determination unit 111 includes the operator attribute information obtained by the authentication unit 106 as described above, the function that the operator intends to operate / use, and the usage time information managed by the built-in usage time management unit 112. Based on the above, it is determined whether or not the operator can use the function. The determination result is received by the system control unit 104 via the system bus 113, and the operation display unit 110 is used to notify the operator that the function cannot be operated / used / executed.

  The usage time management unit 112 has a function of acquiring calendar information and time, and a function of managing the relationship between the attribute information and function of the operator and the usage time. Information relating to time or management information obtained by these functions is provided in response to a request from the available function determination unit 111.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the available time setting which is the relationship between the user, the function, and the usage time managed by the usage time management unit 112 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating an example of a relationship among a user, a function, and a usage time managed by the usage time management unit 112 in the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 2, use start time and end time of “functions 1 to 4” are set for each of “users 1 to 3”. “User 1” or the like corresponds to the attribute information of the operator. For example, information for identifying the operator is preferable, and the name of the operator, the user ID of the operator, and the like may be used.

  In FIG. 2, for example, the usage time of the function 2 of the user 1 is between 10:00 and 22:00. Further, the usage time of the function 1 of the user 3 is between 8:30 and 17:00. Also, since the user 3 does not want to use the functions 3 and 4, no usage time is set.

The present embodiment is configured as described above, and operates as follows.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of user usage time management processing of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 6, in step S <b> 601, the user logs in to the image forming apparatus 100. The image forming apparatus 100 can determine the user by authentication at the time of login.

  In step S <b> 602, the user sets a function to be used by operating the image display apparatus 100 by operating the operation display unit 110.

  In step S <b> 603, the user instructs the image forming apparatus 100 to execute the function set in step S <b> 602 by operating the operation display unit 110 (preferably an operation of pressing a start button (not shown)).

In step S <b> 604, the image forming apparatus 100 determines whether the function set by the user in step S <b> 602 can be currently executed using the usage time management unit 112 of the available function determination unit 111.
In the branch of step S604, when it is determined that the above determination is Yes and within the usable time, the process proceeds to step S605. If it is determined No and it is determined that it is outside the usable time, the process proceeds to step S606.

In step S605, the image forming apparatus 100 executes the function set in step S602.
In step S606, the image forming apparatus 100 does not execute the function set in step S602. Instead, the user is notified of the fact that execution is impossible by displaying on the operation display unit 110, issuing an alert on the screen, or the like.

  In the above-described series of operations of the present embodiment, the case where the user operates from the operation display unit 110 that is the operation screen of the image forming apparatus 100 has been described in particular. However, application software is downloaded from a web browser or a personal computer. You may comprise so that it may utilize and operate (it mentions later by other embodiment).

[Second Embodiment]
Moreover, this invention can also be implemented as follows.
In the first embodiment, the relationship between the user, the function, and the usage time managed by the usage time management unit 112 is configured including calendar information as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram (part 2) illustrating an example of a relationship among a user, a function, and a usage time managed by the usage time management unit 112 in the present embodiment.

In FIG. 3, the use start time and end time of the functions 1 to 3 are set for each day of the week for each of the users 1 and 2.
For example, the usage time on Wednesday of the function 2 of the user 1 is between 10:00 and 22:00. Further, the use time of Friday for the function 3 of the user 2 is between 8:30 and 19:00.
In this embodiment, FIG. 3 shows an example of setting in units of one week, but it may be set in units of one month or one year.

[Third Embodiment]
Moreover, this invention can also be implemented as follows.
In the first or second embodiment, the relationship between the user, the function, and the usage time managed by the usage time management unit 112 is expressed as “user group” as attribute information of the operator as shown in FIGS. To apply.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram (part 3) illustrating an example of a relationship among a user, a function, and a usage time managed by the usage time management unit 112 in the present embodiment.

In FIG. 4, usable times of functions 1 to 4 are set for each group of manager, employee, and dispatch (temporary employee).
For example, the use time of the function 2 of the employee is between 8:30 and 22:00.

