JP2009071770A - Printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that a great amount of storage capacity is needed if data are to be archived as they are, in every copy operation even though a document seems to be the same original as what has been copied previously in a system for archiving copy data when copying the document. <P>SOLUTION: Identification data are printed accompanied with an original at the time of printing, while image data and the identification data are read out at the time of scanning, and related information of the same original is extracted in accordance with the identification data when the identification data exist, then difference information of an image and related information are archived. The related information may not be image information, but may be what can identify a job. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to history management, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus that efficiently manages image data input and output in an image processing apparatus.

  With the widespread use of image processing apparatuses, anyone can easily copy and transmit a document. This has improved convenience for the user, but has also increased the possibility of information leakage such as copying and transmission of confidential manuscripts.

As a countermeasure against this problem, an image processing apparatus that accumulates all image data to be copied or transmitted in a storage device in addition to the user ID has been proposed (Patent Document 1). As a result, it is possible to track which user has copied or transmitted the document whose information has been leaked.
Japanese National Patent Publication No. 10-503901

  However, since the above-described image processing apparatus is configured to store all input and output image data in the storage device, the storage device tends to be full. On the other hand, the same image data is often stored in the storage device in duplicate. In this case, the storage capacity of the storage device tends to be consumed particularly wastefully.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve such a problem.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, image data acquisition means for acquiring image data, identification data acquisition means for acquiring identification data for identifying image data, and related image data identical to the acquired image data are A determination means for determining whether the data is stored in a predetermined storage device for tracking investigation by identification data, and if the related image data is stored, the acquired image data is written in the predetermined storage device A printing system comprising writing means for writing related data to the predetermined storage device instead, and writing the acquired image data to the predetermined storage device when the related image data is not stored. provide.

  According to the present invention, when substantially the same image data is stored in a predetermined storage device for future security tracking investigation, at least one of the image data is left, otherwise Since the data is replaced with link information having a relatively small data size and stored, the storage device can be used more effectively than before.

  Next, details of the present invention will be described in accordance with the description of the embodiments.

  FIG. 1 is an exemplary configuration diagram of an image processing system according to the present embodiment. The multifunction machine 101 is an image processing apparatus that executes a document reading process, a copying process, or a printing process, transmits image data to various apparatuses, and receives image data from various apparatuses. Image data file processing, document reading processing for copy processing or transmission processing, processing for receiving and rasterizing a print job to create image data, processing for receiving image data, and reading image data from a storage device Each of the processes is an example of a process for acquiring image data.

  The database / mail server 103 is a computer that stores data acquired by the multi-function peripheral 101, and a server program that executes storage processing is operating on the computer. The client computer 104 is a computer connected to the database server / mail server 103 to download and display stored data. The client computer 104 can also send a print job for arbitrary data to the multifunction machine 101, a printer (not shown), or the like.

  The storage server 105 is a storage device for security tracking investigation that accumulates all image data input and output by the multifunction peripheral 101. Each multifunction machine 101 may be provided with a local storage device for security tracking investigation. In that case, image data for tracking investigation is transferred from the local storage device to the storage server 105 at an arbitrary timing.

  The history management server 106 is a history management server that records history records of work jobs such as copying and transmission in the multifunction peripheral 101. That is, by accumulating image data and history information including information such as a working device and a worker, a future security tracking survey can be realized.

  The chasing server 109 is a server that sucks and collects data of the storage server 105 and the history server 106. By arranging the chasing server 109 in an environment in which a plurality of multifunction peripherals 101, storage servers 105, and history servers 106 exist, management data for security tracking investigation can be managed in an integrated manner.

  The Ethernet (registered trademark) 107 is a network to which the multifunction peripheral 101, the database / mail server 103, the client computer 104, the storage server 105, the history management server 106, and the chasing server 109 are connected. Of course, you may connect each apparatus with another communication medium.

  In addition to the basic functions of the multifunction machine 101, the multifunction machine 110 incorporates functions equivalent to those of the storage server 105 and the history management server 106. That is, it has a storage device for auditing that stores all image data input and output by the multifunction device 110, and a storage device that stores the history of copying and transmission jobs in the multifunction device 110.

