JP2009201063A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent confidential information from being leaked when displaying a thumbnail image. <P>SOLUTION: A thumbnail image memory 54b stores therein thumbnail image data corresponding to image data stored in an image memory 54a. When a thumbnail image display function is selected and a predetermined file is selected by a user, a display unit 30 displays thereon a thumbnail image read from the thumbnail image memory 54b. When, for example, a highly confidential thumbnail image is selected from among a plurality of thumbnail images displayed on the display unit 30 in response to user operation of an operation unit 32, a control unit 12 controls to display, on the display unit 30, the other thumbnail images than the selected thumbnail image. Thus, a highly confidential thumbnail image is not displayed, and only non-confidential thumbnail images are displayed on the display unit 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a function of displaying an image of data of an image or a document file in a small size on a display unit.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, image forming apparatuses having a function of displaying thumbnail images of finished images such as originals before performing various processes such as printout and electronic transmission of originals and images have been widely used. By displaying thumbnails of documents and the like, it is possible to perform processing such as issuing a printout or electronic transmission instruction while confirming thumbnail (preview) images.

  However, in the conventional image display apparatus described above, if highly confidential information is included in a document or image, the highly confidential information is also displayed as a thumbnail, so there is a third party in the vicinity. In such a case, the contents of the manuscript and the like may be viewed and viewed by a third party. Furthermore, when a document or image is stored in an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or the like of the image forming apparatus to share the document, the document is read out from the HDD without permission by a third party. There is a risk that confidential information may be leaked to third parties.

  Therefore, in order to prevent leakage of confidential information to a third party, when a sensor detects a person around the image forming apparatus, the thumbnail image is rewritten according to the sensitivity of the image or the resolution is lowered. For example, a method of displaying thumbnails has been proposed. In addition, a method has been proposed that requires input of an ID and password when displaying thumbnail images, and allows only the user who has the ID and password to view the image (see Patent Document 1).

  As another method for preventing leakage of confidential information, a method has been proposed in which masked data is inserted into a confidential portion in a document to mask the confidential portion of the thumbnail image (see Patent Document 2).

  According to these methods, even when an image including confidential document data is displayed as a thumbnail, a highly confidential information can be checked and edited by a third party without being viewed by a third party.

JP 2007-288330 A JP 2007-115228 A

However, the methods disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have the following problems.
(1) The method disclosed in Patent Document 1 requires dedicated program software for rewriting an image or reducing the resolution of a thumbnail image according to sensitivity. In addition, when setting an ID or password, since it is performed for one entire file (for example, the entire document of a plurality of pages), the entire file is stored even if a part of the file contains highly sensitive information. It will be hidden. This has the problem of reducing the convenience for the user.
(2) In the method disclosed in Patent Document 2, for example, only a highly sensitive part in a document is hidden by a mask, and other parts are displayed, so that some confidential information is included in the document. There is a problem that it is easily recognized by a third party.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing leakage of confidential information when displaying thumbnail images.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an image forming apparatus according to claim 1 is an image forming apparatus having a thumbnail image display function, the first storage unit storing predetermined image data for a plurality of pages, and a first storage unit. An image processing unit that generates thumbnail image data for a plurality of pages corresponding to the image data stored in one storage unit, a second storage unit that stores thumbnail image data generated by the image processing unit, and a second storage unit A display unit for displaying a plurality of thumbnail images based on the thumbnail image data stored in the storage unit, and an operation unit for selecting deletion of an arbitrary thumbnail image among the plurality of thumbnail images displayed on the display unit; , Delete any thumbnail image selected to be deleted by the operation unit, display another thumbnail image on the display unit, and store the image data stored in the first storage unit And a controlling unit for controlling to hold remains.

  In the present invention, when a highly confidential (arbitrary) thumbnail image is selected from among a plurality of thumbnail images displayed on the display unit by the user's operation on the operation unit, the selected thumbnail image is displayed on the display unit. You can prevent it from being displayed. Thereby, for example, only a thumbnail image having no confidentiality (low) is displayed on the display unit, and a thumbnail image having high confidentiality is not displayed. Even when a highly confidential thumbnail image is not displayed, the image data in the first storage unit is held as it is. Therefore, even when image data is output to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, an image including a thumbnail image that is not displayed can be obtained.