An example of the relationship between users and groups in this embodiment is shown in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between a user and a user group in the present embodiment.
In FIG. 5, which user group each user in the “user” column belongs to is described in the “affiliation” column. For example, it is set which user group each user belongs to, such as user 1 and user 2 being employees, and user 3 being dispatched.

  In the aspect for carrying out the present invention, the image forming apparatus obtains the attribute information of the operator. However, if the attribute information is made concrete with the personal name and the user ID, the first embodiment can be obtained. Thus, the third embodiment can be obtained by making it concrete with a user group.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Moreover, this invention can also be implemented as follows.
Each function constituting the above-described embodiment is programmed, written in advance in a recording medium such as a ROM, the ROM is mounted on the image forming apparatus, and the program in the ROM is executed by the microprocessor mounted on the image forming apparatus. To do.
Even with such a configuration, the object of the present invention is achieved.

  In addition, as a recording medium, a semiconductor medium (for example, ROM, a non-volatile memory card, etc.), an optical medium (for example, DVD, MO, MD, CD-R, etc.), a magnetic medium (for example, magnetic tape, a flexible disk, etc.) Either may be sufficient.

  In addition, the case where the operating system or the like performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the loaded program and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.

  Further, when the above-mentioned program is stored in a storage device such as an HDD of a server computer and is downloaded and distributed from a user's computer connected via a network, or distributed and distributed from a server computer, The storage device of the server computer is also included in the recording medium according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In this way, by programming the function of the present invention, recording it on a recording medium and distributing it, it is possible to improve cost, portability and versatility.

  An example in which any one of the above embodiments is implemented more specifically will be described in detail. This example is an example when the user tries to execute the copy function, and the operation in the above embodiment is detailed. Therefore, the description is omitted as appropriate, and only the characteristic part is described.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation procedure of the user usage time management process of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. Portions common to those in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted as appropriate.

  In FIG. 7, in step S <b> 601, the user logs in to the image forming apparatus 100. The image forming apparatus 100 can determine the user by authentication at the time of login.

  In step S <b> 702, the user sets the use of the copy function by operating the operation display unit 110 on the image forming apparatus 100.

  In step S <b> 603, the user instructs the image forming apparatus 100 to execute the copy function by operating the operation display unit 110 (preferably, pressing an unillustrated start button).

In step S <b> 604, the image forming apparatus 100 determines whether the copy function can be currently executed using the usage time management unit 112 of the available function determination unit 111.
If it is determined in the branch of step S604 that the above determination is Yes and it is within the usable time, the process proceeds to step S705. If it is determined No and it is determined that it is outside the usable time, the process proceeds to step S606.

In step S705, the image forming apparatus 100 executes a copy function.
In step S606, the image forming apparatus 100 does not execute the copy function. Instead, the user is notified of the fact that execution is impossible by displaying on the operation display unit 110, issuing an alert on the screen, or the like.

  This is the end of the description of this embodiment. Moreover, the effect of the said embodiment and the said Example is described below.

〔effect〕
According to the above-described embodiment, the image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions includes the use time management unit and the usable function determination unit so that the use time for each user function can be set. It is possible to control the user's usable time and usable functions, that is, the administrator of the image forming apparatus can finely control the use of the user, and the user is hidden and illegal when the administrator's eyes cannot reach. The possibility of attempting to use the system can be reduced, and security is improved.

  Moreover, according to the said embodiment (especially 2nd Embodiment), since the usage time was set separately according to a day and it was comprised so that it may respond also to a day when usage time differs from usual, such as a holiday, usage time for every day. Can be set, and the use can be restricted in the case of a holiday or a time zone on a specific day when the manager is absent, thereby improving the convenience of management.

  Moreover, according to the said embodiment (especially 3rd Embodiment), since it set so that the group of several users was put together and a user can be managed collectively like an employee or dispatch, a user is classified for every group. This makes it possible to save the trouble of setting for every user and to manage them collectively by distinguishing between employees and dispatch, thereby improving the convenience of the image forming apparatus.

