JP2009116818A - System for processing image - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing system which can appropriately preserve unprocessed data, such as, printing jobs which remain in the inside of an image forming apparatus, in synchrozination with an entrance/exit control device, and turn off the power source of an image processing system. <P>SOLUTION: When a pending job exists inside the image forming apparatus 40 whose power switch is turned off, an image processing system 1 is turned off, after the job concerned is saved in a non-volatile conservation box 46. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing system that controls the power supply of an image processing apparatus in cooperation with an entry / exit management apparatus.

  In recent years, in offices and the like, computers are generally connected to a network. Also, in order to enhance security in offices and the like, an entrance / exit management system that authenticates entrance / exit into an office or the like with an IC card that also serves as an employee ID is widely known.

  However, the conventional entrance / exit management system merely performs entrance / exit management, and how to effectively use certain data obtained through the entrance / exit management has been a problem. That is, many attempts have been made to improve the convenience and the like by linking the network system in the office with the entrance / exit management system.

  As an example, Patent Document 1 below improves convenience for users by automatically switching on / off a computer or the like on a network based on the result of user authentication performed at the time of entering and leaving a room. At the same time, a control system capable of enhancing the security of the computer has been proposed.

Here, in general, when the power of an electronic device is turned off, the processing that the device is executing is forcibly terminated, so that data that is being processed or not processed is deleted. There is. However, the technique of the above-mentioned patent document 1 provides data such as when turning off a printer that is processing a print job, or when turning off a printer that has an unprocessed job remaining in the print queue. No consideration is given to the maintenance of the above, and it does not contribute to the solution of the above problems.
JP 2006-72446 A

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an internal image forming apparatus when the image processing apparatus is turned off in conjunction with the entrance / exit management apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing system capable of appropriately maintaining unprocessed data such as a remaining print job.

  The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

  (1) Connected to an entrance / exit management system having a transmission means for transmitting to / from the outside information indicating that at least one admitted person who has permission to enter the room has left the room, An image processing system comprising: at least one image processing apparatus in which at least one person who enters the room is registered as a registered user; and a power supply control apparatus for controlling the power supply of each of the image processing apparatuses. At least one of the image processing devices includes a storage box made of a non-volatile storage device, and the power supply control device includes receiving means for receiving the exit information from the entrance / exit management device, Recognizing means for recognizing the latest leaving situation of the person permitted to enter the room based on the received leaving information, and using the image processing apparatus based on the recognized latest leaving situation. First analysis means for analyzing whether there are any unused devices that are not used because all registered users have exited, and when the unused devices are present, the processing is not completed within the unused devices A second analysis unit that analyzes whether an unprocessed job exists; a save unit that saves the unprocessed job in any one of the storage boxes when the unprocessed job exists; and an unused job A power supply that turns off the unused device when it does not exist, and turns off the unused device after the saver saves the unprocessed job when the unused job exists. And an off means.

  (2) The power supply control apparatus further includes a first specifying unit for specifying the save box that is a save destination when the save unit saves the unprocessed job. The first specifying unit includes: The image processing system according to (1), wherein when the unused apparatus in which the unprocessed job exists includes the storage box, the storage box is specified as a save destination.

  (3) Each of the storage boxes includes a personal storage area assigned to a specific use-permitted user among the use-permitted users and a shared storage area not assigned to a specific use-permitted user, and the power control The apparatus further includes second specifying means for further specifying an area that is the save destination of the unprocessed job in the storage box specified by the first specifying means, and the second specifying means includes the first specifying means, 1 When the storage box specified by the specifying means includes the personal storage area assigned to the owner of the unprocessed job, the personal storage area is included. The image processing system according to (2), wherein the image processing system is specified as a save destination.

  (4) The power supply control device encrypts the unprocessed job when the notification unit for notifying each of the authorized users and the second storage unit specify the shared storage area as a save destination. And encrypting means for setting a password for decryption, and the notifying means sends the password set by the encrypting means to the owner of the encrypted unprocessed job. The image processing system according to (3), wherein notification is performed.

