JP2015103994A - Information processor and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor and an image forming system capable of outputting an appropriate print result for an appropriate user without requiring troublesome operations such as removal of identification information for limiting printout from drawing data, and outputting a print result with the identification information for limiting printout certainly added thereto for an inappropriate user.SOLUTION: Provided is an information processor and an image forming system which include: a reception section for receiving print job data in which print data and login information are associated with each other, the print data containing image information and control information for controlling output of the image information added to the image information; a determination section for determining whether or not the user specified by the login information is a prescribed user; a removal section for removing the control information from the print data when the determination section determines the user specified is a prescribed user; and an output section for outputting, as the print job data, the print data having the control information removed therefrom by the removal section, to an image processor.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an image forming system, and particularly relates to a security function for an output image of an image processing apparatus.

  For example, identification information (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a watermark) for controlling print output is added to drawing data processed by an image processing apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine, and drawing is performed in a limited state. There is one that enhances security by printing data (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-175773 A

  However, in the conventional technique, when a user having security authority outputs original drawing data as a printed matter, an operation for removing the identification information is separately required, which is troublesome and does not add identification information from the beginning. In some cases, there was a security vulnerability, and both could not be satisfied at the same time.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and the problem of the present invention is that it does not require a cumbersome operation such as removing identification information for restricting print output from drawing data, and can be applied to an appropriate user. Provides an information processing apparatus and an image forming system capable of outputting an appropriate print result and outputting a print result with identification information for restricting the print output to an inappropriate user. It is to be.

  In order to solve the above problems, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention receives print job data in which print data in which control information for controlling output of image information is added to image information and login information are associated with each other. A receiving unit, a determining unit that determines whether or not the user specified by the login information is a predetermined user, and the control information from the print data when the determining unit determines that the predetermined user is the predetermined user. A removal unit that performs a process of removing image data, and an output unit that outputs the print data from which the control information has been removed by the removal unit to the image processing apparatus as the print job data.

  Another information processing apparatus according to the present invention is an information processing apparatus that generates information to be output by an image processing apparatus from information acquired from a user terminal and outputs the information to the image processing apparatus. A login information extraction unit that extracts user identification information by analyzing information output from the image processing apparatus acquired from the user, user management information acquired from a user information management apparatus that manages users, and the login information extraction An authentication processing unit that authenticates the user by referring to the user identification information extracted by the unit, and information that controls an image output result in the information output by the image processing apparatus, and the authentication processing unit When the user authentication is successful, the watermark removal that removes the information that controls the image output result and generates the information that the image processing apparatus outputs the image is performed. It is characterized in that it comprises a part.

  Furthermore, the image forming system according to the present invention includes: a transmission unit that transmits print job data in which print information in which control information for controlling output of the image information is added to image information and login information is associated; and the transmission A receiving unit that receives the print job data transmitted by a copy unit, a determination unit that determines whether or not the user specified by the login information is a predetermined user, and the determination unit is the predetermined user A removal unit that performs a process of removing the restriction information from the drawing data when determined; an output unit that outputs the print data from which the control information has been removed by the removal unit as the print job data; and the output unit And a printing unit that performs printing based on the print job data output from the printer.

  According to the present invention, it is not necessary to perform troublesome operations such as removing identification information for restricting print output from drawing data, and an appropriate print result is output to an appropriate user. Therefore, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus and an image forming system capable of outputting a print result to which identification information for restricting print output is added.

It is a system configuration figure explaining the composition of a 1st embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the internal structure of the host computer 120 which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the internal structure of the server computer 130 which concerns on 1st Embodiment. 3 is an example of a configuration example of print job data 200 generated by a printer driver 1271. 4 is an example of a configuration example of print job data 200 ′ to which a watermark generated by a printer driver 1271 is added. 10 is a flowchart illustrating processing until print job data with a watermark added is transmitted from the host computer 120 to the server computer 130; 4 is a flowchart for explaining processing until the server computer 130 receives print job data transmitted from the host computer 120 and transmits it to the network printer 110. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print output result output from the network printer 110. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print output result output from the network printer 110. FIG. It is a block diagram explaining the internal structure of host computer 120 'which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the internal structure of server computer 130 'which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. 10 is a flowchart for explaining processing until the server computer 130 ′ receives print job data transmitted from the host computer 120 ′ and transmits it to the network printer 110.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited to the following description, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention, it can change suitably.

