JP2013010252A - Image forming device, and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device and an image forming system capable of appropriately managing printing of an image data having a high confidentiality degree.SOLUTION: A job information acquisition unit 401 acquires job type identification information and job inputter identification information from a print job. When a job input authorization unit 402 determines that the job type identification information and the job input person identification information satisfy a preregistered job input authorization condition, a job holding unit 403 holds the print job. When a print authorization unit 405 determines that user identification information input via an identification input unit 404 satisfies a print authorization condition associated with the job type identification information acquired from the print job held by the job holding unit 403, a print execution unit 406 inputs the print job into an image forming unit 140.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming system.

  In recent years, MFPs (Multi Function Peripherals) having functions such as scanners, facsimiles, printers, and copiers have been used in offices and the like. A multifunction machine is often used in a situation where it is connected to an information processing terminal such as a personal computer through a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network). Then, it functions as an image forming device that prints image data input from the information processing terminal on paper, functions as an image reading device that acquires image data used in the information processing terminal, and searches document image data. It functions as a document management device that accumulates as possible.

  In such a multifunction machine used by a plurality of users, it is also required to ensure security. For example, since the information processing terminal and the multifunction device are often arranged apart from each other, when the image data is transmitted from the information processing terminal to the multifunction device and printing is performed, the sensitivity of the output from the multifunction device is reduced. There is a possibility that a high printed matter may be seen or taken away by other users who share the multifunction device. In addition, when image data with high confidentiality is stored in the multifunction peripheral, there is a possibility that the user can use the multifunction peripheral and the image data with high confidentiality is duplicated. For this reason, various methods for ensuring security have been realized.

  For example, for the former problem, a multifunction device having a private print function that sends a print job to a multifunction device together with a password and is required to input the password when the print job is executed is proposed. Has been. For the latter problem, there has been proposed a multifunction peripheral having a filing function for designating a user who can reuse the image data when the image data is registered (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .

  Further, by using such a multifunction device, it is possible to pass a confidential document to a specific person while preventing data leakage. That is, if you use private printing with a specific person designated as a printer or a filing function that designates a specific person as a reusable user, it is not necessary to distribute the image data itself to the specific person, so the image data is distributed. Compared to the case, the possibility of leakage of image data can be reduced. Also, with this method, it is not necessary for the specific person and the distributor to directly face each other in order to prevent confidential information leakage, as in the case of distributing a paper medium on which image data is printed.

JP 2001-084275 A

  In recent years, highly sensitive information such as technical information such as blueprints, specifications, cost lists, monthly expense summary, sales information such as customer lists, and in-house information such as personnel information has been retained as a large amount of electronic data. The confidentiality management of this information is especially important. That is, it is required not only to limit who can access these information, but also to manage the status of reproduction of electronic data itself and output (printing) as image data. There are various techniques for prohibiting copying of electronic data itself, but it is not easy to manage output (printing).

  For example, in an operation in which the number of persons who can access the electronic data is reduced and the person having the access authority permits printing to a specific person using the private printing or filing function described above, the person having the access authority The output (printing) can be managed according to the intention of However, the intention of the person having the access authority does not necessarily reflect the intention of the superior authority who has selected the person having the access authority. That is, regardless of whether it is intentional or not, there is a possibility that a person having access authority may permit printing to a person who should not be allowed to permit printing (copying with a paper medium). In particular, in the filing function described above, a person who is permitted to reuse image data can access the image data itself. Therefore, it may be possible that a person who has been permitted to reuse further permits reuse. In this case, the number of reusable persons increases regardless of the intention of the person who first registered the image data.

  On the other hand, if only the person in charge of confidentiality management permits others to print image data, it is possible to manage output (printing) as image data. However, the amount of information is enormous, and even if it is confidential information, specifications etc. may be used in daily work such as submission to customers. It's not a realistic way.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and provides an image forming apparatus and an image forming system capable of appropriately managing printing of high-confidential image data. Objective.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following technical means. That is, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an image forming unit, a job information acquisition unit, a job input permission unit, a job holding unit, an identification information input unit, a print permission unit, and a print execution unit. The image forming unit prints image data on a sheet. The job information acquisition unit acquires job type identification information and job submitter identification information from a newly submitted print job. Here, the job type identification information is information for identifying the type of the print job, and the job submitter identification information is information for identifying the user who has submitted the print job. The “input print job” includes not only a print job input from an external device connected to the image forming apparatus but also an image forming apparatus for printing image data stored in the image forming apparatus itself. The print job generated in is included. The job submission permission unit determines whether the job type identification information and the job submitter identification information acquired by the job information acquisition unit satisfy a job submission permission condition registered in advance. The job holding unit holds a print job having the job type identification information and job submitter identification information when the job submission permission unit determines that the job submission permission condition is satisfied. User identification information is input to the identification information input unit. The print permission unit determines whether the user identification information input through the identification information input unit satisfies a print permission condition registered in advance in association with the job type identification information. Here, the user identification information is information for identifying a user. The print execution unit determines that the user identification information input through the identification information input unit satisfies a print permission condition associated with the job type identification information acquired from the print job held by the job holding unit. In this case, the print job is input to the image forming unit.