  According to the present invention, in an image processing system that automatically turns off an image processing apparatus in conjunction with an entrance / exit management apparatus, it is assumed that a print job that has not been processed remains in the image processing apparatus. Also, the print job can be saved appropriately. As a result, it is possible to solve the problem that the unprocessed job is forcibly deleted while utilizing the convenient function of automatically turning off the power of the image processing apparatus according to the user leaving the room.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an entrance / exit management system to which an image processing system 1 of the present invention is applied.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the above entrance / exit management system manages user entrance / exit in a room R in which a plurality of image processing apparatuses 40 and a plurality of PCs 50 are installed, and authentication data of the user entering / exiting the room An entrance / exit authentication device 10 for acquiring the entrance / exit, an entrance / exit management device 20 for determining whether to enter / exit based on the acquired authentication data, and a device in the room R such as the image processing device 40 according to the user's entrance / exit And a power supply control device 30 for controlling on / off of the power supply. Each of the above devices is connected to be communicable via the network N. The type and number of devices connected to the network N are not limited to the example shown in FIG. In the entrance / exit management system described above, the image processing device 40 and the power supply control device 30 are particularly referred to as an image processing system.

  The entrance / exit authentication device 10 is connected to the entrance / exit management device 20 and includes an acquisition unit for acquiring authentication data from the user. The entrance / exit authentication device 10 transfers the user authentication data acquired by the acquisition unit to the entrance / exit management device 20. The entrance / exit management system performs user authentication not only when a user enters the room but also when the user leaves the room. Therefore, the entrance / exit authentication device 10 is provided not only outside the living room R but also inside. In FIG. 1, only the entrance / exit authentication device 10 provided inside the living room R is shown for simplicity of explanation, and those provided outside the living room R are omitted.

  Authentication data acquired by the entrance / exit authentication device 10 includes magnetic data in a magnetic card, electronic data in an IC card, key input by a user, user's fingerprint, pulsating flow, iris, voiceprint, facial shape, and other biological data Etc. In addition, said entrance / exit management system may use only any one of said various authentication data, and may use it combining several types of authentication data.

  The entrance / exit management device 20 receives the user authentication data from the entrance / exit authentication device 10, and determines the entry / exit permission of the user based on the received authentication data. Here, the entry / exit permission is determined by referring to the entrance / exit management database 20D connected to the entrance / exit management device 20, and whether the acquired user authentication data matches that of the user registered in the database in advance. This is done by determining In the example of FIG. 1, it is assumed that authentication data of the users A to E and the system administrator X are registered in the entrance / exit management database 20D as users who are allowed to enter / exit the living room R. When the entry / exit management device 20 determines the user's entry / exit permission, the entrance / exit management device 20 notifies the door control device (not shown) of the permission to unlock the door 11 of the room R.

  In the present embodiment, the entrance / exit management device 20 includes a transmission unit for transmitting data to the power supply control device 30 via the network N. When the entry / exit of the user is permitted, the transmission unit transmits information about the user (such as a user ID) to the power supply control device 30 as the entry / exit information. Details of the power supply control device 30 will be described later.

  The image processing apparatus 40 performs print processing based on print data received from the PC 50, and includes a control unit 41, a storage unit 42, an operation unit 43, a print unit 44, a network interface 45, a storage box 46, and the like. Have. In the present embodiment, the image processing apparatus 40 is a general term for at least one image processing apparatus such as an MFP or a printer provided in the living room R, and includes constituent elements other than the above-described constituent elements. In addition, some of the above-described components may not be included. The image processing apparatus 40 in the example of FIG. 1 is an MFP 40a, a printer 40b, and a printer 40c.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the image processing apparatus 40. The control unit 41 is a CPU, and controls each unit and performs various arithmetic processes according to a program. The storage unit 42 stores a variety of programs and parameters in advance, a ROM that temporarily stores programs and data as a work area, stores various programs and parameters, or stores image data obtained by image processing. Consists of a hard disk or the like used for temporary storage.

  The operation unit 43 displays various information or a touch panel for inputting various settings, a numeric keypad for setting the number of copies, a start key for instructing start of operation, a stop key for instructing stop of operation, and various setting conditions as initial It consists of various fixed keys such as reset keys, display lamps and the like.