[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram illustrating the configuration of the present embodiment. In the description of the present embodiment, an image forming system configured by connecting information processing apparatuses according to the present invention via a network 100 will be described. The network 100 is a LAN (Local Area Network) operated in an office or the like.

  The network printer 110 as an image processing apparatus includes, for example, a print engine as a printing unit such as an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method, and prints out print data included in print job data received via the network 100. It is a possible image processing apparatus.

  For the host computer 120 as a user terminal, for example, hardware resources such as a PC (Personal Computer) can be used, and print job data can be obtained from unillustrated text and document data created through a chart creation application program. It is a terminal that can be generated and transmitted via the network 100. The configuration of the host computer 120 will be described later.

  For the server computer 130 as the information processing apparatus, for example, hardware resources such as a PC, a dedicated network device, and a PC peripheral device and dedicated software resources can be used, and a plurality of network printers can be connected via a network. The print server can be used from the host computer. In the description of the present embodiment, a PC is assumed as the server computer 130, and print job data received from the host computer 120 via the network 100 can be transmitted to the network printer 110. The configuration of the server computer 130 will be described later.

  The server computer 140 as a user information management apparatus is a directory service server that can use hardware resources such as a PC and manages user management information using the network 100. Examples of the service include LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol).

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the host computer 120 according to the present embodiment. The host computer 120 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 121, an operation / display unit 122, a communication control unit 123, a random access memory (RAM) 125, a hard disk drive (HDD) 126, and an operating system (OS). 127, a printer driver 1271, and a CPU 121, an operation / display unit 122, a communication control unit 123, a RAM 125, and an HDD 126 are connected via a system bus 124.

  The CPU 121 is composed of a microprocessor and the like, and controls the various devices connected via the system bus 124 and the various programs installed in the HDD 126 to control the entire host computer 120.

  The operation / display unit 122 includes, for example, an input unit such as a keyboard and a mouse and a display unit such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). Various information display is performed.

  The communication control unit 123 includes a communication control unit based on a TCP / IP protocol such as a network interface, and controls bidirectional data communication via the network 100.

  The system bus 124 is an electric signal line that connects the CPU 121 and various devices.

  The RAM 125 is a volatile storage device for temporarily reading or writing data. The RAM 125 also includes a job data area 1251 for storing print job data.

  The HDD 126 is a nonvolatile storage device for storing various programs and reading or writing data.

  The OS 127 is a program that manages the entire computer system installed in the HDD 126.

  The printer driver 1271 is a program incorporated in the OS 127, generates print job data from document data created through a text and chart creation application program (not shown), and stores the print job data in the job data area 1251 of the RAM 125. Is stored as a spool file. The printer driver 1271 manages the spool file stored in the job data area 1251 and transmits data via the communication control unit 123. The printer driver 1271 having such a function includes a data processing unit 12711, a watermark adding unit 12712, and a data transmission unit 12713.

  The data processing unit 12711 generates print job data using print paper information, print document name, login information, and the like as job information and drawing data as print data, and it is necessary to add a watermark to the generated print job data , A program for passing the print job data to the watermark adding unit 12712. On the other hand, if it is not necessary to add a watermark to the generated print job data, the data processing unit 12711 directly stores the generated print job data in the job data area 1251.

  The watermark adding unit 12712 is a program that adds a watermark to the print data included in the print job data delivered from the data processing unit 12711 and stores it in the job data area 1251.

  The data transmission unit 12713 is a program that transmits the print job data stored in the job data area 1251 to the server computer 140 via the communication control unit 123.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the server computer 130 according to the present embodiment. The server computer 130 includes a CPU 131, an operation / display unit 132, a communication control unit 133, a RAM 135, an HDD 136, an OS 137, and security software 1371, and the CPU 131, the operation / display unit 132, and the communication control unit. 133, the RAM 135, and the HDD 136 are connected via a system bus 134.

  The CPU 131 is composed of a microprocessor and the like, and comprehensively controls various devices connected to the system bus 134 and various programs installed in the HDD 136 to control the entire server computer 130.

  The operation / display unit 132 includes, for example, an input unit such as a keyboard and a mouse and a display unit such as a CRT and an LCD, and accepts an information input operation by a user and displays various information such as device information.

  The communication control unit 133 includes, for example, a communication control unit based on a TCP / IP protocol such as a network interface, and controls bidirectional data communication via the network 100.

  The system bus 134 is an electrical signal line that connects the CPU 131 and various devices.

  The RAM 135 is a volatile storage device for temporarily reading or writing data.