  In the present invention, a thumbnail image is a small image of an image or document file data displayed on the display unit. For example, before printing an image, document data, or the like, a finished image is confirmed on the screen. Is.

  An image forming apparatus according to a second aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein when the control unit deletes an arbitrary thumbnail image selected by the operation unit and displays another thumbnail image on the display unit, the operation unit After deleting the thumbnail image data corresponding to the thumbnail image selected to be deleted from the second storage unit, other thumbnail images not deleted based on other thumbnail image data not deleted in the second storage unit Is displayed on the display unit.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, when the control unit deletes an arbitrary thumbnail image selected to be deleted by the operation unit and displays another thumbnail image on the display unit, The thumbnail image data stored in the second storage unit is read out, and another thumbnail image whose deletion is not selected by the operation unit from the read thumbnail image data is displayed on the display unit.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first to third aspects, the control unit displays the total number of thumbnail images on the screen of the display unit, and deletion of an arbitrary thumbnail image is selected by the operation unit. In this case, the number of pages obtained by subtracting the number of thumbnail images selected for deletion by the operation unit from the total number of pages is displayed on the display unit.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in each of the first to fourth aspects, a page number is assigned to each of the plurality of thumbnail images displayed on the operation unit. When deletion of a thumbnail image is selected, a mask image for masking the page number assigned to the thumbnail image is displayed on the display unit.

  The image forming apparatus according to a sixth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the image forming apparatus is connected to a plurality of other image forming apparatuses, and the control unit is operated by an operation unit among the plurality of image forming apparatuses. The image data stored in the first storage unit is output to any selected image forming apparatus.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when, for example, a confidential thumbnail image is selected from among the thumbnail displayed images, the selected image can be controlled not to be displayed on the display unit. Become. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the confidential information from being viewed and browsed, and as a result, it is possible to prevent leakage of the confidential information to a third party. In addition, even when an image with low confidentiality is selected by the operation unit, the control unit performs control so that an unselected image is not displayed on the display unit, thereby preventing leakage of confidential information to a third party. . Furthermore, since the image data in the first storage unit is retained regardless of the deletion of the thumbnail image data in the second storage unit, the confidentiality of the thumbnail image that is not displayed when the image data is output is maintained. An image including image data can be obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the control unit deletes the selected thumbnail image data and only the thumbnail image that has not been deleted is displayed on the display unit, leakage of confidential information to a third party is prevented. Can be prevented.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the control unit displays only thumbnail images that are not selected by the operation unit among the thumbnail image data read from the second storage unit, the confidential information to the third party is displayed. Leakage can be prevented.

  According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the number of thumbnail images to be hidden is subtracted from the total number of pages of the thumbnail image, and the value after this subtraction is displayed as the total number of pages. Therefore, it becomes difficult for a third party to recognize that a confidential thumbnail image has been deleted, for example. Thereby, it is possible to reliably prevent leakage of confidential information to a third party.

  According to the fifth aspect of the invention, since the page number assigned to the thumbnail image is covered with the mask, the third party cannot recognize what thumbnail image has been deleted. Thereby, it is possible to prevent leakage of confidential information.

  According to the sixth aspect of the invention, since the thumbnail image is output only to the specific image forming apparatus, an image corresponding to the thumbnail image can be acquired only by the specific user. Thereby, it is possible to prevent leakage of confidential information.

Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
The image forming apparatus 10 according to the present invention has a thumbnail image display function for displaying thumbnails of images based on image data and the like, and for example, when highly confidential information is included in thumbnail images displayed as thumbnails. Therefore, it is intended to prevent leakage of confidential information to a third party by having a function of hiding this highly confidential information. The image forming apparatus 10 includes a control unit 12, an image processing unit 20, an operation / display unit 28, an image capturing unit 34, an image forming unit 36, a print controller unit 38, and a storage unit 54. Yes.

  The control unit 12 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 14, a nonvolatile memory 16, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 18, and a date / time data generator (real-time clock) 26. The CPU 14 is connected to each of an image processing unit 20, an operation / display unit 28, an image capturing unit 34, an image forming unit 36, and a print controller unit 38.