  The printing unit 44 prints the image data on a sheet and discharges the image data through each process of charging, exposure, development, transfer, and fixing by electrophotography. However, the printing method of the printing unit 44 in the present invention is not limited to this, and other than the electrophotographic method, an impact method, a thermal transfer method, an ink jet method, or the like may be used. The communication interface 45 is an interface for communicating with other devices on the network N.

  The storage box 46 is an area for saving a print job remaining in the image processing apparatus 40 when the power control apparatus 30 automatically turns off the power of the image processing apparatus 40 as will be described later. It must be a non-volatile storage area so that the saved job can be held even when the power is off. The storage box 46 may be provided as a part of a hard disk included in the storage unit 42. In the present embodiment, it is sufficient that the storage box 46 is provided in at least one of the image processing devices 40 constituting the image processing system 1, and it is not necessarily required to be provided in all the image processing devices 40. There is no. In the example of FIG. 1, the storage box 46 is provided in the MFP 40a and the printer 40b, but is not provided in the printer 40c.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a more detailed configuration of the storage box 46. As shown in FIG. 3, the storage box 46 includes at least one personal storage area 46a assigned to one specific user and a shared area 46b that is not associated with the specific user. As will be described later, the personal storage area 46a is used when the owner of the job to be saved is a specific user, and the shared storage area 46b is used in other cases. In order to secure the secrecy of the job to be saved, each personal storage area 46a is preferably provided so that only the user to whom it is assigned can access. On the other hand, in consideration of user convenience, the shared storage area 46b is preferably provided so that all users can access it.

  The PC 50 is a general-purpose personal computer, and can function as a print instruction apparatus that instructs the image processing apparatus 40 to print. In the present embodiment, the PC 50 is a general term for at least one image processing apparatus provided in the living room R, and the PC 50 in the example of FIG. 1 is used by the users A to E and the system administrator X. PC50a-50e and PC50x.

  The power supply control device 30 has a function of performing remote control for turning on / off the power of various devices such as the image processing device 40 and the PC 50 in accordance with the entry / exit information received from the entry / exit management device 20. In the following, for the sake of convenience, a scene in which the power supply control device 30 turns on or off the power of the image processing device 40 will be described.

  As means for realizing the above function, the power supply control device 30 includes a receiving unit 30a for receiving user entry / exit information from the entry / exit management device 20, and the latest entry / exit of each user based on the received entry / exit information. A first recognizing unit 30b for recognizing the situation, a first analyzing unit 30c for analyzing whether or not there is an image processing device 40 to be turned on or off based on the latest entrance / exit situation by the recognizing unit 30b, Second analysis means 30d for analyzing whether or not a job for which printing processing has not been completed (hereinafter referred to as “unprocessed job”) remains in the image processing apparatus 40 determined to be left. Image processing apparatus in which the saving means 30e and the first analysis means 30c for saving the unprocessed job being stored in the storage box 46 by remote operation have determined that the power should be turned on or off 0 of the power and a power control unit 30f to turn on or off by remote control.

  Further, as a means for improving the convenience of the image processing system 1, the power supply control device 30 includes a first specifying means 30g for specifying a save destination storage box when the save means 30e saves an unprocessed job. Second specifying means 30h for specifying a specific area in the storage box specified by the first specifying means 30g as a save destination, encryption means 30i for performing encryption processing on an unprocessed job to be saved, and It is preferable to provide a notification means 30j for notifying each user permitted to enter the living room R.

  Here, the receiving means 30a receives the entry / exit information of the entry / exit management device 20 via the network N and passes it to the recognition means 30b.

  The recognizing means 30b recognizes the latest entry / exit situation of each user (that is, which user is currently in / exited) based on the received entry / exit information. Here, FIG. 5 shows an entry / exit table 30T as an example of the entry / exit situation recognized by the recognition means 30b. The entrance / exit table T will be further described later. Then, the first analyzing unit 30c analyzes the latest entry / exit situation recognized by the recognizing unit 30b to determine whether or not there is an image processing apparatus 40 that should be switched on or off.