  The HDD 136 is a non-volatile storage device for storing various programs and reading or writing data.

  The OS 137 is a program that manages the entire computer system installed in the HDD 136.

  The security software 1371 is a program incorporated in the OS 137, analyzes print job data received from the host computer 120 via the network 100, and transmits the print job data to the network printer 110. The security software 1371 having such functions includes a reception processing unit 13711 as a reception unit, a login information extraction unit 13712, an authentication processing unit 13713 as a determination unit, a watermark removal unit 13714 as a removal unit, and an output Part 13715.

  The reception processing unit 13711 is a program that receives print job data from the host computer 120 via the network 100.

  The login information extraction unit 13712 is a program that analyzes the print job data received by the reception processing unit 13711, extracts the login information, and then passes the extracted login information to the authentication processing unit 13713.

  The authentication processing unit 13713 compares the login information extracted by the login information extraction unit 13712 with the user management information registered in the server computer 140 that is the directory service server, and matches the user specified by the login information. This is a program for determining whether or not user management information to be present exists. The authentication processing unit 13713 is a program that passes print job data to the watermark removal unit 13714 or the output unit 13715 based on the determination result of whether or not user management information that matches the user specified by the login information exists. is there.

  The watermark removal unit 13714 is a program that removes the watermark added to the print data included in the print job data and regenerates the print job data.

  The output unit 13715 analyzes the job information of the print job data, and after the communication control unit 133, the watermark removal unit 13714 removes the watermark and regenerates the print job data or the watermark remains added. A program for transmitting print job data to the network printer 110.

  FIG. 4 is an example of a configuration example of the print job data 200 generated by the printer driver 1271. The printer driver 1271 according to the present embodiment includes a print job including job information 201 including paper size, paper thickness, duplex / single side setting, document name, transmission destination, login information, and print data 202 including drawing data. Data 200 is generated.

  On the other hand, FIG. 5 is an example of a configuration example of the print job data 200 ′ to which the watermark generated by the printer driver 1271 is added. The watermark adding unit 12712 of the printer driver 1271 according to the present embodiment generates the print job data 200 ′ by adding the watermark 203 to the print data 202 ′ including drawing data.

  Next, the operation of the image forming system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining processing until print job data with a watermark added is transmitted from the host computer 120 to the server computer 130.

  First, when the OS 127 of the host computer 120 executes printing from an arbitrary application program (not shown) to the network printer 110, the data processing unit 12711 of the printer driver 1271 shown in FIG. 2 displays the print job data shown in FIG. 200 is generated, and the generated print job data 200 is transferred to the watermark adding unit 12712 (step S100).

  Next, in step S101, the watermark adding unit 12712 adds watermark information to the print job data 200 delivered from the data processing unit 12711 to generate the print job data 200 ′ illustrated in FIG. Then, the watermark adding unit 12712 stores the generated print job data 200 ′ in the job data area 1251 of the RAM 125.

  The data transmission unit 12713 transmits the print job data 200 ′ stored in the job data area 1251 to the server computer 130 which is a transmission destination set in advance via the communication control unit 123, and ends the process (step S102). ).

  Incidentally, when it is not necessary to add a watermark to the print job data 200 generated by the data processing unit 12711, the data processing unit 12711 stores the generated print job data 200 directly in the job data area 1251. Then, the data transmission unit 12713 transmits the print job data 200 stored in the job data area 1251 to the server computer 130 which is a transmission destination set in advance via the communication control unit 123, and ends the processing.

  Next, processing until the server computer 130 receives print job data transmitted from the host computer 120 and transmits it to the network printer 110 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, a description will be given of a process in which the server computer 130 receives the print job data 200 ′ with the watermark added and transmits it to the network printer 110.

  First, when the reception processing unit 13711 of the security software 1371 shown in FIG. 3 receives the print job data 200 ′ via the communication control unit 133, it passes this to the login information extraction unit 13712 (step S110).

  In step S111, the login information extraction unit 13712 that has received the print job data 200 ′ from the reception processing unit 13711 extracts the job information 201 illustrated in FIG. 5 from the print job data 200 ′, and includes the extracted job information 201. The login information and the print job data 200 ′ are transferred to the authentication processing unit 13713.