  The nonvolatile memory 16 holds a program for operating the image forming apparatus 10. In addition, data that needs to be retained even after the power is turned off is written. The RAM 18 is used as a temporary storage area for programs read from the nonvolatile memory 16, input data from the operation / display unit 28, the image capturing unit 34, the image forming unit 36, and the like.

  The CPU 14 reads each program stored in the nonvolatile memory 16 and executes processing according to the program, thereby controlling each component so that the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the user's operation is performed. . Further, the CPU 14 causes the operation / display unit 28 to display other thumbnail images excluding an arbitrary thumbnail image selected by the operation / display unit 28. Other operations of the CPU 14 will be described later. The date / time data generator 26 measures the date / time using a driving source such as an internal battery or an external power source.

  The storage unit 54 is configured by, for example, an HDD or a semiconductor memory, and includes an image memory 54a that configures an example of a first storage unit and a thumbnail image memory 54b that configures an example of a second storage unit. The image memory 54a stores image data captured from the image capturing unit 34, document / image data transmitted from a computer 48 described later, image data printed by the image forming unit 36, operation screen data, and the like. ing. In this example, for example, a plurality of shared files (documents) transmitted from the computer 48 or the like are stored in the image memory 54a. Each file is composed of a plurality of pages of image data.

  The thumbnail image memory 54b stores thumbnail image data corresponding to the image data stored in the image memory 54a. In this example, thumbnail image data for a plurality of pages is stored, for example, corresponding to the image data. Here, the thumbnail image data is a small image of the image or document file data displayed on the display unit 30. For example, before printing the image or document data, the finished image is confirmed on the screen. Is for. In this example, the storage unit 54 is provided with the two image memories 54a and the thumbnail image memory 54b. However, a configuration may be adopted in which each is stored in an independent storage unit.

  The image processing unit 20 includes image data captured from the image capturing unit 34 based on a control signal supplied from the CPU 14, document / image data transmitted from the computer 48, and image data printed by the image forming unit 36. The image data is compressed and stored in the image memory 54a. In addition, the CPU 14 performs compression processing based on a control signal from the CPU 14 and performs decompression processing on the image data or the like stored in the image memory 54 a, and displays the decompressed image data or the like on the display unit 30 or supplies it to the computer 48. . The image processing unit 20 generates thumbnail image data corresponding to the image data stored in the image memory 54a. The thumbnail image data may be created and stored in the image memory 54a at the timing when the thumbnail image display function is selected by the user's operation of the display unit 30, or when the image data is stored in the image memory 54a. At the same time, it may be created and stored in the image memory 54a. Further, the image processing unit 20 displays mask data for masking the page number of the thumbnail image 70 displayed on the display unit 30 when the mask setting button 64 is selected on the mask setting screen 60B (see FIG. 4). Generate. The mask data is generated according to the mask setting position and the mask range adjusted by the user operation on the mask setting screen 60B (see FIG. 4).

  The image capturing unit 34 is configured by a scanner, for example, and is connected to the CPU 14 via the reading processing unit 22. The image capturing unit 34 supplies the scan data captured by scanning or the like to the reading processing unit 22. The read processing unit 22 converts scan data including analog signals supplied from the image capturing unit 34 into digital image data and outputs the digital image data to the CPU 14. In the CPU 14, the image data captured from the image capturing unit 34 is stored in the storage unit 54. Further, the image capturing unit 34 controls reading and the like based on a control signal from the CPU 14.

  The image forming unit 36 is connected to the CPU 14 via the write processing unit 24 and generates a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal based on the image data supplied from the CPU 14. The image data is, for example, a document or image data transmitted from the computer 48 via the print controller unit 38, image data captured from the image capturing unit 34, image data read from the image memory 54a, or the like. When the image data is compressed, the image data expanded by the image processing unit 20 is supplied to the writing processing unit 24. The writing processing unit 24 outputs the generated PWM signal to the image forming unit 36.