  In this image forming apparatus, job type identification information and job submitter identification information are attached to a print job. First, based on the job type identification information and job submitter identification information, whether or not print job submission is permitted It is determined whether or not. Therefore, a person who does not have the authority to submit a print job to the image forming apparatus cannot submit the print job. Note that a user having print job submission authority is registered in advance in the image forming apparatus for each type of print job. For example, by attaching job type identification information according to the contents of the print job input to the image forming apparatus, such as design specifications, customer list, monthly expense summary, etc. Input can be reliably prevented.

  In this image forming apparatus, it is determined whether or not the user is allowed to print when executing a print job (printing as image data). Therefore, a user who is not allowed to execute a print job cannot execute a print job that has been input to the image forming apparatus. A user having print execution authority is registered in advance in the image forming apparatus for each type of print job.

  Thus, in this image forming apparatus, since a user who can submit a print job to the image forming apparatus and a user who can execute a print job in the image forming apparatus are registered in the image forming apparatus, Regardless of whether or not there is, the user who has the authority to submit a print job cannot permit printing to a user who should not be permitted to print. That is, it is possible to appropriately manage printing of image data with high security.

  In the image forming apparatus, the job holding unit may employ a configuration for deleting a print job that has been held for a predetermined time. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent a print job with a high confidentiality from being left in the job holding unit.

  In the image forming apparatus, the print permission unit may print the print permission condition when the user identification information input through the identification information input unit matches any of the plurality of user identification information associated with the job type identification information. The job holding unit adopts a configuration that deletes a print job corresponding to the printing when printing in the image forming unit based on specific user identification information included in the plurality of user identification information is completed. You can also In this configuration, the printed matter can be more reliably distributed to a specific user who can execute a print job.

  In another aspect, the present invention can also provide an image forming system including an image forming apparatus, a job submission permission apparatus, and a print execution apparatus. The image forming apparatus prints image data on a sheet. The job submission permission device includes a job information acquisition unit, a job submission permission unit, and a job holding unit. The job information acquisition unit acquires job type identification information and job submitter identification information from a print job newly input to the image forming apparatus. The job submission permission unit determines whether the job type identification information and the job submitter identification information acquired by the job information acquisition unit satisfy a job submission permission condition registered in advance. When determining that the job submission permission unit satisfies the job submission permission condition, the job holding unit holds a print job corresponding to the job type identification information and the job submitter identification information. Further, the print execution apparatus includes an identification information input unit, a print permission unit, and a print execution unit. User identification information is input to the identification information input unit. The print permission unit determines whether the user identification information input through the identification information input unit satisfies a print permission condition registered in advance in association with the job type identification information. When the print execution unit satisfies the print permission condition associated with the job type identification information acquired from the print job held by the job holding unit of the job submission permission device, the user identification information input through the identification information input unit If the print permission unit determines, the print job is input to the image forming apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately manage printing of highly sensitive image data by a simple operation.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an operation panel of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a print job input procedure executed by the multifunction machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the job input permission list | wrist in one Embodiment of this invention FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print execution procedure performed by the multifunction machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the printing permission list | wrist in one Embodiment of this invention

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, the present invention is embodied as a digital multifunction machine.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a digital multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction peripheral 100 includes a main body 101 including an image reading unit 120 and an image forming unit 140, and a platen cover 102 attached above the main body 101. A document table 103 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 101, and the document table 103 is opened and closed by a platen cover 102. Further, the platen cover 102 includes a document conveying device 110.

  An image reading unit 120 is provided below the document table 103. The image reading unit 120 reads an image of a document with the scanning optical system 121 and generates digital data (image data) of the image. The document can be placed on the document table 103 or the document transport device 110. The scanning optical system 121 includes a first carriage 122, a second carriage 123, and a condenser lens 124. The first carriage 122 is provided with a linear light source 131 and a mirror 132, and the second carriage 123 is provided with mirrors 133 and 134. The light source 131 illuminates the document. The mirrors 132, 133, and 134 guide reflected light from the document to the condenser lens 124, and the condenser lens 124 forms an optical image on the light receiving surface of the line image sensor 125. In the scanning optical system 121, the first carriage 122 and the second carriage 123 are provided so as to be able to reciprocate in the sub-scanning direction 135. By moving the first carriage 122 and the second carriage 123 in the sub-scanning direction 135, the image of the document placed on the document table 103 can be read by the image sensor 125. When reading an image of a document set on the document conveying device 110, the image reading unit 120 temporarily fixes the first carriage 122 and the second carriage 123 according to the image reading position, and passes the image reading position. Are read by the image sensor 125. The image sensor 125 generates image data of a document corresponding to, for example, each color of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) from the light image incident on the light receiving surface. The generated image data can be printed on paper in the image forming unit 140. It can also be transmitted to an external device through the network 162 by the network interface 161.