  Next, the authentication processing unit 13713 accesses the server computer 140 via the communication control unit 133 and acquires user management information registered in the server computer 140. The authentication processing unit 13713 compares the user management information acquired from the server computer 140 with the login information passed from the reception processing unit 13711, and the user specified by the login information is included in the user management information. Determine whether or not. Here, when the user specified by the login information is included in the user management information (Yes in step S112), the authentication processing unit 13713 passes the print job data 200 ′ to the watermark removal unit 13714. On the other hand, when the user specified by the login information is not included in the user management information (No in step S112), the authentication processing unit 13713 passes the print job data 200 ′ to the output unit 13715.

  The watermark removal unit 13714 to which the print job data 200 ′ has been passed by the authentication processing unit 13713 removes the watermark 203 from the print data 202 ′ of the print job data 200 ′ illustrated in FIG. 5, and performs the printing illustrated in FIG. The job data 200 is generated again (step S113).

  In step S114, the output unit 13715 outputs the transmission destination included in the job information 201 of the print job data 200 generated again by the watermark removal unit 13714 or the print job data 200 ′ passed by the authentication processing unit 13713 in step S122. After extracting the information, the print job data 200 or the print job data 200 ′ is transmitted to the network printer 110, which is the extracted transmission destination, and the process is terminated.

  If the received print job data is the print job data 200 shown in FIG. 4, the network printer 110 outputs the print output result 300 shown in FIG. 8, and the received print job data is shown in FIG. If the print job data is 200 ′, a print output result 300 ′ with the watermark 301 shown in FIG. 9 is output.

  When the server computer 130 receives the print job data 200 to which no watermark is added and transmits it to the network printer 110, the reception processing unit 13711 of the security software 1371 receives the received print job data 200. Directly passed to the output unit 13715. The output unit 13715 then extracts the transmission destination information included in the job information 201 of the print job data 200, transmits the print job data 200 to the network printer 110 that is the extracted transmission destination, and ends the processing. .

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, an appropriate print result is output to an appropriate user without requiring a troublesome operation of removing identification information for restricting print output from drawing data. For an inappropriate user, it is possible to output a print result to which identification information for restricting print output is added.

[Second Embodiment]
In the second embodiment, in the process according to step S112 of FIG. 7 of the first embodiment, the user management information acquired from the server computer 140 and the login information passed from the reception processing unit 13711 are compared and referenced, When the user specified by the login information is not included in the user management information, the fact is notified to the host computer 120 ′, and when the print output with the watermark added is not necessary, the print is performed. An information processing apparatus and an image forming system that do not perform output will be described. In the description of this embodiment, the same portions and operations as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the host computer 120 ′ according to this embodiment. In addition to the configuration of the host computer 120 according to the first embodiment, the host computer 120 ′ includes a printer driver 1271 ′ installed in the HDD 126 ′ and incorporated in the OS 127 ′.

  The printer driver 1271 ′ includes a print continuation determination unit 12714 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment. The print continuation determination unit 12714 determines whether or not to continue printing the print job data with the watermark added based on the notification of the login information authentication result from the server computer 130 ′. The print continuation determination unit 12714 previously holds print continuation information, which is input by the user via the operation / display unit 122 and is information regarding whether or not to continue printing, and the login information authentication result from the server computer 130 ′. The server computer 130 'is notified of whether or not printing is continued.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the server computer 130 ′ according to the present embodiment. In addition to the configuration of the server computer 130 according to the first embodiment, the server computer 130 ′ includes security software 1371 ′ installed in the HDD 136 ′ and incorporated in the OS 137 ′.

  The security software 1371 ′ includes an authentication result notification unit 13716 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment. If there is no user management information that matches the user specified by the login information as a result of authentication by the authentication processing unit 13713, the authentication result notifying unit 13716 notifies the host computer 120 ′ of this fact.

  Next, the operation of the image forming system according to the present embodiment will be described. The processing until the print job data is transmitted from the host computer 120 ′ to the server computer 130 ′ is the same as that described with reference to FIG. 6 of the first embodiment. Omitted.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining processing until the server computer 130 ′ receives print job data transmitted from the host computer 120 ′ and transmits it to the network printer 110. Note that the processing according to Step S110, Step S111, Step S113, and Step S114 of FIG. 12 is the same as the processing described with reference to FIG. 7 of the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted here.

  In step S112, the authentication processing unit 13713 compares and refers to the user management information acquired from the server computer 140 and the login information passed from the reception processing unit 13711, and the user specified by the login information is included in the user management information. Judge whether it is included. Here, when the user specified by the login information is included in the user management information (Yes in step S112), the authentication processing unit 13713 passes the print job data 200 ′ to the watermark removal unit 13714. On the other hand, when the user specified by the login information is not included in the user management information (No in step S112), the authentication processing unit 13713 notifies the authentication result notification unit 13716 of that fact.