  The image forming unit 36 includes, for example, a printer, and includes a laser light source, a photosensitive drum, a charger, a developing unit, a transfer unit, a paper feeding unit, a fixing unit, a paper discharge unit, a conveyance path for conveying paper, various rollers, and the like. have. The image forming unit 36 charges a surface of the photosensitive drum (not shown) with a charger based on a control signal supplied from the CPU 14, and electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum based on a PWM signal input from the writing processing unit 24. An image is formed, and the toner attached to the electrostatic latent image is transferred to a sheet to form an image.

  The operation / display unit 28 includes a display unit 30 and an operation unit 32. In this example, a touch panel in which the display unit 30 and the operation unit 32 are combined together is used. The touch panel includes, for example, a liquid crystal panel (LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)) and an input detection device. As the input detection device, for example, a capacitance method, a resistance film method, a surface acoustic wave (SAW) method, or the like can be adopted. Based on the control signal from the CPU 14, the display unit 30 displays the operation screen 60A (see FIG. 2) and the mask setting screen 60B (see FIG. 4) stored in the image memory 54a based on the image data and the thumbnail image memory 54b. Display based on the thumbnail image data stored in the. The operation unit 32 detects a user operation on an operation screen or the like displayed on the display unit 30, generates an operation signal based on this detection, and supplies the operation signal to the CPU 14. For example, when an arbitrary, for example, highly confidential thumbnail image is selected from the thumbnail images 70 (see FIG. 2) displayed on the display unit 30, the operation unit 32 generates an operation signal based on this selection. .

  The print controller unit 38 includes a controller control unit 40, an image memory 44, and a LAN I / F 46. A computer 48 and image forming apparatuses 56A, 56B,... Are connected to the LAN I / F 46 via a LAN (Local Area Network) cable 52 or the like so that bidirectional communication can be performed.

  The controller control unit 40 is connected to the CPU 14 via a PCI (Peripheral Components Interconnect) bus 50, and transmits control signals, image data, and the like from the CPU 14 to the computer 48 and the like via the LAN I / F 46. The controller control unit 40 also prints data that can be printed by the image forming apparatus 10 in a predetermined page description language based on a control signal from the computer 48 or the like connected to the LAN I / F 46. The image data is converted into a format and supplied to the CPU 14.

  The image memory 44 temporarily stores image data and control data supplied from the controller control unit 40. For example, the image memory 44 functions as a cache memory. The image data or the like is image data transmitted from the computer 48 or the like, image data read from the image memory 54a of the image forming apparatus 10, or the like.

  The LAN I / F 46 includes a NIC (Network Interface Card), a modem, and the like. The LAN I / F 46 receives data transmitted from the computer 48 and transmits image data read from the image memory 44 to the computer 48 described later.

  The computer 48 is a terminal device that includes an operation unit configured by a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, a display unit configured by a liquid crystal display and the like, and an information processing apparatus having a control unit, a storage unit, and the like. When print data, print condition settings, and the like are input via the operation unit, the computer 48 adds the print setting conditions to the print data as control data, and the print controller unit 38 via the LAN cable 52 of the image forming apparatus 10. Send to. A plurality of computers 48 may be connected. The image forming apparatuses 56A and 56B are configured by a commonly used printer or the like.

  Next, a screen configuration and an operation operation displayed on the display unit 30 when the thumbnail image display function of the image forming apparatus 10 described above is selected will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the operation screen 60A of the display unit 30 when the thumbnail image display function is selected. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration when the highly confidential thumbnail image 70 is deleted. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the mask setting screen 60B. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration when the thumbnail image 70 is masked.

  When the user selects the thumbnail image display function from the operation unit 32, the screen of the display unit 30 is switched to the operation screen 60A for displaying the thumbnail image 70 as shown in FIG. A thumbnail image 70 read from the thumbnail image memory 54b by the CPU 14 is displayed at a substantially central portion in the thumbnail window 74 of the operation screen 60A. In this example, the file selected by the user is composed of three pages of thumbnail images 70a, 70b and 70c, and a page number 78 is added (stamped) to the lower right position of each of the thumbnail images 70a to 70b. . It is assumed that the page number 78 is stamped in advance on the image data or the like captured from the image capturing unit 34.