  Hereinafter, an example of the determination method by the first analysis unit 30c will be described. First, as a precondition during operation of the image processing system 1 according to the present embodiment, a user who uses each image processing apparatus 40 performs a user registration procedure in advance, and as a result of the procedure, each user is registered in the power management database 30D. It is assumed that the user registration status of the image processing apparatus 40 is stored. 1 and 5, users A, B, C, and E are registered in advance as registered users of the MFP 40a, users C and D are registered as registered users of the printer 40b, and user E is registered as a registered user of the printer 40c. It is assumed that such registration status is stored in the power management database 30D. Needless to say, the registration status stored in the power management database 30D can be changed as appropriate.

  Under such preconditions, first, the recognition means 30b that has received the entry / exit information from the reception means 30a updates the entry / exit table 30T as shown in FIG. 5 to recognize the latest entry / exit situation of each user. . Then, the first analysis unit 30c analyzes whether or not there is an image processing device 40 in which the number of registered users entering the room is 1 or 0 by updating the room entry / exit table 30T. That is, the first analysis unit 30c should turn on the power of the image processing apparatus 40 when the number of registered users is one in the latest entry / exit table 30T. If the number of registered users is 0 and the image processing apparatus 40 exists, it is determined that the power of the image processing apparatus 40 should be turned off. For example, if the user E leaves the room R where all the users A to D are in the room entry state, the registered user of the printer 40c becomes 0, so the first analysis unit 30c should turn off the printer 40c. It is judged that. According to the above configuration, when the registered user enters the room when the power of the image processing apparatus 40 is off, the power of the image processing apparatus 40 is automatically turned on, and the power of the image processing apparatus 40 is on. Since it can be guaranteed that the power of the image processing apparatus 40 is automatically turned off if all the registered users leave the room at some time, in addition to saving the user from having to manually turn on / off the power. It is possible to prevent wasteful power consumption due to forgetting to turn off the power.

  Subsequently, the second analysis unit 30d communicates with each image processing apparatus 40 via the network N, and analyzes whether or not an unprocessed job remains in each image processing apparatus 40. Detect unprocessed jobs. Then, the saving unit 30e remotely operates the image processing apparatus 40 to transfer the unprocessed job detected by the second analysis unit 30d to the predetermined storage box 46 via the network N. Evacuate. At this time, it is the first specifying means 30e and the second specifying means 30f that specify the save box 46 in which the save unit 30e should save the unprocessed job and specific areas in the save box 46. These will be further described later.

  The power supply control unit 30f remotely operates the image processing device 40 according to the analysis result of the first analysis unit 30c, and switches the power supply of the image processing device 40 on or off. When an unprocessed job is detected by the second analysis unit 30d described above, the image processing apparatus 40 is turned off after the save unit 30e finishes saving the unprocessed job.

  The first specifying unit 30g analyzes whether or not the image processing apparatus 40 in which the unprocessed job is detected by the second analyzing unit 30d has the storage box 46 by referring to a power control database 30D described later. In this case, the storage box 46 of the image processing apparatus 40 is specified as the storage box 46 for saving the unprocessed job. If the image processing apparatus 40 in which the unprocessed job is detected does not have the storage box 46, the image processing apparatus 40 having the storage box 46 is searched, and the storage box 46 of the image processing apparatus 40 found as a result is searched. Is specified as the save destination. As described above, by preferentially specifying the storage box 46 of the image forming apparatus 40 in which the unprocessed job is detected as the save destination of the unprocessed job, the user who has reentered the room R can easily execute the unprocessed job. Can be found.

  The second specifying unit 30h refers to a power control database 30D described later, so that the storage box 46 specified by the first specifying unit 30g is a personal storage area 46a assigned to the owner of the unprocessed job to be saved. Is included, the personal storage area 46a is specified as the save destination save area, and if not, the shared save area 46b is specified as the save destination save area. Accordingly, the user can easily determine the storage location of the unprocessed job automatically saved by the power supply control device 30 on the condition that the personal storage area 46a is allocated to the user. become.