  Upon receiving the notification, the authentication result notifying unit 13716 notifies the host computer 120 ′ via the communication control unit 136 that the user specified by the login information is not included in the user management information (step S115).

  The print continuation determination unit 12714 of the host computer 120 ′ determines whether or not to continue printing the print job data with the watermark added based on the notification of the login information authentication result from the server computer 130 ′, and continues printing. Is notified to the server computer 130 ′.

  If the determination result of the print continuation determination unit 12714 is continuation of printing (Yes in step S116), the authentication processing unit 13713 of the server computer 130 ′ passes the print job data 200 ′ to the output unit 13715. On the other hand, if the determination result of the print continuation determination unit 12714 is not print continuation (No in step S116), the authentication processing unit 13713 discards the print job data 200 ′ and ends the process.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the user specified by the login information is not included in the user management information, and the printing result is added with the watermark. Can be prevented from being printed.

  The present invention can be applied to an information processing apparatus such as a host computer and a server computer connected to a network, a printer, a FAX, an MFP, a copier, a scanner, and an image processing apparatus connected to the network. In the description of the present embodiment, one host computer and two server computers have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be realized by a single computer.

100 Network 110 Network printer 120, 120 ′ Host computer 121 CPU
122 Operation / Display Unit 123 Communication Control Unit 124 System Bus 125 RAM
1251 Job data area 126, 126 ′ HDD
127, 127 'OS
1271, 1271 ′ Printer driver 12711 Data processing unit 12712 Watermark adding unit 12713 Data transmission unit 12714 Print continuation determining unit 130, 130 ′ Server computer 131 CPU
132 Operation / Display Unit 133 Communication Control Unit 134 System Bus 135 RAM
136, 136 'HDD
137, 137 'OS
1371, 1371 ′ Security software 13711 Reception processing unit 13712 Login information extraction unit 13713 Authentication processing unit 13714 Watermark removal unit 13715 Output unit 13716 Authentication result notification unit 140 Server computer

Claims (7)

A receiving unit that receives print job data in which print information in which control information for controlling output of the image information is added to image information and login information is associated;
A determination unit that determines whether the user specified by the login information is a predetermined user;
A removal unit that performs a process of removing the control information from the print data when the determination unit determines that the user is the predetermined user;
An information processing apparatus comprising: an output unit that outputs the print data from which the control information has been removed by the removing unit to the image processing apparatus as the print job data. The said determination part determines whether the user specified by the said login information is a predetermined user based on the user management information acquired from the user information management apparatus which manages a user. The information processing apparatus described in 1. An authentication result notification unit for notifying the user of an authentication failure notification when the determination unit determines that the user is not the predetermined user;
3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print job data is discarded when it is determined that the image output is not continued based on the notification that authentication cannot be performed. A transmission unit for transmitting print job data in which print data in which control information for controlling output of the image information is added to image information and login information are associated;
A receiving unit for receiving the print job data transmitted by the transmitting unit;
A determination unit that determines whether the user specified by the login information is a predetermined user;
A removal unit that performs a process of removing the restriction information from the drawing data when the determination unit determines that the user is the predetermined user;
An output unit that outputs the print data from which the control information has been removed by the removal unit as the print job data;
An image forming system comprising: a printing unit that performs printing based on the print job data output by the output unit. The determination unit determines whether or not a user specified by the login information is a predetermined user based on user management information acquired from a user information management apparatus that manages users. The image forming system described in 1. An authentication result notification unit for notifying the user of an authentication failure notification when the determination unit determines that the user is not the predetermined user;
The image forming system according to claim 4, wherein when it is determined that image output is not continued based on the authentication failure notification, the print job data is discarded. An information processing apparatus that generates information output from an image processing apparatus from information acquired from a user terminal and outputs the generated information to the image processing apparatus.
A login information extraction unit that extracts user identification information by analyzing information output by the image processing apparatus acquired from the user terminal;
An authentication processing unit that authenticates the user by referring to the user management information acquired from the user information management device that manages the user and the identification information of the user extracted by the login information extraction unit;
When the image output information includes information for controlling an image output result, and the authentication processing unit succeeds in authenticating a user, the information for controlling the image output result is removed and the image is output. An information processing apparatus comprising: a watermark removal unit that generates information to be output by the processing apparatus.