JP2009072960A - Printer and control method for printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer capable of so-called security printing, in which both security and convenience are ensured when a file that needs security is printed and output to a plurality of users, and to provide a control method for the printer. <P>SOLUTION: When receiving a request to print a file including data to be printed, the printer prints the data to be printed. The printer includes: a receiving means that receives the printing request in which a password for protection is set in the file; a determining means for determining whether the password for the file relating to a printing request received by the receiving means is registered in the printer in advance; and a printing execution means which, when the determining means determines that it is registered, adds ground tint to the data to be printed and then prints the data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that can perform so-called security printing, and more particularly to a printing apparatus that has both security and convenience when printing output to a plurality of users for a file that should be considered for security.

  Conventionally, a password can be set for a file in a predetermined file format from the viewpoint of preventing information leakage from digital data. For files with such passwords, you cannot display, edit, print, etc. the data in the file unless you know the password. Files that contain information that you do not want others to know Was used about.

  On the other hand, there is a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing in order to prevent information leakage due to printed matter. Such copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing is performed by overlaying a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern on the object to be printed. In the printed output, the superimposed copy-forgery-inhibited pattern is inconspicuous. Printing is done. Therefore, this copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing can prevent important documents from being misused.

  As for this tint block printing, for example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a method of printing a tint block on document data when registered character strings and image key information are detected from the document data.

Also, in Patent Document 2 below, when the file name of data to be printed is a preset file name, or when a preset character string is included in the data to be printed , It indicates that printing is performed with a background pattern added.
JP 2006-246054 A JP 2007-94720 A

  However, there are cases in which multiple people print out the files protected by the password described above. For example, the administrator (creator) sets a password in the data file of the internal contact network in the company, and the internal Protects the information on the contact network, but there may be cases where the members of the department want to print out the contact network. In such a case, the file manager (creator) wants to print out the file Pass the set password, or tell the location and password of the file. In such an operation, both the file and the set password are transmitted, so there is a possibility that both of them will be in the hands of a third party. In that case, the file is displayed and edited. There is a risk that acts such as printing may be performed freely.

  In such a case, even if a printer having a tint block printing function as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 is prepared, the file is output from a printer that does not have such a function. There is a risk that In addition, since a third party who has the file and password can display the contents of the file on a computer, it is described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 by using a function of taking a hard copy of the display screen. It is possible to avoid the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing by including a predetermined character string in the print data.

  Furthermore, in the methods in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is necessary to register a plurality of key information in advance in order to perform copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing. I had to enter my password.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is a printing apparatus capable of so-called security printing, which has both security and convenience when printing output to a plurality of users for a file that should be considered for security. , Etc. is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, a printing apparatus that receives a print request for a file including data to be printed and performs printing of the print target has a password for protecting the file. Receiving means for receiving the print request for which is set, a judging means for judging whether or not a password of a file related to the print request received by the receiving means is registered in the printing apparatus in advance, And a print execution means for executing the printing by adding a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern to the print target when it is determined by the determination means to be registered.

  Further, in the above invention, a preferable aspect thereof is that when the determination unit determines that the password is not registered, the user is prompted to input the password, and the print execution unit is configured to input the password according to the input. Is input, the printing of the printing target is executed, and when the password is not input, the printing of the printing target is stopped.

  Further, in the above invention, a preferable aspect is that, when the printing execution unit executes printing of the printing target, whether or not to execute printing by adding a background pattern to the printing target is determined by the user's selection. It is characterized by determining.

  Furthermore, in the above invention, a preferred aspect thereof is characterized in that the receiving means receives a file in which the password is set when the print request is received.

  In order to achieve the above object, another aspect of the present invention provides a method for controlling a printing apparatus that receives a print request for a file including data to be printed and executes printing of the print object. When the print request for which the password is set is received, it is determined whether or not the password of the file related to the received print request is registered in the printing apparatus in advance. When the determination is made, a background pattern is added to the print target and the printing is executed.

  Further objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the embodiments of the invention described below.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, such an embodiment does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. In the drawings, the same or similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals or reference symbols.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram according to an embodiment of a printer which is a printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The printer 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. When a print request is received for a file stored in the attached USB memory 4 or the like, the file is protected by a password. Checks whether the password is registered in advance, and if it is registered, executes a print with a background pattern added to the file for which the print request is received, and outputs a plurality of prints for the password-protected file Is intended to be performed simply and with security secured.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 in the present embodiment can be connected to a plurality of host computers 2 and a print server 3 via a network. The host computer 2 is a host device of the printer 1 that issues a print request to the printer 1, and includes a personal computer equipped with a printer driver for the printer 1. The print server 3 is a server specialized for the print function. Mainly, it relays print processing, processes print data (such as converting print data into print bitmap data), and stores processed print data. It has functions such as (accumulation of print data converted into print bitmap data), and can be constituted by a personal computer or the like.