  The encryption unit 30i performs encryption processing on the unprocessed job according to various algorithms in order to conceal the contents of the unprocessed job saved in the shared storage area 46b of the storage box 46. As a result, even if an unprocessed job is stored in the shared storage area 46b accessible to many users, the content of the unprocessed job is leaked or the unprocessed job is misused by a third party. Etc. can be prevented. The encryption unit 30i encrypts an unprocessed job and sets a password for decrypting it.

  The notification unit 30j notifies the owner of the job of a password for decrypting the job encrypted by the encryption unit 30i. The method for notifying the password is not particularly limited, but it is necessary to sufficiently ensure the confidentiality of the password at the time of notification. As an example for this purpose, a method may be employed in which an e-mail message describing a password is transmitted via the network N to the PC 50 assigned to the owner of the encrypted job.

  Next, FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a specific configuration of the power supply control device 30. As shown in FIG. 4, the power supply control device 30 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a remote operation unit 33, a network interface 34, and a power management database 30D.

  The control unit 31 is a CPU, and in accordance with various programs stored in the storage unit 32, the above-described recognition unit 30b, first analysis unit 30c, second analysis unit 30d, first identification unit 30g, second identification unit 30h, encryption It functions as the converting means 30i and the notifying means 30j.

  The storage unit 32 stores a ROM for storing various programs and parameters in advance, a RAM for temporarily storing programs and data as a work area, various programs and parameters, and further controls the power supply of the image processing apparatus 40. It consists of a hard disk or the like used to temporarily store various necessary data (entrance / exit table 30T, etc.).

  The remote operation unit 33 is a device for remotely operating the image processing apparatus 40 to perform a predetermined operation, and acts as the above-described retracting means 30e and power supply control means 30f. The network interface 34 is an interface for communicating with the entrance / exit authentication device 10 or the like via the network N, and acts as the receiving means 30a described above.

  The power supply control database 30D is an additional storage device that stores various data referred to by the control unit 31 and the like in a form that can be easily changed. The information stored in the power supply control database 30D includes information related to user registration of each image processing device 40, information related to the presence / absence of the storage box 46 of each image processing device 40, and information to the user in each storage box 46. Information that needs to be updated from time to time, such as information about the assigned personal storage area 46a, is included.

  Next, a procedure of processing for turning off the power of the image processing apparatus 40 in the unused state by the power control apparatus 30 of the image processing system 1 of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the power management system 30 according to the present embodiment. Note that the algorithm shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 is stored as a program in the storage unit 32 of the power supply control device 30 and executed by the control unit 31.

  First, the power supply control device 30 waits until receiving information is received by the receiving means 30a (S101). Subsequently, the power supply control device 30 recognizes the latest entrance / exit status of each user by the recognition unit 30b based on the received exit information (S102). Subsequently, the image processing system compares the latest entry / exit situation recognized in S102 with the registered user information stored in the power management database 30D, and as a result of the exit information received in S101, all registered users have exited. Whether or not the image processing device 40 (hereinafter referred to as “unused device”) exists is analyzed by the first analysis unit 30c (S103).

  Here, when there is no unused device (NO in S104), the process returns to S101 and waits until the exit information is received again. If there is an unused device (YES in S104), a second analysis is performed to determine whether or not there is a job that has not been processed (hereinafter referred to as “unprocessed job”) within the image processing device 40. Analysis is performed by 30d (S105).

  Here, when an unprocessed job exists in the image processing apparatus 40 (YES in S105), the power supply control apparatus 30 remotely operates the image processing apparatus 40 by using the save unit 30e, and stores the job in the storage box 46. The evacuation process (S106) to evacuate is executed. Details of the saving process will be described later. Then, when the saving process (S106) is completed, the power supply control device 30 returns to S105 and analyzes again whether or not an unprocessed job exists in the image forming procedure 40. That is, the power supply control device 30 repeats the saving process (S106) until all unprocessed jobs existing in the image processing device 40 are saved.

  Subsequently, when the evacuation of all unprocessed jobs is completed (NO in S105), the power control device 30 turns off the power of the image processing device 40 by remotely operating the image processing device 40 with the power control means 30f. (S107), and the process ends (END).