  Moreover, according to the said embodiment (especially 4th Embodiment), cost, portability, and versatility can be improved by programming the function of this invention, recording on a recording medium, and distributing.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, even when the image forming apparatus has a copy function, a scanner function, a facsimile function, or a color image processing (use) function in combination, the use time can be finely set, and the image forming apparatus The convenience of management is improved.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, if the available time is set to be different depending on whether the facsimile destination is an external line or an internal line, it is possible to cope with a case where the usage time is changed depending on the destination, such as in the office and outside the company. Furthermore, in an image forming apparatus that has a facsimile function and the destination can distinguish between an external line and an internal line, internal communication using an internal line is less likely to be used illegally. The use of the used communication can improve the security such as severely limiting the time.

  In addition, according to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to change the usage time depending on the destination such as inside and outside the company by setting the available time to be different depending on whether the destination of the email is within the domain or outside the domain. In an image forming device that has a function and can distinguish between the inside and outside of the domain, communication within the domain is less likely to be used illegally, so the use time is extended and communication using an outside line outside the domain Use can improve security, such as severely limiting time.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, the convenience of management of the image forming apparatus is further improved by combining the above embodiments.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is FIG. (1) which shows an example of the relationship between the user, the function, and utilization time which are managed by the utilization time management means 112 in preferable embodiment of this invention. It is FIG. (2) which shows an example of the relationship between the user, the function, and usage time which are managed by the usage time management means 112 in preferable embodiment of this invention. It is FIG. (3) which shows an example of the relationship between the user, the function, and usage time which are managed with the usage time management means 112 in preferable embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between the user and user group in suitable embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of user usage time management processing of the image forming apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of a user usage time management process of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image forming apparatus 101 Scanner 102 Plotter 103 Encoding / decoding part 104 System control part 105 Network control part 106 Authentication part 107 Network control part 108 Modem 109 Image storage part 110 Operation display part 111 Available function determination means 112 Usage time management Means 113 System bus 114 Line

Claims (7)

An image forming apparatus having at least two functions,
Usage time management means for managing the available time setting in which the available time of each of the functions is set for each piece of attribute information of all device operators;
Attribute acquisition means for acquiring the operator's attribute information when the operator operates the device;
When the operator tries to use any one of the functions of the apparatus after operating the apparatus, the attribute information of the operator acquired by the attribute acquisition means for the function, the available time setting, and the current Usable function determining means for determining whether or not the function can be used with reference to the time information of
An image forming apparatus comprising: The usage time setting is set according to the calendar,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the time information includes time information and calendar information.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information is one of an identifier of an operator or a group into which the operator is classified.   The function is at least two or more selected from a copy function, a scanner function, an internal facsimile function, an external facsimile function, a color image utilization function, an intra-domain e-mail transmission function, and an out-domain e-mail transmission function. Item 4. The image forming apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 3. A method for controlling the use time of an image forming apparatus having at least two functions,
A use time management step for managing a use time setting in which each use time of the function is set for each attribute information of all device operators;
An attribute acquisition step for acquiring attribute information of the operator when the operator operates the device;
When the operator tries to use any one of the functions of the apparatus after operating the apparatus, the attribute information of the operator acquired by the attribute acquisition means for the function, the available time setting, and the current An available function determination step that determines whether or not the function can be used with reference to the time information of
A method for controlling the use time of an image forming apparatus, comprising: In an image forming apparatus having at least two functions,
A usage time management process for managing the available time setting in which the available time of each of the functions is set for each attribute information of all device operators;
Attribute acquisition processing for acquiring operator attribute information when the operator operates the device;
When the operator tries to use any one of the functions of the apparatus after operating the apparatus, the attribute information of the operator acquired by the attribute acquisition means for the function, the available time setting, and the current An available function determination process that determines whether or not the function can be used with reference to the time information of
A program characterized in that is executed.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 6 is recorded.

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