  The image forming unit 140 prints image data obtained by the image reading unit 120 or image data received from an external device connected to the network 162 on a sheet. In FIG. 1, only the information processing terminal 170 is illustrated as an external device.

  The image forming unit 140 includes a photosensitive drum 141. The photosensitive drum 141 rotates in one direction at a constant speed. Around the photosensitive drum 141, a charger 142, an exposure unit 143, a developing unit 144, and an intermediate transfer belt 145 are arranged in this order from the upstream side in the rotation direction. The charger 142 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 141. The exposure device 143 irradiates the surface of the uniformly charged photoconductor drum 141 with light according to the image data, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor drum 141. The developing device 144 attaches toner to the electrostatic latent image and forms a toner image on the photosensitive drum 141. The intermediate transfer belt 145 transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 141 onto a sheet. When the image data is a color image, the intermediate transfer belt 145 transfers each color toner image onto the same sheet. The RGB color image is converted into C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black) format image data, and the image data of each color is input to the exposure unit 143.

  The image forming unit 140 feeds paper from the manual feed tray 151, the paper feed cassettes 152, 153, and 154 to the transfer unit between the intermediate transfer belt 145 and the transfer roller 146. Various sizes of paper can be placed or stored in the manual feed tray 151 and the paper feed cassettes 152, 153, and 154. The image forming unit 140 selects a sheet specified by the user or a sheet corresponding to the automatically detected document size, and feeds the selected sheet from the manual feed tray 151 or the cassettes 152, 153, and 154 by the feeding roller 155. . The fed paper is transported to the transfer section by transport rollers 156 and registration rollers 157. The sheet on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 148 by the conveyance belt 147. The fixing device 148 has a fixing roller 158 and a pressure roller 159 with a built-in heater, and fixes the toner image on the sheet by heat and pressing force. The image forming unit 140 discharges the sheet that has passed through the fixing device 148 to the discharge tray 149.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appearance of an operation panel included in the multifunction peripheral. The user can use the operation panel 200 to give the MFP 100 a start of copying and other instructions, and to confirm the status and settings of the MFP 100. On the operation panel 200, a display 201 with a touch panel and operation keys 203 are arranged. The display 201 includes a display surface including a liquid crystal display that displays operation buttons, messages, and the like, and a sensor that detects a pressed position on the display surface. The detection method of a press position is not specifically limited. Any method such as a resistance film method, a capacitance method, a surface acoustic wave method, and an electromagnetic wave method can be employed. The user can input through the display 201 using his / her finger or the touch pen 202.

  The display 201 displays an operation screen having a button display unit 204, a message display unit 205, and a status display unit 206. A plurality of tabs 208 are prepared in the button display unit 204, and operation buttons corresponding to the tab category are arranged on each tab. The “easy setting” tab has operation buttons used for basic setting. In the example of FIG. 2, operation buttons for setting paper size, copy magnification, density, printing surface, page aggregation, and post-processing are arranged. For example, when the user performs an operation of pressing the “density” button 207, a pop-up screen having selection buttons such as “light”, “normal”, and “dark” for selecting the density is displayed over the operation button. The density is set by the user's selection (pressing). In the example of FIG. 2, in addition to the “easy setting” tab, a “document / paper / finish” tab, a “color / image quality” tab, a “layout / edit” tab, and an “application / others” tab are also provided. The user can switch to the display of these tabs by performing an operation of selecting the tab button 208. While one tab is selected, other tabs and their elements are hidden on the operation screen.

  The message display unit 205 displays a message notifying the user of settings such as whether copying is possible and the number of copies. Note that the MFP 100 according to the present embodiment is configured to perform user authentication processing (login processing) for confirming the user's usage qualification when the MFP 100 is used. FIG. 2 shows a state before the user authentication process is performed, and a message “please authenticate” indicating the state is displayed on the message display unit 205.

  The status display unit 206 displays device status information as necessary. In this display, detection results of various sensors included in the multifunction peripheral 100 are reflected. The device status information means a message that notifies the user of a warning that prompts the user to respond to an abnormality although the device is in an operable state. For example, the fact that the remaining amount of paper is low, the document platen 103 is dirty, and the facsimile document is stored in the memory when the facsimile memory reception is set is included. Further, the device status information may include out-of-paper, conveyance jam, and the like.