  The printer 1 is a laser printer as an example. In addition to receiving a print instruction from the host computer 2 and the print server 3, the printer 1 executes printing, and prints files stored in the USB memory 4 attached to the printer 1. In response to a direct print request for a data file before being converted into data, printing (so-called direct printing) is performed on the file.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 includes a controller 110, a print engine 130, an HDD 140, an operation panel 150, a USB device connector 160, a network connector 170, and the like.

  The controller 110 manages the input / output between the CPU 111 that controls the printing process when receiving a print request and the operation of each unit of the printer 1, the memory control ASIC 112 that is a circuit that manages memory, and the controller 110 and other devices. The IO control ASIC 113, which is a circuit that performs printing, reads out image data to be printed at the time of print processing, performs predetermined processing, and then delivers the image data to the print engine 130 and the image processing ASIC 115, and receives the received print data and processed data. An SDRAM 116 for temporarily storing and a ROM 117 for storing various control programs are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the ROM 117 stores a direct printing execution program 118, a password management program 119, a tint block synthesis program 120, and the like.

  The CPU 111 executes various processes according to each program stored in the ROM 117. The printer 1 is characterized by a process at the time of so-called direct printing executed by the CPU 111, and the specific contents thereof will be described later. .

  Next, the print engine 130 is a part that performs printing on a print medium such as paper in accordance with an instruction from the controller 110. Since the printer 1 is a laser printer, a charging unit, an exposure unit, a developing device, and a transfer unit. And a fixing unit (not shown).

  The HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 140 stores various settings and registration information necessary for the printing process. In the printer 1, in order to perform direct printing on a file protected by a password, the password is registered in advance here.

  Next, the operation panel 150 is a device for the user of the printer 1 to operate, and includes operation buttons, a display panel, and the like. A message to the user is displayed on the display panel when direct printing is performed on a file protected by a password, which will be described later.

  The USB device connector 160 is a connection part with a USB device such as the USB memory 4, and the USB memory 4 is attached when performing direct printing.

  The network connector 170 is an interface unit between the printer 1 and the network. The printer 1 is connected to the host computer 2 and the print server 3 via the network connector 170.

  The printer 1 having the above-described configuration is characterized by direct printing processing for a file in which a password is set. The specific contents will be described below.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure when the printer 1 performs direct printing. FIG. 2 shows processing performed by the CPU 111 of the printer 1 in accordance with the direct printing execution program 118, the password management program 119, and the tint block synthesis program 120.

  When direct printing is performed in the printer 1, the user first attaches the USB memory 4 containing the file to be printed to the printer 1. Thereafter, the user uses the operation panel 150 to make a print request specifying a desired file. For example, a print request is made for a PDF file that can be protected by setting a password.

  In addition, when it is desired that another specific user print out a file in which a password is set to ensure security, the printer 1 needs to register the set password in the printer 1 in advance. First, when performing this password registration, the user inputs a password to be registered using the operation panel 150.

  Thus, when a print request or a password registration request is made, the CPU 111 receives these data (step S1), and determines whether or not the received data is printable data (step S2). If it is determined that the data is not printable (No in step S2), it is next determined whether or not the received data is data for password setting (registration) (step S3).

  Here, if the data is for password setting (registration) (Yes in step S3), the password input by the user is registered in a predetermined location of the HDD 140 by processing according to the password management program 119. (Step S4). On the other hand, if the data is not data regarding password setting (registration) (No in step S3), an error is displayed on the display panel of the operation panel 150, and the process ends.

  Returning to step S2, if it is determined that the data is printable (Yes in step S2), it is checked whether the data (file) is protected by a password (step S6). If the password is not protected (No in step S6), the direct print execution program 118 executes normal print processing on the printable data, that is, the file requested to be printed by the user (step S6). Step S15). Specifically, since direct printing is performed and the data of the original file (for example, data in the PDF format) is not printing data, first, when the direct printing is not performed, the application of the host computer 2 or the printer driver performs the printing. Data conversion processing is executed to obtain print data. After that, as in the case of not direct printing, processing such as rendering and color conversion is executed, bitmap data composed of color density gradation values for each pixel is generated, and the generated bitmap data is converted into SDRAM 116. Save to. Thereafter, a print instruction is issued at a predetermined timing, the print output of the file requested for printing is executed by the processing of the image data interface 114, the image processing ASIC 115, and the print engine 130 described above, and the processing ends.