  The client computer 111 is connected to the multifunction peripheral 110 and issues a print output instruction and an IFAX (Internet FAX) transmission instruction. The Ethernet (registered trademark) 112 is a network to which the multifunction peripheral 110 and the client computer 111 are connected. The facsimile 102 is a facsimile apparatus that receives and prints image data acquired by the multifunction peripheral 110 via the public line 108. Further, the facsimile 102 can also transmit image data to the multifunction peripheral 110 via the public line 108. The Ethernet (registered trademark) 107 and the Ethernet (registered trademark) 112 are connected via a WAN 120 (Wide Area Network).

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the basic functions of the image processing system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a basic flowchart of the image processing method according to the present embodiment. These exemplify the basic concept of the present invention, and are realized by the entire image processing system described above or a part of the system.

  The acquisition unit 201 is a functional unit that acquires image data and acquires identification information printed in advance at the time of printing, such as a single scanner device, an image reading device mounted on the multifunction peripheral 101, a printer, a multifunction peripheral 110, and the like. Corresponds to a receiving device for receiving image data, a reading device for reading out image data stored in advance, and the like.

  The storage device 202 is a device that stores image data for security tracking investigation, and corresponds to the storage server 105 or the storage device in the multifunction peripheral 110 described above.

  The determination unit 203 determines whether image data (referred to as related image data) that can be regarded as the same by the identification data acquired by the acquisition unit 201 is stored in the storage device 202. The determination unit 203 is mounted on the chasing server 109, the multifunction machine 101, the multifunction machine 110, or the like.

  When it is determined that the related image data is stored, the writing unit 204 writes the acquired image data in the storage device 202 and the difference information between the identification information of the related image data and the related image data in the storage device 202. . On the other hand, if it is determined that the related image data is not stored, the acquired image data is written in the storage device 202. By storing related information for substantially the same image data, the risk of duplicate storage can be reduced.

  Explaining the flowchart, in step S301, the acquisition unit 201 acquires image data and identification information. In step S <b> 302, the determination unit 203 searches and extracts related image data for the acquired image data from the storage device 202. In step S303, the determination unit 203 determines whether related image data has been stored. That is, it is determined whether or not the same related image data has been extracted by the search for the identification information. If the related image data is not stored, the process advances to step S305, and the writing unit 204 writes the acquired image data in the storage device 202. On the other hand, if the related image data is extracted, the process proceeds to step S304, and the difference between the image data is evaluated. In step S306, it is determined whether there is difference data. If there is difference data, the process proceeds to step S307, and instead of storing the acquired image data in the storage device 202, the writing unit 204 writes the difference data in the storage device 202, and further proceeds to step S308 to store the related information. Store in device 202. On the other hand, if there is no difference data, the process proceeds to step S308 and related information is written in the storage device 202.

  As described above, not only the security tracking survey can be realized for the image data input or output in the image processing system, but also the storage capacity of the storage device can be used more effectively than before.

  The basic technical idea described above may be realized by, for example, (1) a single device such as the multi-function device 110, or (2) realized in cooperation with a plurality of devices such as the multi-function device 101 and the multi-function device 110. Alternatively, (3) it may be realized as a system using the chasing server 109 on the network.

  Next, the process from execution of an arbitrary job to storage of a history record will be described.

  FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram of the multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment. The control unit 400 is connected to a scanner 470 that is an image input device and a printer 490 that is an image output device, and is connected to a LAN 411 or a public line (WAN) 412 to input and output image information and device information. . A CPU 401 is a controller that controls the entire system. A RAM 402 is a system work memory for the CPU 401 to operate, and also functions as an image memory for temporarily storing image data. A ROM 403 is a boot ROM, and stores a system boot program. A hard disk drive (HDD) 404 is a storage device that stores a system control program, image data for security tracking investigation, and the like.

  An operation unit I / F 406 connects an operation unit (UI) 407 having a touch panel and a display device, and outputs display image data to the operation unit 407 or transmits an input signal from the touch panel to the CPU 401. Interface circuit. A network I / F 408 is a communication circuit that is connected to the LAN 411 and inputs and outputs information. A modem 409 is a communication circuit that is connected to a public line (WAN) 412 and inputs and outputs information. The above devices are arranged on the system bus 410.

  The image bus I / F 413 is a bus bridge circuit that connects the image bus 414 that transfers image data at high speed to the system bus 410 and converts the data structure. The image bus 414 is configured by, for example, a PCI bus or IEEE1394.