  The operation keys 203 include a main power key 209, a numeric keypad 210, a start key 211, a clear key 212, a LogOut key 213, and the like. For example, the main power key 209 is used to switch the main power supply of the multifunction peripheral 100 on and off. The numeric keypad 210 can be used for specifying the number of copies and setting the copy magnification. When the user makes these settings, the multi-function device 100 displays a message such as “Can be copied (with settings)” on the message display unit 205 to notify the user that the settings have been made. The start key 211 is used for a start instruction for copying or image printing. The user operates the clear key 212 when canceling the setting made by the user. Since whether or not the machine accepts the setting by the user can be determined by the above-described message, the clear key 212 may be operated if the setting becomes unnecessary. Although not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, the operation through the operation panel 200 is prohibited until the user qualification is confirmed by the above-described user authentication processing. When the authenticated user presses the LogOut key 213 after using the multifunction peripheral, or when the operation of the operation panel 200 and the operation of the image reading unit 120 and the image forming unit 140 are not performed for a predetermined time after the authentication, the multifunction peripheral 100 It is configured to return to the state before the authentication process is performed.

  FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of a control system in the multifunction machine. The multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 301, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 302, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 303, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 304, an original transport device 110, and an image reading unit 120. A driver 305 corresponding to each drive unit in the image forming unit 140 is connected via an internal bus 306. The ROM 303, the HDD 304, and the like store programs, and the CPU 301 controls the multifunction peripheral 100 in accordance with the instructions of the control program. For example, the CPU 301 uses the RAM 302 as a work area, and controls the operation of each driving unit by exchanging data and commands with the driver 305. The HDD 304 is also used to store image data obtained by the image reading unit 120 and image data received from an external device through the network interface 161.

  An operation panel 200, various sensors 307, and an IC card reader 308 are also connected to the internal bus 306. The operation panel 200 receives a user operation and supplies a signal based on the operation to the CPU 301. The display 201 displays the above-described operation screen according to a control signal from the CPU 301. The sensor 307 includes various sensors such as an open / close detection sensor for the platen cover 102, a document detection sensor on the document table 103, a temperature sensor for the fixing device 148, and a detection sensor for the conveyed paper or document. The CPU 301 executes, for example, a program stored in the ROM 303 to realize each of the following means (functional blocks) and controls the operation of each means according to signals from these sensors.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the MFP according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment is connected to the information processing terminal 170 via a network 162 in a state where data can be exchanged.

  First, the information processing terminal 170 will be described. The information processing terminal 170 is configured by a personal computer or the like, and is connected to the network 162 via the network interface 171. In addition, the information processing terminal 170 includes a print job generation unit 172.

  The print job generation unit 172 generates a print job with job type identification information and job submitter identification information, and transmits the generated print job to the multifunction peripheral 100. The print job generation unit 172 is, for example, a printer driver that operates on the information processing terminal 170, and is a document created by various applications such as word processor software, spreadsheet software, and graphic drawing software executed on the information processing terminal 170. The image data is converted into a print job described in a predetermined PDL (Page Description Language) or the like. Note that the information processing terminal 170 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and an HDD, as with the multifunction peripheral 100. The CPU implements the print job generation unit 172 by executing a program stored in, for example, a ROM or HDD using the RAM as a work area.

  In the present embodiment, the print job generated by the print job generation unit 172 is associated with job type identification information and job submitter identification information. Here, the correspondence is made by the print job including job type identification information and job submitter identification information.

  The job type identification information is information for identifying the type of print job. The types of print jobs include the range of users who are allowed to submit the print job to the multifunction device 100 and the range of users who are permitted to execute (print) the print job submitted to the multifunction device 100. It means a specific group that is the same. Accordingly, the job type identification information includes at least information for identifying the specific group.

  Although not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, a specific type of document image data (file) created by the application is assigned a name (file name) including a common part according to a predetermined rule for each type. The The print job created by the print job generation unit 172 based on the document image data is given the file name as the print job name. In this case, print jobs having a common part in the print job name become print jobs belonging to the same group, and the common part becomes job type identification information. Here, the specific type of document image data is, for example, document image data including highly sensitive information such as blueprints, monthly expense totals, customer lists, and the like. The file name to which the symbol is added, the file name to which the symbol indicating the month and the department is added to the characters of “monthly expense”, the file name to which the symbol indicating the product number of the product is added to the characters of “customer”, and the like are given. Such file name management can be realized by restricting the file names that can be used on the application (or on the backbone system) in terms of software and prohibiting file name changes in terms of software.

  The job submitter identification information is information for identifying the user who submitted the print job. In the present embodiment, when the user starts using the information processing terminal 170, the user identification information is requested to be input. When the print job is generated, the print job generation unit 172 displays the user identification information. It is given to the print job as job submitter identification information. The user identification information may be information that can identify the user. In the present embodiment, a user ID uniquely assigned to each user is used as user identification information. Note that the input of user identification information may be requested at the time of print job generation.

  Next, the multifunction device 100 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the multifunction peripheral 100 includes a job information acquisition unit 401, a job submission permission unit 402, a job holding unit 403, an identification information input unit 404, a print permission unit 405, and a print execution unit 406. The multifunction peripheral 100 itself can also generate a print job with job type identification information and job submitter identification information when receiving an instruction to copy or output document image data held in the HDD 304.