  On the other hand, if the received file is protected with a password (Yes in step S6), the password management program 119 checks whether the password set in the file is registered in the HDD 140 (step S6). S7). As described above, even if a file is protected by a password, it is determined that the password has already been registered because the password is registered in the HDD 140 (Yes in step S7). That is, since there is a password that matches the password set in the file in the HDD 140, it is determined that the password has already been registered, and the tint block printing process is executed (step S14).

  Specifically, in accordance with the direct printing execution program 118, bitmap data is generated for the print target of the received file and stored in the SDRAM 116, as in the case of the normal printing (S15) described above. Further, in this tint block printing, since it is necessary to perform printing by overlaying the tint block on the print target, the tint block synthesizing program 120 generates the bitmap data of the tint block to be added and the generated bitmap data to be printed and It is synthesized. The processed data is stored in the SDRAM 116. After that, as in the case of normal printing, a printing instruction is issued at a predetermined timing, and the printout of the file requested for printing is added to the background pattern by the processing of the image data interface 114, the image processing ASIC 115, and the printing engine 130. And the process ends.

  On the other hand, if the password set in the file is not registered in the HDD 140 (No in step S7), that is, if there is no password that matches the HDD 140, the password management program 119 inputs the password to the user. Is displayed on the display panel of the operation panel 150 (step S8).

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating each screen displayed to the user. The screen illustrated in FIG. 3A is a screen for prompting the password input. When the user does not input the password, “Cancel” in the screen is instructed. Then, cancel is selected in step S9 of FIG. 2 (Yes), and the screen displayed on the display panel is a message to stop printing (step S10). In the example of FIG. 3, the screen shown in FIG. 3B is displayed. When the user designates “OK” on the screen, the requested printing is stopped and the processing ends.

  On the other hand, when a password is input on the input screen, a password input operation is executed on the screen shown in FIG. 3A, and "OK" in the screen is designated. Then, the password set in the file is compared with the input password (step S11). If they do not match (No in step S11), an error message (12) indicating that the password is incorrect is displayed. Returns to step S8. In the example of FIG. 3, the error display shown in FIG. 3C is made, and when the user designates “OK” on the screen, the screen returns to FIG. As a result, it becomes possible to input again when the correct password is known and an input error is made.

  On the other hand, if the password set in the file and the input password match (Yes in step S11), the user is allowed to select whether or not to perform printing with a tint block (step S13). Specifically, the screen as shown in FIG. 3D is displayed to indicate “OK” or “Cancel”, and the above-described copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing execution process (S14) or normal is performed according to the user's selection. A print execution process (S15) is performed. Then, the process ends.

  As described above, direct printing of a password-protected file is executed in the printer 1, and an example of how it is used and its effect will be described below.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of how the printer 1 is used. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the user “A” is an administrator (creator) of “file A” set with “password”, and the file to be kept confidential is printed to another specific user “B”. The case where output is performed is assumed. “Printer A” in the figure is a printer to which the present invention is applied. As described above, the user “A” preliminarily sets “Printer A” to “password” in order to cause the user “B” to perform print output. Register.

  Next, the user “A” hands over the USB memory or the like containing the target file “file A” to the user “B” and informs that “Printer A” should be printed. In response to the instruction, when the user “B” performs direct printing as described above with “Printer A”, the “password” set in “file A” and the “password” registered in “Printer A” ”And the background pattern printing is executed for“ file A ”as described above.

  On the other hand, even if the user “B” tries to perform direct printing by attaching a USB memory or the like containing “file A” to “Printer B” different from the instruction, “Printer B” without the configuration of the present invention Unless the “password” is known, “file A” cannot be printed. Further, even if the user “B” tries to display “file A” by attaching the USB memory or the like to the personal computer or the like, the user “B” does not know the “password”, but may execute it. Can not.

  In addition, when “file A” passed to the user “B” reaches the user “C” who is not scheduled to print out, the user “C” does not know the “password”. Therefore, similarly, the print output in “Printer B” and the display in a personal computer or the like cannot be performed. As it happens, when a print request is made in “Printer A”, print output can be performed. In this case, a background pattern is added as described above.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example in which the related art is used in the same case. The example shown in FIG. 5 is a case where, when there is no printer according to the present invention, the same print output as in FIG. 4 is attempted, that is, “file A” in which the user “A” is set with “password”. It is assumed that the other specific user “B” prints out the file that should be kept confidential.

  In this case, according to the prior art, since “file A” cannot be printed without “file A” and “password”, user “A” uses “file A” and “password” as user “B”. Will be passed to. Since the user “B” knows the “password”, the user can freely display, edit, and print “file A”, and can select which printer (“Printer A” or “Printer B” in the figure). )) Can also be printed out.