  Next, the above save process (S106) will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the process. Note that the algorithm shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 is stored as a program in the storage unit 32 of the power supply control device 30 and executed by the control unit 31.

  First, the power supply control device 30 analyzes whether or not the image processing device 40 in which the unprocessed job is detected has the storage box 46 by the first specifying unit 30g (S201). Here, when the image processing apparatus 40 has the storage box 46 (YES in S201), the first specifying unit 30g detects the unprocessed job as the storage box 46 as the save destination of the unprocessed job. The storage box 46 is specified. On the other hand, if the image processing apparatus does not have a storage box (NO in S201), the power supply control device 30 searches for another image processing apparatus 40 having the storage box 46 (S207), and finds another image found. The processing device is specified as a save destination storage box. The process for specifying the save destination storage box 46 as described above is performed by the first specifying means 30g.

  Subsequently, when the storage box 46 of the image processing apparatus 40 in which the unprocessed job is detected is specified as the storage box 46 for saving the unprocessed job (YES in S201), the power supply control unit 30 further It is analyzed whether or not the personal storage area 46a of the owner of the unprocessed job exists in the storage box 46 specified in S201 (S202). Here, when the owner's personal storage area 46a exists (YES in S202), the power supply control means 30 uses the owner's personal storage area 46 as a specific area in the storage box 46 for saving unprocessed jobs. The storage area 46a is specified. On the other hand, if the owner's personal area 46a does not exist (NO in S202), the power supply control device 30 specifies the shared storage area 46b as a specific area in the storage box 46 for saving unprocessed jobs. . The process for specifying a specific area in the storage box 46 as described above is performed by the second specifying means 30h.

  Subsequently, when the personal storage area 46a is specified as an area in the storage box 46 for saving the unprocessed job (YES in S202), the power supply control device 30 uses the saving means 30e to specify the personal storage area 46a. The unprocessed job is saved in the storage area 46a (S203), and the process returns to the flowchart of FIG. 6 (return). On the other hand, when the shared storage area 46b is specified as an area in the storage box 46 for saving the unprocessed job (NO in S202), the power supply control device 30 encrypts the unprocessed job (S204) and further decrypts it. After setting the password for conversion, the unprocessed job is saved in the shared storage area 46b (S205). The processing for encrypting the unprocessed job and setting the password in S204 is performed by the encryption unit 30i.

  The power supply control device 30 notifies the owner of the unprocessed job saved in S205 of the password set in S204 (S206), and returns to the flowchart of FIG. 6 (return). Such notification of the password is performed by the notification means 30j. When the owner of the saved unprocessed job is not registered in the power management database 30D and is unknown, the notification unit 30j notifies the password to the system administrator X designated in advance. To do.

  Subsequently, when the storage box 46 of another image processing apparatus 40 is specified as the storage box 46 for saving the unprocessed job (S207), the power supply control device 30 further stores the unprocessed job in the specified storage box 46. It is analyzed whether or not the personal storage area 46a of the job owner exists (S208). Here, when the owner's personal storage area 46a exists (YES in S208), the power supply control device 30 sets the owner's personal storage area 46 as a specific area in the storage box 46 for saving unprocessed jobs. The storage area 46a is specified. On the other hand, if the owner's personal area 46a does not exist (NO in S208), the power supply control device 30 identifies the shared storage area 46b as a specific area in the storage box 46 for saving unprocessed jobs. . The processing for specifying a specific area in the storage box 46 as described above is performed by the second specifying means 30h of the saving means.

  Subsequently, when the personal storage area 46a is specified as the area in the storage box 46 for saving the unprocessed job (YES in S208), the power supply control device 30 stores the unprocessed job in the specified personal storage area 46a. Is saved (S209), and information about the job save destination (such as an identification number for specifying the image processing apparatus 40 provided with the save box 46) is notified to the owner of the saved job. (S210), it returns to the flowchart of FIG. 6 (return). On the other hand, when the shared storage area 46b is specified as the area in the storage box 46 for saving the unprocessed job (NO in S208), the power supply control device 30 encrypts the unprocessed job (S211) and further decrypts it. After setting the password for the unprocessed job, the unprocessed job is saved in the shared storage area 46b (S212). The processing for encrypting the unprocessed job and setting the password in S211 is performed by the encryption unit 30i.