  The job information acquisition unit 401 acquires job type identification information and job submitter identification information included in a newly submitted print job. The newly submitted print job includes a print job generated in the multifunction peripheral 100 and a print job input from an external device such as the information processing terminal 170 via the network interface 161.

  The job submission permission unit 402 determines whether or not the job type identification information and job submitter identification information acquired by the job information acquisition unit 401 satisfy previously registered job submission permission conditions. Although not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, the job submission permission unit 402 records job type identification information and user identification information (job submitter ID) of a person who can submit a print job in association with each other. An input permission list is registered in advance. If the combination of job type identification information and job submitter identification information acquired by the job information acquisition unit 401 is included in the job submission permission list, the job submission permission unit 402 satisfies the job submission permission condition. judge.

  When the job submission permission unit 402 determines that the job submission permission condition is satisfied, a print job having the job type identification information and job submitter identification information (that is, a newly generated print job) is held in the job holding unit 403. The The print job held in the job holding unit 403 is in a state of waiting for printing in the image forming unit 140.

  The identification information input unit 404 is used to input identification information for identifying the user to the multifunction device 100. As described above, in the present embodiment, the user identification information is a user ID uniquely assigned to each user.

  In the present embodiment, the identification information input unit 404 is configured by an IC card reader 308. When an IC card that is a portable storage medium is placed at the reading position of the IC card reader 308, the IC card reader 308 reads user identification information stored in the IC card. Further, instead of the IC card, other portable storage media such as a magnetic card and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory can be used. In this case, the identification information input unit 404 has a configuration (magnetic guard reader, USB interface, etc.) corresponding to the portable storage medium. Further, the user identification information may be input using the software keyboard displayed on the touch panel 201 or the numeric keypad 210 as the identification information input unit 404 without using a portable storage medium. In this case, the operation panel 200 is configured to permit at least input of user identification information.

  The print permission unit 405 determines whether the user identification information input through the identification information input unit 404 satisfies a print permission condition registered in advance in association with the job type identification information. Although not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, the print permission unit 405 stores in advance a print permission list in which job type identification information and user identification information (printable person ID) of a person who can execute printing are recorded in association with each other. It is registered. If the combination of the job type identification information acquired from the print job held by the job holding unit 403 and the user identification information input through the identification information input unit 404 is included in the print permission list, the print permission unit 405 is included. Determines that the print permission condition is satisfied.

  When the user identification information input through the identification information input unit 404 satisfies the print permission condition associated with the job type identification information acquired from the print job held by the job holding unit 403, the print execution unit 406 When the unit 405 determines, the print job is input to the image forming unit 140. As a result, the print job is executed.

  In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment includes an authentication unit 411 and a time measuring unit 412. The authentication unit 411 collates the user identification information input through the identification information input unit 404 with previously registered authentication conditions. In the present embodiment, a use-permitted person list in which user IDs of persons who are permitted to use the multifunction machine 100 are registered in the authentication unit 411 in advance, and the user ID acquired by the identification information input unit 404 is the authorized user. When included in the list, the authentication unit 411 determines that the authentication condition is satisfied. If the authentication unit 411 satisfies the authentication condition, the authentication unit 411 performs a login process and permits the user to use the multifunction device 100. If the authentication condition is not satisfied, the login process is not performed and the use of the multifunction device 100 is prohibited. Although not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, use of the multifunction device 100 is prohibited by not accepting an operation through the operation panel 200 until the authentication condition is satisfied. In this embodiment, the user identification information recorded in the job submission permission list and the print permission list is included in the authorized user list. The timer unit 412 is configured by a timer that measures time and outputs the time information. Here, the time measuring unit 412 is configured to be able to measure the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print job input procedure executed by the multifunction peripheral 100. The procedure proceeds with, for example, the recognition of a new print job, that is, the generation of a print job in the own machine or the input of a print job from an external device as a trigger (step S501 Yes). Hereinafter, a case where a print job is input from the information processing terminal 170 to the multifunction peripheral 100 and job information of the print job is acquired by the job information acquisition unit 401 will be described.

  First, the user inputs an instruction to print document image data at the information processing terminal 170. Here, the multifunction peripheral 100 is designated as the output destination. When the user instructs execution of printing, the print job generation unit 172 generates a print job based on the instruction. At this time, the print job generation unit 172 includes the file name (print job name) including the job type identification information and the user identification information of the user who generated the print job, which functions as job submitter identification information, in the print job.

  The print job generation unit 172 that has completed the generation of the print job transmits the print job to the multifunction peripheral 100 designated as the output destination via the network interface 171. The network interface 161 that has received the print job via the network 162 inputs the received print job to the job information acquisition unit 401.

  The job information acquisition unit 401 extracts job type identification information and job submitter identification information from the input print job (step S502). The job information acquisition unit 401 inquires of the job submission permission unit 402 whether or not the combination of the extracted job type identification information and job submitter identification information satisfies the job submission permission condition (step S503).