  The following devices are arranged on the image bus 414. A raster image processor (RIP) 415 is an image processing circuit that develops a PDL (page description language) code into a bitmap image. The device I / F unit 416 is an interface circuit that connects the scanner 470 and the printer 490, which are image input / output devices, to the control unit 400, and executes synchronous / asynchronous conversion processing of image data. A scanner image processing unit 417 is an image processing circuit that executes image processing such as correction, processing, and editing on input image data. The printer image processing unit 418 is an image processing circuit that performs printer correction, resolution conversion, and the like on print output image data. The image rotation unit 419 is an image processing circuit that executes rotation processing of image data. The image compression unit 420 is a code processing circuit that executes JBIG, MMR, and MH compression / decompression processing for multi-valued image data and binary image data. The IC card slot 405 is a connection circuit for connecting an IC card medium that stores information used for encryption processing. For example, when an appropriate PIN (Personal Identification Number) code is input from the operation unit 407, the IC card medium outputs a key used for encryption / decryption. The encryption / decryption processing unit 421 is a hardware accelerator board that performs data encryption / decryption processing using a key output from the IC card slot 405. The OCR / OMR processing unit 422 is an image processing circuit that decodes character information and two-dimensional bar codes included in image data to convert them into character codes.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining storage processing of image data, history information, and the like according to the present embodiment. According to this figure, when storing image data from the MFP 101 to the storage server 105, HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), FTP (File Transfer Protocol), and SMB (Server Message Block) are used. The present invention is not limited to these communication protocols. Any transfer protocol can be used as long as it can transfer image data or the like, and encryption processing may be performed if necessary.

  In addition, the log information is written from the multi-function peripheral 101 to the history management server 106 using the syslog, but other logging protocols may be adopted. Further, according to FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 101, the storage server 105, and the history management server 106 have separate structures, but any or all of them may be integrated. The setting information necessary for accessing the storage server 105 and the history management server 106 is preferably protected so that only the system administrator of the multifunction machine 101 can set the setting information.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing storage processing for image data and history records for tracking investigation according to the present embodiment. That is, a process of storing all of the acquired image data (some of which may be converted into link information) in a predetermined storage device and recording the URI and text data included in the image data in a history record. This will be described with reference to this flowchart. In this flowchart, for example, in the multi-function peripheral 101, a document is placed on an automatic document feeder or a document table of the scanner 470, and the number of copies and the transmission destination are set via the operation unit 407 according to a desired purpose such as copying or transmission. When executed, it is started.

  In step S601, the CPU 401 executes the subroutine used in FIG. For example, the CPU 401 reads a document by the scanner 470 and stores the image data generated by the scanner image processing unit 417 in the HDD 404 for each page (S301). The CPU 401 reads the image data stored in the HDD 404, searches for related image data (S302), and determines whether there is related image data (S302). If present, the CPU 401 stores the URI of the related image data in the predetermined storage server 105 via the network I / F 408 (S304). On the other hand, if it does not exist, the CPU 401 stores the acquired image data in the predetermined storage server 105 via the network I / F 408 (S305).

  The storage process in the storage server 105 may be either a form in which a plurality of pages are individually stored or a form in which a plurality of pages are combined and stored in one document. Note that when storing image data or link information (such as a URI), the CPU 401 stores the URI of the image data in the RAM 402. This URI is created by the CPU 401 from the URL of the storage server 105 and the file name of the image data.

  In step S603, the CPU 401 determines whether the storage process is successful. If unsuccessful, the process advances to step S620, and the CPU 401 displays on the operation unit 407 that an abnormality has occurred, and ends the processing according to this flowchart. On the other hand, if successful, the process proceeds to S604.

  In step S <b> 604, the CPU 401 sets the job type of the execution job to a history record and stores it in the RAM 402. In this embodiment, the job type represents a function type such as a copy job, a fax transmission / reception job, a scan job, or a print job.

  In step S <b> 605, the CPU 401 reads the setting information of the multifunction machine 101 and determines whether user authentication is set. This setting information is stored in the ROM 403 or the hard disk drive 404 in advance. If it is determined that there is user authentication, the process advances to step S <b> 606, and the CPU 401 sets user information (such as a user name and user ID) input from the operation unit 407 in the history record and stores the history record in the RAM 402. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no user authentication, the process directly proceeds to S607.

  In step S607, the CPU 401 reads out the URI (Uniform Resource Identifiers) of the image data stored in the storage server 105 in S602 from the RAM 402, and sets it in the history record.

  In step S <b> 608, the CPU 401 extracts text data from the image data stored in the HDD 404 using the OCR / OMR processing 2111. Note that, as can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art, this step may be executed next to step S601.