After the unprocessed job is saved in the shared storage area 46b (S212), the power supply control device 30 notifies the owner of the unprocessed job saved in S212 of the password set in S211 (S213). Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 6 (return). Such password notification processing is performed by the notification means 30j. When the owner of the saved unprocessed job is not registered in the power management database 30D and is unknown, the notification unit 30j notifies the password to the system administrator X designated in advance. To do.
<Operation example>
Next, a specific operation example of the image processing system 1 of the present embodiment will be described. Here, the registered users of each image processing apparatus 40 are as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. In the image processing apparatus 40, the MFP 40a and the printer 40b have a storage box 46, the printer 40c does not have the storage box 46, and the storage box 46 of the MFP 40a has a personal storage area 46a for all users. It is assumed that the storage box 40b of the printer 40b includes the personal storage devices 46a of the users C and D. In the initial state, it is assumed that all of the users A to E have entered the room R as in the example of FIG.

  Here, if the users C and D continue to leave, the number of registered users of the printer 40b in the entry / exit table 30T is zero. At this time, if the unprocessed job of the user C remains in the printer 40b, the power supply control device 30 saves the personal storage area 46a of the user C provided in the storage box 46 of the printer 40b. As specified. Then, by remotely operating the printer 40b, unprocessed data is saved in the personal storage area 46a, and then the printer 40b is turned off.

  On the other hand, when the unprocessed job of the user D remains in the printer 40b, the power supply control device 30 specifies the shared storage area 46b provided in the storage box 46 of the printer 40b as the save destination. Then, after encrypting the unprocessed job, the power supply control device 30 remotely operates the printer 40b, saves the encrypted unprocessed job in the shared area 46b, and further encrypts the unprocessed data. After the e-mail message describing the password for decrypting is sent to the PC 40d assigned to the user D, the printer 40b is turned off.

  If the user E further leaves the room, the number of registered users of the printer 40c in the room entry / exit table 30T is 0. At that time, if the unprocessed job of the user E remains in the printer 40c, the power supply control device 30 specifies the storage box 46 of the image processing device 40 other than the printer 40c as the save destination. This is because the storage box 46 is not provided in the printer 40c. Here, for example, when the storage box 46 of the MFP 40a is specified as the save destination storage box, the personal storage area 46a of the user E provided in the save box 46 is further specified as the save destination area. The power supply control device 30 remotely operates the printer 40c and the MFP 40a to transfer the unprocessed job from the printer 40c to the MFP 40a, and then assigns the unprocessed job to the user E in the storage box 46 of the MFP 40a. Retreat to the personal storage area 46a. Thereafter, the power supply control device 30 transmits an e-mail message for notifying that the unprocessed data is stored in the personal storage area 46a of the MFP 40a to the PC 50e to which the user E is assigned, and then powers the printer 40c. Turn off.

  As described above, according to the image processing system 1 of the present embodiment, when the power of the image processing apparatus 40 is automatically switched off in cooperation with the entrance / exit management apparatus 20, the image processing apparatus 40 is not yet installed inside the image processing apparatus 40. Even if the processing job remains, the power control device 30 can remotely save the print job in an appropriate storage area (save box 46) by remotely operating the image processing device 40. As a result, it is possible to solve the problem that the unprocessed job is forcibly deleted while utilizing a convenient function of automatically turning off the power of the image processing apparatus 40 according to the user leaving the room.

  Further, according to the image processing system 1 of the present embodiment, the first specifying unit 30g can preferentially specify the storage box 46 of the image processing apparatus 40 in which an unprocessed job is detected as a save destination. As a result, it can be ensured that the unprocessed job is stored in the storage box 46 that is optimal for the user, and the convenience for the user can be further enhanced.

  Further, according to the image processing system 1 of the present embodiment, the second specifying unit 30h can preferentially specify each user's personal storage area 46a provided in the storage box 46 as a save destination. As a result, the user can easily specify the save destination of the unprocessed job, so that the convenience for the user is further improved, and the saved unprocessed job can be prevented from being accessed by another person. Therefore, the confidentiality of the unprocessed job can be ensured.