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a job submission permission list registered in advance in the job submission permission unit 402. As shown in FIG. 6, the job submission permission list 601 is a table that records job type identification information and job submitter IDs in association with each other. In the example of FIG. 6, job type identification information such as “design”, “monthly expense”, and “customer” is registered. In each job type identification information, a user ID of a person who can submit a job is registered.

  In the example of FIG. 6, the user ID “A001” is associated with the job type identification information “design”. Further, the user IDs “A002” and “A003” are associated with the job type identification information “monthly expense”. The user ID “A002” is associated with the job type identification information “customer”. Therefore, in this example, a print job belonging to the group whose job type identification information is “design” can be input to the multifunction device 100 only by a user whose user ID is “A001”. For example, a print job whose print job name is “design LA1234” belongs to a group whose job type identification information is “design”, and therefore only the user “A001” can enter the multifunction peripheral 100.

  Similarly, a print job belonging to a group whose job type identification information is “monthly expense” can only be input to the multifunction peripheral 100 by a user whose user ID is “A002” or “A003”. In addition, a print job belonging to a group whose job type identification information is “customer” can only be input to the multifunction peripheral 100 by a user whose user ID is “A002”.

  If the combination of the input job type identification information and job submitter identification information is not included in the job submission permission list, the job submission permission unit 402 determines that the job submission permission condition is not satisfied, and notifies the job The information acquisition unit 401 is notified (No in step S503). Upon receiving the notification, the job information acquisition unit 401 deletes the print job (step S505). At this time, the job information acquisition unit 401 may notify the transmission source of the print job that the print job cannot be accepted.

  On the other hand, when the combination of the input job type identification information and job submitter identification information is included in the job submission permission list, the job submission permission unit 402 determines that the job submission permission condition is satisfied, and indicates that. The job information acquisition unit 401 is notified (Yes in step S503). Upon receiving the notification, the job information acquisition unit 401 inputs the print job to the job holding unit 403 (step S504). At this time, the job information acquisition unit 401 inputs job type identification information of the print job input to the job holding unit 403 to the print permission unit 405. Although not particularly limited, in this embodiment, the job information acquisition unit 401 inputs a print job name including job type identification information to the print permission unit 405. The print permission unit 405 holds the print job name until an erasure instruction (to be described later) is input.

  As described above, in the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment, a person who does not have the authority to submit a print job to the multifunction peripheral 100 cannot submit a print job. Further, whether or not the print job can be submitted can be managed only by the registered contents of the job submission permission list in the multifunction peripheral 100.

  Next, an output procedure of the print job held in the job holding unit 403 as described above will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print execution procedure executed by the multifunction peripheral 100. The procedure proceeds with the input of user identification information to the multifunction peripheral 100 as a trigger (Yes in step S701).

  First, the user logs in to the multifunction device 100 by inputting user identification information (user ID) through the identification information input unit 404 of the multifunction device 100. As described above, when the user identification information input from the identification information input unit 404 is included in the authorized user list, the authentication unit 411 enters a state in which the operation through the operation panel 200 of the user is accepted, and the usage permission is obtained. If it is not included in the operator list, a state in which an operation through the operation panel 200 is not accepted is maintained.

  If the authentication unit 411 determines that the authentication condition is satisfied (the user identification information is included in the authorized user list), the authentication unit 411 notifies the print permission unit 405 to that effect. Upon receiving the notification, the print permission unit 405 determines whether the combination of the user identification information input from the identification information input unit 404 and the job type identification information input from the job information acquisition unit 401 satisfies the print permission condition. Is determined (step S702). As described above, in this embodiment, since the print job name is input from the job information acquisition unit 401, the print permission unit 405 extracts the job type identification information from the print job name and performs the determination. . When a plurality of print job names are held in the print permission unit 405, the determination is performed for each print job name held in the print permission unit 405.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print permission list registered in advance in the print permission unit 405. As shown in FIG. 8, the print permission list 801 is a table that records job type identification information and printable person IDs in association with each other. In the example of FIG. 8, job type identification information such as “design”, “monthly expense”, “customer”, and the like is registered as in the job submission permission list shown in FIG. In each job type identification information, a user ID of a person who can print is registered.

  In the example of FIG. 8, user IDs “A001”, “A002”, “A003”, and “B012” are associated with the job type identification information “design”. Further, the user IDs “A002” and “A004” are associated with the job type identification information “monthly expense”. The user ID “A002” is associated with the job type identification information “customer”. Therefore, in this example, a print job belonging to the group whose job type identification information is “design” is the user who has the user ID “A001”, “A002”, “A003”, or “B012” in the image forming unit 140. Can print. Similarly, print jobs belonging to the group whose job type identification information is “monthly expense” can be printed by the image forming unit 140 by a user whose user ID is “A002” or “A004”. A print job belonging to a group whose job type identification information is “customer” can be printed by the image forming unit 140 only by a user whose user ID is “A002”. In this example, the user “A003” can input a print job belonging to the group whose job type identification information is “monthly expense”, but cannot execute the print job. Such a setting is useful, for example, when a person who performs proxy execution only for print job input is designated.