  On the right side in the thumbnail window 74, a page count unit 66 that displays the number of pages of the thumbnail image 70 in order from the top, a cursor movement button 68 for moving the cursor (selection frame) 72, and a page of the thumbnail image 70. A mask setting button 64 for masking the number 78 and a page deletion button 62 for deleting the highly confidential thumbnail image 70 are displayed. The page count unit 66 includes a total page number 66 a representing the total number of pages of the thumbnail image 70 and a selected page number 66 b representing the page position of the thumbnail image 70 currently selected by the cursor 72. The cursor movement button 68 includes a first page movement button 68a, a previous page movement button 68b, a rear page movement button 68c, and a last page movement button 68d.

  Next, when the user selects the highly confidential thumbnail image 70b in the operation screen 60A by the cursor 72 and presses the page deletion button 62, the thumbnail image selected by the cursor 72 as shown in FIG. 70b is deleted and hidden, and only the remaining thumbnail images 70a and 70c are displayed on the operation screen 60A.

  Next, when the user presses the mask setting button 64 on the operation screen 60A, the screen is switched from the operation screen 60A to the mask setting screen 60B as shown in FIG. On the left side in the mask setting screen 60B, a batch mask button 80 for masking all sides of the thumbnail image 70 at once, and an individual for performing mask processing by selecting each side of the thumbnail image 70 individually. A mask button 82 is displayed.

  In the center of the mask setting screen 60B, a parameter portion 90 representing the numerical value of the setting range of the mask image 96 shown in FIG. The parameter unit 90 includes an upper side parameter unit 90a that represents the numerical value of the mask range on the upper side of the thumbnail image 70, a right side parameter unit 90b that represents the numerical value of the mask range on the right side, and a lower side parameter that represents the numerical value of the mask range on the lower side. Part 90c and a left side parameter part 90d representing the numerical value of the mask range of the left side part.

  On the right side in the mask setting screen 60B, a mask position selection button 86 for selecting a mask position of any one of the parameter portions 90a to 90d on each side and a mask range on each side of the thumbnail image 70 are adjusted. The mask range adjustment button 88 is displayed. In this example, it is set so that the size (height) of the mask image 96 can be adjusted within a range of 1 to 300 mm, for example.

  At the bottom of the mask setting screen 60B, in order from the left side, a function off button 84 for ending the mask adjustment function, a cancel button 94 for canceling the input at the time of adjustment, and an OK button for confirming the input 92 is displayed.

  Next, when the user selects the mask position and setting range on the mask setting screen 60B and presses the OK button 92, the mask setting screen 60B (see FIG. 4) is switched to the operation screen 60A (see FIG. 5) again and displayed. Is done. On the operation screen 60 </ b> A, the mask image 96 is superimposed and displayed at the position where the page number 78 of the thumbnail image 70 is written, and the page number 78 is hidden by the mask image 96.

  Next, an operation example of the image forming apparatus 10 when the thumbnail image display function is selected will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the CPU 14 of the image forming apparatus 10. In the following description, it is assumed that the thumbnail image display function is selected by the user, and the operation screen 60A corresponding to the thumbnail image display function is displayed on the display unit 30.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in step S10, the CPU 14 displays thumbnail images 70 (70a to 70c) corresponding to the file selected by the user as thumbnails in the thumbnail window 74 of the operation screen 60A (see FIG. 2). In this example, the thumbnail images 70a and 70c are images with low (no) confidentiality, and the thumbnail images 70b are images with high (or present) confidentiality. The CPU 14 reads out thumbnail image data corresponding to the selected file from the thumbnail image memory 54 b and supplies it to the display unit 30. The display unit 30 displays thumbnail images 70a, 70b, and 70c on the operation screen 60A based on the thumbnail image data supplied from the CPU 14.

  In step S <b> 20, the CPU 14 determines whether or not the highly confidential thumbnail image 70 has been selected by the user. As shown in FIG. 2, the thumbnail image 70 can be selected (determined) by moving the cursor 72 to a highly confidential position such as the thumbnail image 70 b and pressing the page delete button 62. When it is determined that the highly confidential thumbnail image 70 has been selected, the CPU 14 proceeds to step S30, and when it is determined that the thumbnail image 70 has not been selected (when the close button 76 is pressed), the thumbnail image display function is terminated. .