  Further, according to the image processing system 1 of the present embodiment, even when the shared storage area 46b without access restriction is specified as the save destination, the unprocessed job is encrypted by the encryption unit 30i, and further notified. By notifying the user of the password for decryption by means 30j, the job can be prevented from being accessed by others. Therefore, even when the personal storage area 46a is not allocated to the user, the confidentiality of the saved unprocessed job can be sufficiently secured.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the MFP and printer have been described as examples of the image processing apparatus of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the image processing apparatus of the present invention includes a scanner and a printer. It may be a digital copying machine, a facsimile machine, an electronic mail printer, or the like.

  The image processing system according to the present invention can be realized by a dedicated hardware circuit for executing each of the above procedures, or by a CPU executing a program describing each of the above procedures. When the present invention is realized by the latter, the program for operating the image processing system may be provided by a computer-readable recording medium such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk or CD-ROM, or a network such as the Internet. May be provided online. In this case, the program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is usually transferred and stored in a ROM, a hard disk or the like. Further, this program may be provided as, for example, a single application software, or may be incorporated in the software of the apparatus as one function of the apparatus constituting the image processing system.

1 shows a schematic configuration of an entrance / exit management system to which an image processing system of the present invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image processing apparatus shown by FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the preservation | save box shown by FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the power supply control apparatus in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the user's entrance / exit situation in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process of the power supply control apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process of the power supply control apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 image processing system,
10 Entrance / exit authentication device,
20 Entrance / exit management device,
30 power supply control device,
30a receiving means,
30b recognition means,
30c first analysis means,
30d second analysis means,
30e retracting means,
30f power control means,
30g first specifying means,
30h second specifying means,
30i encryption means,
30j notification means,
30D power management database,
30T entrance / exit table,
40 image forming apparatus,
46 Save box,
46a Personal storage area,
46b shared storage area,
50 PC.

Claims (4)

It is connected to an entrance / exit management system provided with a transmission means for transmitting to / from the outside information indicating that at least one person who has entered the room has permission to enter the room. An image processing system comprising: at least one image processing device in which a person who is allowed to enter the room is registered as a registered user; and a power supply control device for controlling the power supply of each of the image processing devices,
At least one of the image processing devices includes a storage box including a nonvolatile storage device,
The power supply control device includes: a receiving unit for receiving the exit information from the entrance / exit management device; a recognition unit for recognizing the latest exit status of the person permitted to enter the room based on the received exit information; There is a first analysis means for analyzing whether or not there is any unused device that is not used because all registered users are in a leaving state among the image processing devices based on the latest leaving situation, and the unused device exists. A second analysis unit that analyzes whether there is an unprocessed job that has not been processed in the unused device, and if the unprocessed job exists, A saving unit that saves to one, and when the unused job does not exist, the power of the unused device is turned off as it is, and when the unused job exists, the saving unit The image processing system in which said and a, a power-off means to turn off the unused device after saving the untreated job. The power supply control device further includes first specifying means for specifying the save box that is a save destination when the save means saves the unprocessed job,
2. The image according to claim 1, wherein the first specifying unit specifies the storage box as a save destination when the unused apparatus in which the unprocessed job exists includes the storage box. 3. Processing system. Each of the storage boxes includes a personal storage area that is assigned to a specific authorized user among the authorized users, and a shared storage area that is not assigned to a specific authorized person,
The power supply control device further includes second specifying means for further specifying an area that is a save destination of the unprocessed job in the storage box specified by the first specifying means,
The second specifying means does not include the personal storage area when the storage box specified by the first specifying means includes the personal storage area assigned to the owner of the unprocessed job. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein in each case, the shared area is specified as a save destination. The power supply control device encrypts the unprocessed job when the second storage unit specifies the shared storage area as a save destination, and a notification unit for notifying each of the authorized users of a message. And an encryption means for setting a password for decryption,
The image processing system according to claim 3, wherein the notification unit notifies the encrypted owner of the unprocessed job of the password set by the encryption unit.

Images