  When the combination of the extracted job type identification information and the user identification information input from the identification information input unit 404 is not included in the print permission list, the print permission unit 405 determines that the print permission condition is not satisfied (step S <b> 405). S702 No). For example, in the state where the print job “design LA1234” belonging to the job type identification information “design” input by the user “A001” is held in the job holding unit 403, the user with the user ID “A005” If it is assumed that the user has logged in to the multifunction peripheral 100, the print permission unit 405 determines that the print permission condition is not satisfied. If it is determined that the print permission condition is not satisfied, the print permission unit 405 ends the procedure without performing any special processing.

  On the other hand, when the combination of the extracted job type identification information and the user identification information input from the identification information input unit 404 is included in the print permission list, the print permission unit 405 determines that the print permission condition is satisfied, A print job name that satisfies the print permission conditions is notified to the print execution unit 406 (Yes in step S702). For example, if the user having the user ID “B012” logs in to the multifunction peripheral 100 while the job holding unit 403 holds the above-described print job “design LA1234”, the print permission unit 405 It is determined that the permission condition is satisfied.

  Although not particularly limited, in this embodiment, the print execution unit 406 notified of the print job name prints to the user such as “There is a print job permitted to print. Do you want to print?” On the display 201. A message for inquiring whether execution is necessary is displayed, and an answer “print” or “do not print” is received from the user (step S703). If the answer from the user is “do not print”, the print execution unit 406 ends the procedure without performing any special processing (No in step S703).

  If the answer from the user is “print”, the print execution unit 406 reads out the print job corresponding to the input print job name from the job holding unit 403 and inputs it to the image forming unit 140 (Yes in step S703). , S704). As a result, the print job is executed (printed). The print execution unit 406 waits until the printing is completed (No in step S705), and when the printing is completed, instructs the job holding unit 403 to erase the print job that has been printed (Yes in steps S705 and S706). When the erasing of the print job is completed, the job holding unit 403 inputs that fact to the print permission unit 405. At this time, the print permission unit 405 deletes the print job name corresponding to the deleted print job. As a result, the print permission unit 405 always holds the print job name of the print job held in the job holding unit 403. In this embodiment, since the file name is used as the print job name, print jobs having the same print job name may be held in the job holding unit 403. In this case, based on the time information output from the timer unit 412, a new print job name in which a time stamp indicating the input time is added to the print job name is used for management in the multifunction peripheral 100. If so, no problem will occur.

  As described above, in the MFP 100 according to the present embodiment, when executing a print job, it is determined whether or not the user has the authority to execute the print job, and the user has the authority to execute the print job. A person who does not have permission to execute a print job input to the multifunction peripheral 100 is not permitted. Whether or not the print job can be executed can be managed only by the registered contents of the print permission list in the multifunction peripheral 100.

  As described above, in the MFP 100 according to the present embodiment, the user who can input a print job to the MFP 100 and the user who can execute the print job in the MFP 100 are registered in the MFP 100 in advance. Therefore, for example, regardless of whether it is intentional or not, it is possible to reliably prevent a user who has the authority to submit a print job from permitting printing to a user who should not be permitted to print. . That is, it is possible to appropriately manage printing of image data with high security. Further, since the management can be realized only by the registered contents of the job submission permission list and the print permission list in the multifunction peripheral 100, it is very simple.

  In the above configuration, when the user logs in, the user is notified that there is a print job that is permitted to be printed, and only a response indicating whether printing is necessary is requested. However, from the viewpoint of further improving the security, it is also possible to employ a configuration that requires the input of a special password through the operation panel 200 at the time of a print instruction in order to confirm the legitimacy of the user more reliably. In this case, the password may be set in advance in the MFP 100, or may be set in the print job itself when the job is submitted.

  Further, in the multifunction peripheral 100, the job holding unit 403 automatically deletes a print job that has been held for a predetermined time (for example, 2 hours) based on the time information output from the time measuring unit 412. Can be adopted. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent a print job for which printing is not executed from being left in the job holding unit 403. As a result, it is possible to prevent the memory of the MFP 100 from being unduly occupied, and in terms of security, high-density print jobs continue to be left unattended and even job submitters forget to submit print jobs. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of such a situation.

  Further, in the above-described multifunction peripheral 100, when a plurality of printable person IDs are registered in one job type identification information in the print permission list, any user can execute the print job. . However, a configuration may be adopted in which a specific user included in the plurality of printable person IDs is designated as a printer at the time of print job generation. With this configuration, it is possible to reliably distribute the printed matter only to a specific user who can execute the print job. For example, the job submission permission unit 402 that has determined that the job submission permission condition is satisfied notifies the print permission unit 405 of the job type identification information, and the print permission unit 405 performs information processing in response to the notification. This can be easily realized by notifying the terminal 170 of a user who can execute a print job having the job type identification information and selecting a designated printer from the notified user on the information processing terminal 170. Then, when the print job generation unit 172 generates a print job including the selected user identification information, and the print permission unit 405 determines the print permission condition, it further determines a match with the specified user identification information. Thus, printing by only the designated user can be realized.