  In step S609, the CPU 401 sets the extracted text data in the history record, and writes the history record in the predetermined history management server 106 in S610.

  In step S <b> 611, the CPU 401 determines whether the history record storage process is successful. If successful, the process advances to step S612, and the CPU 401 executes a job designated in advance by the user through the operation unit 407. At this time, a job ID serving as job identification information is printed with a digital watermark or the like, and the processing according to this flowchart ends. On the other hand, if unsuccessful, the process advances to step S613, and the CPU 401 deletes the image data stored in step S602, advances to step S620, displays that an abnormality has occurred on the operation unit 407, and ends job execution.

  Although an example in which image data read by the scanner 470 is stored is described here, the present invention is not limited to this. The print output can be similarly managed by storing the output image data in the storage server 105.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a history file recorded in the history management server according to the present embodiment. The history management server 106 receives a history record transmitted in units of jobs from the multifunction peripheral 101 or the like and stores it in the history file 700. In this example, the history management server 106 generates one record for each job and registers it in the history file 700. The history file 700 is retained in the storage device of the history management server 106 for a certain period and can be used for security tracking investigation.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of each entry content of the history record according to the present embodiment. The history record 800 is provided with the following fields (sometimes referred to as entries). The ID field 801 stores identification information of the executed image. The date / time field 802 stores data of the date / time when the history record was written. The device address field 803 stores the IP address or host name of the device that executed the job. The program name field 804 stores the name of the program that has written the history. The job type field 805 stores information on job function types such as copy, fax, scan, and print. The user name field 806 stores a user name or user ID composed of a character string or a numerical value that can identify the user who executed the job. The path field 807 stores information indicating the input path of image data. For example, in the case of a fax, a telephone number is stored, and in the case of a print, the host name or host IP address for instructing output is stored. The field 808 of the image data storage URI stores a URI indicating the location where the image data to be tracked is stored. The base job ID field 808 stores an ID indicating a base image when there is an already stored image. By accessing the URI and the base job ID, the image data can be downloaded and displayed. The related job ID field 809 stores a job ID when used as related information in another job. The text data field 810 stores text data extracted from the image data by the OCR / OMR unit 422.

  Further then, FIG. 9 shows the update of the history record 800 in the present invention.

  In the history code 902 when the print result of the fax reception job of the history code 901 is copied, since the image data is the same, no difference data is generated, so nothing is stored in the image data storage URI. Instead, the ID of the fax reception job is stored in the base job ID, and the related job ID is stored in the fax reception job. Further, in the history code 903 when the written image is copied to the copied image, the write data is stored as difference data in the image data storage URI, and the base job ID is also stored. Further, the related job ID is stored in the history of the base job.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the image data is stored in the storage server 105, while the history record is stored in the history management server 106, so that it is possible to easily perform a tracking survey of the image data in the future. In addition, since the overlapping image data is replaced with the identification information, the storage device can be used effectively.

  Here, as the format of the image data stored in the storage server 105, an existing format may be adopted, or a unique format may be adopted.

It is an exemplary block diagram of the image processing system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the basic function of the image processing system which concerns on this embodiment. 3 is a basic flowchart of an image processing method according to the present embodiment. 1 is an exemplary block diagram of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment. It is a figure explaining storage processing, such as image data and history information concerning this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the memory | storage process of the image data for tracking investigations, and a history record which concern on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the log | history file currently recorded on the log | history management server which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of each entry content of the history record which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the update of the history record which concerns on embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

101 MFP 102 Facsimile 103 Database / Mail Server 104 Client Computer 105 Storage Server 106 History Management Server 107 Ethernet (Registered Trademark)
108 Public Line 109 Chasing Server 110 Multifunction Device 111 Client Computer 120 WAN

Claims (3)

Image data acquisition means for acquiring image data;
Identification data acquisition means for acquiring identification data for identifying image data, and whether or not related image data identical to the acquired image data is stored in a predetermined storage device for future tracking investigation is determined based on the identification data A determination means;
If the related image data has been stored, instead of writing the acquired image data to the predetermined storage device, the related data is written to the predetermined storage device, while the related image data is stored. If not, a printing system including writing means for writing the acquired image data into the predetermined storage device. Even if the identification data is the same, a difference image acquisition means for acquiring a difference image;
The printing system according to claim 1, further comprising: a determination unit that determines whether there is a difference image image.   The printing system according to claim 1, further comprising: a printing unit that prints identification data when the job is executed.

Images