  In step S30, the CPU 14 controls to hide the thumbnail image 70 selected in step S20. In the non-display control, a subroutine shown in FIG. 7 is called. First, in step S301, the CPU 14 deletes the thumbnail image data corresponding to the thumbnail image 70 selected by the operation unit 32 from the thumbnail image memory 54b. Specifically, for example, when the thumbnail image 70b is selected by the user and an operation signal for hiding (deleting) the thumbnail image 70b is supplied from the operation unit 32, the CPU 14 supplies an operation supplied from the operation unit 32. Based on the signal, the thumbnail image data corresponding to the operation signal is deleted from the thumbnail image memory 54b. At this time, the CPU 14 controls to retain all the image data in the image memory 54a corresponding to the thumbnail images 70a, 70b, and 70c regardless of the thumbnail images 70b that are not displayed. That is, the image data in the image memory 54a corresponding to the deleted thumbnail image 70b is held as it is without being deleted.

  In step S302, the CPU 14 causes the display unit 30 to display the thumbnail image 70 that has not been deleted from the thumbnail image memory 54b. Specifically, the CPU 14 reads out thumbnail image data that has not been deleted from the thumbnail image memory 54 b and outputs the thumbnail image data to the display unit 30. The display unit 30 displays the thumbnail images 70 that are not to be deleted based on the thumbnail image data supplied from the CPU 14. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the deleted highly confidential thumbnail image 70 b is hidden, and only the thumbnail images 70 a and 70 c with low (no) confidentiality are displayed on the display unit 30. When a series of processing of the subroutine is completed, the process returns to step S30, and then proceeds to step S40 shown in FIG.

In step S40, the CPU 14 changes the value of the page count unit 66 when an arbitrary (highly confidential) thumbnail image 70 is selected on the operation screen 60A. Specifically, the CPU 14 selects, for example, a highly confidential thumbnail image 70b by the user and presses the page delete button 62, and the thumbnail image 70 of the page count unit 66 of the operation screen 60A shown in FIG. The denominator representing the total number of pages 66a is changed based on the equation (1).
Total number of pages = Total number of pages-Number of thumbnail image pages to be hidden (1)
In this example, the total number of pages 66a is “3” and the number of pages of the thumbnail image 70 to be hidden is “1”, so the total number of pages 66a in the denominator is “2” (FIG. 3). reference).

Further, the numerator representing the selected page number 66b of the thumbnail image 70 where the cursor 72 is located is changed based on the equation (2).
Page number = Page number -1 (2)
In this example, since the selection page number 66b is “2”, the changed molecule selection page number 66b is “1” (see FIG. 3).

  In step S50, the CPU 14 determines whether another thumbnail image 70 has been selected by the user. When it is determined that another thumbnail image 70 has been selected, the process returns to step S30, and the above-described non-display processing and numerical value change of the page count unit 66 are performed. On the other hand, if another thumbnail image 70 is not selected, the process proceeds to step S60.

  In step S60, the CPU 14 determines whether or not the mask setting button 64 is pressed on the operation screen 60A by the user. When the CPU 14 determines that the mask setting button 64 has been pressed, that is, when an operation signal corresponding to the mask setting button 64 is supplied from the operation / display unit 28, the CPU 14 changes the operation screen 60A of the display unit 30 to the mask setting screen 60B ( (See FIG. 4), and the process proceeds to step S70. On the other hand, when it is determined that the mask setting button 64 is not pressed, for example, when the close button 76 of the operation screen 60A is pressed, the screen is switched to the initial operation screen and the thumbnail image display function is terminated.

  In step S70, the CPU 14 sets a mask on the thumbnail image 70 based on the mask position and mask range adjusted by the user on the mask setting screen 60B. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the user selects "bottom side" of the mask position selection button 86 and "10" is input by the mask range adjustment button 88, the corresponding mask data is stored in the image memory 54a. Is supplied to the CPU 14. The CPU 14 generates a mask image 96 based on the mask data, and displays the mask image 96 superimposed on the position of the page number 78 of the thumbnail image. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the page number 78 stamped on the thumbnail images 70a and 70c is covered with the mask image 96, and the page number 78 is hidden. When the close button 76 on the operation screen 60A is pressed by the user, the thumbnail image display function is terminated by switching to the initial operation screen.