  In addition, since the user “B” has both “file A” and “password”, there is a risk that both of them will pass to the user “C” who is not scheduled to print out. In this case, the user “C” can freely display, edit, and print “file A”.

  Even if “Printer A” or “Printer B” has a function of detecting key information being printed and performing copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing, it can output to a printer that does not have that function, It is possible to print without a background pattern by taking a hard copy.

  As in the example described above, in the printer 1 according to the present embodiment, when a password protected file is to be printed by another person, the password is registered in the printer 1 in advance. Since the password is not notified to the other person, there is no danger of the other person performing unscheduled printing or display that can be performed using the password, and the output from the printer 1 is also provided with a background pattern. High printing environment can be provided. In particular, since display on a personal computer or the like can be prevented, it is possible to effectively prevent others from performing print output without a tint block using the hard copy function.

  Also, another person who is permitted to print out the file only needs to perform a direct printing operation instructing the file, and does not need to input a password, and can easily perform the printout. Furthermore, preparation for executing copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing is also only a password registration of the file, and it does not take time.

  In addition, if you do not plan to have someone else print out the password-protected file, the password is registered in advance if the creator of the file itself performs direct printing. However, in that case, printing can be executed by inputting the password on the spot, and normal printing and tint block printing can be selected, so the user convenience in such a case is also high. Since the printer 1 can execute printing in response to a normal print request from the host computer 2 via the printer driver, the creator of the file uses the password on the host computer 2 and executes printing by the method. You can also

  In the above embodiment, the case of direct printing with the USB memory 4 attached to the printer 1 has been described. However, when a utility or the like that can instruct the direct printing to the host computer 2 is provided, The printing instruction may be performed by a method. Also in this case, the processing described based on FIG. 2 is executed in the same manner. In this case, the display illustrated in FIG. 3 is performed on the host computer 2 side.

  In addition, the print server 3 connected to the printer 1 may be provided with a function for executing the processing described with reference to FIG. In this case, the print server 3 includes the same direct print execution program 118, password management program 119, and copy-forgery-inhibited pattern synthesis program 120 described above, and requests password registration and direct printing to the print server 3. Is made. When printing is executed, up to bitmap data is created in the print server 3. Therefore, in the case of tint block printing, bitmap data on which the tint block is superimposed is also created, and the data is sent to the printer 1. Printing will be executed.

  In the above embodiment, a request for direct printing is received for a file in which a password is set, and when the password is not registered, the password is requested (S8 in FIG. 2). You may make it stop printing immediately (it transfers to S10 of FIG. 2), without calculating | requiring. Also in this case, the creator of the file who knows the password can print from the host computer 2 via the printer driver, so that the user convenience is not significantly reduced.

  The printer 1 is a laser printer, but the present invention can be applied regardless of the printing method.

  The protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but covers the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

1 is a configuration diagram according to an embodiment of a printer which is a printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure during direct printing of the printer 1. It is the figure which illustrated each screen displayed on a user. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of how the printer 1 is used. It is a figure for demonstrating the example at the time of using a prior art in the same case.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer, 2 Host computer, 3 Print server, 4 USB memory, 110 Controller (reception means, judgment means, print execution means), 111 CPU, 112 Memory control ASIC, 113 IO control ASIC, 114 Image data interface, 115 Image processing ASIC, 116 SDRAM, 117 ROM, 118 direct print execution program, 119 password management program, 120 tint block composition program, 130 print engine (print execution means), 140 HDD, 150 operation panel, 160 USB device connector, 170 network connector

Claims (5)

A printing apparatus that receives a print request for a file including data to be printed and executes printing of the print target,
Receiving means for receiving the print request in which a password for protection is set in the file;
Determining means for determining whether or not a password of the file relating to the print request received by the receiving means is registered in advance in the printing apparatus;
A printing execution unit configured to add a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern to the print target and execute the printing when the determination unit determines that the image is registered. In claim 1,
The determination means prompts the user to input the password when determining that the password is not registered,
The printing execution unit executes printing of the printing target when the password is input by the input, and stops printing of the printing target when the password is not input. Printing device. In claim 2,
When the printing execution unit executes printing of the printing target, it is determined by the user's selection whether to execute printing by adding a background pattern to the printing target. In any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3,
The receiving device receives the file in which the password is set when the print request is received. A method of controlling a printing apparatus that receives a print request for a file including data to be printed and executes printing of the print target,
When receiving the print request in which a password for protection is set in the file,
Determining whether a password of the file relating to the received print request is registered in advance in the printing apparatus;
A control method for a printing apparatus, characterized in that, when it is determined that the image is registered, a background pattern is added to the print target and the printing is executed.

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