  As described above, in this multi-function device 100, only a user registered in advance in the multi-function device 100 is allowed to input a print job, and execution of the print job is also performed only by a user registered in advance in the multi-function device 100. Allowed. Therefore, printing of image data can be appropriately managed by a simple operation of registration in the multifunction peripheral 100. This method is particularly suitable for managing highly sensitive image data.

  The above-described embodiments do not limit the technical scope of the present invention, and various modifications and applications other than those already described are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the common part included in the file name is used as the job type identification information. However, any information can be used as long as the information can identify a specific group. For example, an identifier uniquely assigned to each group (an ID made up of a specific character string or the like) may be separately added according to the file name.

  Further, in the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the order of the steps can be appropriately changed within a range where the equivalent operation is achieved. For example, in FIG. 5, the same effect can be obtained even in a configuration in which only job information is transmitted to the multi-function peripheral 100 before submitting a print job and a print job is transmitted only when the job submission permission condition is satisfied. . In FIG. 7, the same effect can be obtained even if the job holding unit 403 deletes the corresponding print job in step S <b> 703 when the print execution unit 406 reads the print job.

  In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is embodied as a digital multifunction peripheral. However, the present invention is not limited to a digital multifunction peripheral, and the present invention is applied to an arbitrary image forming apparatus having a printing function such as a printer and a copying machine. Is also possible.

  Further, in the above description, a configuration is described in which a multifunction peripheral as an image forming apparatus includes all of an image forming unit, a job information acquisition unit, a job input permission unit, a job holding unit, an identification information input unit, a print permission unit, and a print execution unit. However, each unit may be appropriately configured as a separate body and configured as an image forming system connected through a network or the like. For example, a job submission permission device including the above-described job information acquisition unit, job submission permission unit, and job holding unit, a print execution device including an identification information input unit, a print permission unit, and a print execution unit, and image data on a sheet Even when the image forming apparatus is configured separately from the image forming apparatus to be printed, the same effect as that of the multifunction machine of the above embodiment can be obtained. In such an image forming system, for example, a job input permission device and a print execution device can be shared by a plurality of image forming apparatuses.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately manage printing of highly sensitive image data, which is useful as an image forming apparatus and an image forming system.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 MFP 140 Image forming part 161,171 Network interface 200 Operation panel 401 Job information acquisition part 402 Job input permission part 403 Job holding part 404 Identification information input part 405 Print permission part 406 Print execution part

Claims (4)

An image forming unit that prints image data on paper;
A job information acquisition unit that acquires job type identification information and job submitter identification information from a newly submitted print job;
A job submission permission unit that determines whether the job type identification information and the job submitter identification information acquired by the job information acquisition unit satisfy a pre-registered job submission permission condition;
If it is determined that the job submission permission unit satisfies the job submission permission condition, a job holding unit that holds the print job having the job type identification information and job submitter identification information;
An identification information input unit for inputting user identification information;
A print permission unit that determines whether the user identification information input through the identification information input unit satisfies a print permission condition registered in advance in association with the job type identification information;
When the print permission unit determines that the user identification information input through the identification information input unit satisfies the print permission condition associated with the job type identification information acquired from the print job held by the job holding unit A print execution unit for inputting the print job to the image forming unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the job holding unit deletes a print job that has been held for a predetermined time. The print permission unit determines that the print permission condition is satisfied when the user identification information input through the identification information input unit matches any of the plurality of user identification information associated with the job type identification information,
The job holding unit deletes a print job corresponding to the printing when printing in the image forming unit based on specific user identification information included in the plurality of user identification information is completed. The image forming apparatus described. An image forming apparatus for printing image data on paper;
A job information acquisition unit for acquiring job type identification information and job submitter identification information from a print job newly input to the image forming apparatus;
A job submission permission unit for determining whether the job type identification information and the job submitter identification information acquired by the job information acquisition unit satisfy a job submission permission condition registered in advance;
A job holding unit that holds a print job corresponding to the job type identification information and the job submitter identification information when the job submission permission unit determines that the job submission permission condition is satisfied;
A job submission permission device comprising:
An identification information input unit for inputting user identification information;
A print permission unit for determining whether the user identification information input through the identification information input unit satisfies a print permission condition registered in advance in association with the job type identification information;
When the user identification information input through the identification information input unit satisfies the print permission condition associated with the job type identification information acquired from the print job held by the job holding unit of the job submission permission device, the print permission is performed. A print execution unit that inputs the print job to the image forming apparatus,
A print execution device comprising:
An image forming system comprising:

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