  Further, the CPU 14 displays on the display unit 30 only for a specific image forming apparatus 56A selected by the operation unit 32 among the plurality of image forming apparatuses 56A, 56B... Connected to the image forming apparatus 10. It may be controlled to output image data corresponding to the thumbnail image 70 that has been made. Specifically, the display unit 30 displays a button for selecting the image forming apparatus 56 on the operation screen 60 </ b> A, and the operation unit 32 supplies an operation signal corresponding to the selected image forming apparatus 56 to the CPU 14. The CPU 14 outputs the image data displayed as thumbnails only to the image forming apparatus 56A corresponding to the operation signal. The image forming apparatus 56A transfers an image corresponding to the supplied image data to a recording medium. Accordingly, since the thumbnail image 70 is output only to the specific image forming apparatus 56, data corresponding to the thumbnail image 70 can be acquired only by a specific user. Thereby, it is possible to prevent leakage of confidential information.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, even when confidential information is included in the thumbnail image 70, the CPU 14 selects the selected thumbnail image 70 by the operation unit 32. Is not displayed on the display unit 30, it is possible to prevent leakage of confidential information to a third party. Further, even when a third party selects a file including confidential information from the storage unit 54 of the image forming apparatus 10 and displays a thumbnail, the thumbnail image 70 including confidential information once set to non-display is hidden. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a third party from viewing and browsing confidential information. Even when the highly confidential thumbnail image 70 is not displayed, the image data (master data) is held as it is in the image memory 54a, so that the thumbnail image 70 displayed on the display unit 30 is stored in the image forming unit 36. Even in the case of outputting the image, it is possible to obtain an image output including the thumbnail image 70 that is not displayed.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the display unit 30 displays the subtracted value as the total page number 66a by subtracting from the total page number 66a of the thumbnail image 70 by the number of pages of the thumbnail image 70 to be hidden. The number of thumbnail images 70 displayed on the screen and the total number of pages 66a can be matched, and it becomes difficult for a third party to imagine (recognize) that, for example, the confidential thumbnail image 70 has been deleted. . Thereby, it is possible to reliably prevent leakage of confidential information to a third party.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the page number 78 given to the thumbnail image 70 is masked, a third party cannot recognize what thumbnail image 70 is deleted. Thereby, it is possible to prevent leakage of confidential information.

  In addition, since the highly confidential thumbnail image 70 is not displayed, it is not necessary to convert the thumbnail image 70 into another image using a special program such as encryption or to deteriorate the resolution. Thereby, the improvement of a user's convenience and cost reduction can be achieved.

  Also, instead of hiding the entire data as in ID and password settings, the user can select and hide images that are not thumbnail-displayed and display other less sensitive images. User convenience can be improved. For example, since many confidential documents have a cover and the contents are often confidential, the user's intention is to maintain confidentiality by displaying a partial manuscript that cannot be confidential, such as the cover. The document can be easily found from the thumbnail image 70.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when a highly confidential thumbnail image 70 is selected, the thumbnail image data corresponding to the selected thumbnail image 70 is deleted from the thumbnail image memory 54b, so that the memory capacity can be reduced. Can be planned.

[Second Embodiment]
The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same component as the image forming apparatus 10 demonstrated by 1st Embodiment mentioned above, and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example when the highly confidential thumbnail image 70 is not displayed. The non-display control of the present embodiment is the same as the processing of steps S10, S20, and S40 to S70 of the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in step S30, the CPU 14 controls to hide the thumbnail image 70 selected in step S20. In the non-display control, a subroutine shown in FIG. 8 is called. In step S <b> 303, the CPU 14 changes the setting of the thumbnail image data flag corresponding to the thumbnail image 70 selected by the operation unit 32. A display / non-display flag is added to the thumbnail image data stored in the thumbnail image memory 54b, and the CPU 14 determines whether or not the thumbnail image data is displayed and controlled by determining the contents of the flag. To do. In this example, the flag is set to “0” when the thumbnail image 70 is displayed, and the flag is set to “1” when the thumbnail image 70 is not displayed.

  In step S304, the CPU 14 controls display / non-display of the thumbnail image 70 based on the flag setting of the thumbnail image 70 read from the thumbnail image memory 54b. For example, when an operation signal for non-display is supplied from the operation unit 32, the CPU 14 reads thumbnail image data corresponding to the operation signal and changes the flag to “1”. Then, when displaying the thumbnail, when the flag of the read thumbnail image data is “1”, control is performed so that the thumbnail is not displayed on the display unit 30. When the flag is “0”, the thumbnail is displayed on the display unit 30. To be controlled. When the series of processing of the subroutine is completed, the process returns to step S30 shown in FIG. 6, and then proceeds to step S40.

  It should be noted that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes those in which various modifications are made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the thumbnail image 70 having confidentiality is selected on the operation screen 60A, the selected thumbnail image 70 is controlled to be hidden. On the other hand, when a thumbnail image 70 with no confidentiality is selected, the selected thumbnail image 70 is displayed, and the thumbnail image 70 with the confidentiality not selected is controlled to be hidden. Also good.

  The present invention is extremely suitable when applied to a color printer, a color copying machine, a multi-function machine, or the like having a function of displaying an image of an image or document file data on a display unit.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the operation screen of a display part (the 1). It is a figure which shows the structural example of the operation screen of a display part (the 2). It is a figure which shows the structural example of the operation screen of a display part (the 3). It is a figure which shows the structural example of the operation screen of a display part (the 4). 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the image forming apparatus. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of thumbnail image display control (part 1); FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of thumbnail image display control (part 2); FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image forming apparatus 12 ... Control part 14 ... CPU
16 ... Nonvolatile memory 18 ... RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Image processing part 28 ... Display / operation part 30 ... Display part 32 ... Operation part 36 ... Image formation part 48 ... Computer 54 ... Memory | storage part 54a ... Image Memory 54b ... Thumbnail image memory 56 ... Image forming device 60A ... Operation screen 60B ... Mask setting screen 66 ... Page count section 66a ... Total number of pages 66b ... Selected page number 96 ... Mask images

Claims (6)

An image forming apparatus having a thumbnail image display function,
A first storage unit that stores predetermined image data for a plurality of pages;
An image processing unit that generates thumbnail image data for a plurality of pages corresponding to the image data stored in the first storage unit;
A second storage unit for storing the thumbnail image data generated by the image processing unit;
A display unit configured to display a plurality of the thumbnail images based on the thumbnail image data stored in the second storage unit;
An operation unit for selecting deletion of any of the plurality of thumbnail images displayed on the display unit;
The arbitrary thumbnail image selected to be deleted by the operation unit is deleted and another thumbnail image is displayed on the display unit, and the image data stored in the first storage unit is retained as it is. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the image forming apparatus. The controller is
When the arbitrary thumbnail image selected by the operation unit is deleted and another thumbnail image is displayed on the display unit, the thumbnail image data corresponding to the thumbnail image selected by the operation unit is deleted. After the deletion from the second storage unit, the other thumbnail image that has not been deleted based on the other thumbnail image data that has not been deleted from the second storage unit is displayed on the display unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The controller is
When deleting the arbitrary thumbnail image selected to be deleted by the operation unit and displaying another thumbnail image on the display unit, the thumbnail image data stored in the second storage unit is read, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the other thumbnail images that are not selected to be deleted by the operation unit from the read thumbnail image data are displayed on the display unit. The controller is
Display the total number of pages of the thumbnail image on the screen of the display unit,
When deletion of any thumbnail image is selected by the operation unit, the display unit displays the number of pages obtained by subtracting the number of pages of the thumbnail image selected by the operation unit from the total number of pages. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. Each of the plurality of thumbnail images displayed on the operation unit is given a page number,
The controller is
The mask image for masking the page number attached to the thumbnail image is displayed on the display unit when deletion of any thumbnail image is selected by the operation unit. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4. A plurality of other image forming apparatuses are connected to the image forming apparatus,
The control unit outputs the image data stored in the first storage unit to an arbitrary image forming apparatus selected by the operation unit among the plurality of image forming apparatuses. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.

Images