JP2017224321A - Image processing device, image processing device control method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an arrangement that limits a destination of an electronic mail to be transmitted with image data attached, but makes no limitation as to a destination of the electronic mail for notifying a transmission end of the electronic mail.SOLUTION: An image processing device comprises: reading means for reading manuscripts to create image data; electronic mail transmission means for executing transmission of the electronic mail having the image data attached; end notification mail transmission means for executing transmission of an end notification mail for notifying an end of the transmission of the electronic mail according to the end of the transmission of the electronic mail; and setting means for setting so that a destination enabling transmission of the end notification mail is not limited to an electronic mail address of a user logging on to the image processing device, and a destination enabling transmission of the electronic mail is limited to the electronic mail of the user logging on to the image processing device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that transmits image data, a control method for the image processing apparatus, and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image processing apparatus having an operation key “send mail to self” is known (Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, when the operation key “send mail to yourself” is operated, the mail address of the user who operates the image processing apparatus is set as the destination of the image data. Thereby, it is possible for a user who wants to send image data to his / her mail address to reduce the trouble of inputting his / her mail address.

  In recent years, “end notification” of an image processing apparatus is known. “End notification” is a function for notifying a predetermined destination by e-mail when a scan job, a copy job, or the like ends. As a result, when it takes time to execute a scan job or a copy job, the user can once move to another location and confirm the end by notification.

JP 2006-101484 A

  When image data is attached to an e-mail and transmitted, the image data is erroneously transmitted to an inappropriate destination, which may lead to information leakage. In addition, a malicious user may intentionally send image data to an inappropriate destination.

  In order to cope with such a situation, it is conceivable to limit the destinations that can be set as the destinations of e-mails to a predetermined mail address. As a result, since an electronic mail is not transmitted to a place other than a predetermined mail address, it is possible to prevent image data from being transmitted to an incorrect or intentionally inappropriate destination.

  As a specific method of address restriction, for example, it is conceivable to limit an address that can be set as an e-mail address to an e-mail address set in “Send mail to yourself”. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent image data from being transmitted to an inappropriate destination while allowing each user to transmit image data to his / her own mail address.

  However, if the address restriction as described above is applied even to “end notification”, there is a problem that the usability of the user is lowered. In general, “end notification” has less information and less risk of information leakage compared to an e-mail attached with normal image data. Nevertheless, if the notification to other than the predetermined mail address is restricted, the location where the user can receive the notification is limited and the convenience is impaired.

  In particular, when the destinations that can be set as e-mail destinations are limited to the e-mail addresses set in “Send E-mail to me”, the process is terminated to an e-mail address other than the e-mail address of the user who operates the image processing apparatus. It becomes impossible to notify. In this case, for example, when the user A scans and transmits a large number of documents, the user A waits for the next use of the image processing apparatus and the user A completes the scan job. Can not be notified.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and restricts the destination of an email to which image data is attached and transmits the email destination for notifying the end of transmission of the email. Aims to provide a mechanism that does not limit this.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a reading unit that reads a document and generates image data, an e-mail transmitting unit that transmits an e-mail attached with the image data, and an electronic In accordance with the end of the mail transmission, the end notification mail transmitting means for transmitting the end notification mail for notifying the end of the e-mail transmission and the destination to which the end notification mail can be transmitted are logged in to the image processing apparatus. And a setting unit configured to set a destination to which an email can be transmitted without being limited to the user's email address to a user's email address logged into the image processing apparatus.

  According to the present invention, while restricting the destination of an e-mail to which image data is attached, the e-mail destination for notifying the end of transmission of the e-mail is not restricted. Can do.

1 is an overall view of an image processing system in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an MFP 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the authentication server 102 in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the information which the authentication server 102 in embodiment of this invention manages. 6 is a diagram showing an operation screen of the MFP 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an operation screen of the MFP 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a login operation of the MFP 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a first destination setting operation of the MFP 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a second destination setting operation of the MFP 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an address book display operation of the MFP 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a diagram showing an operation screen of the MFP 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an operation screen of the MFP 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission operation of the MFP 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the invention.

  FIG. 1 is an overall view of an image processing system. On a LAN (Local Area Network) 100, an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) 101, an authentication server 102, a mail server 103, and a PC 104 are communicably connected. The MFP 101 is an example of an image processing apparatus. In this embodiment, an MFP is described as an example of an image processing apparatus. However, the MFP may not be an MFP as long as it has a function of transmitting image data, such as a single-function scanner apparatus. The authentication server 102 is an example of an authentication device. In the present embodiment, an example in which the authentication server 102 is provided separately from the MFP 101 will be described. However, the authentication function of the authentication server 102 may be incorporated in the MFP 101. The MFP 101 can transmit an e-mail attached with image data or an end notification mail described later to the PC 104 via the mail server 103. Although one PC 104 is shown here, a plurality of PCs 104 are connected on the LAN 100.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the MFP 101. A control unit 210 including a CPU 211 controls the overall operation of the MFP 101. The CPU 211 reads out a control program stored in the ROM 212 and performs various controls such as reading control and transmission control. The RAM 213 is used as a temporary storage area such as a main memory or work area for the CPU 211. In the MFP 101, one CPU 211 executes each process shown in a flowchart described later using one memory (RAM 213 or HDD 214), but other modes may be used. For example, a plurality of CPUs, a plurality of RAMs, or HDDs can be cooperated to execute each process shown in a flowchart described later.

  The HDD 214 stores image data and various programs. The operation unit I / F 215 connects the operation unit 219 and the control unit 210. The operation unit 219 includes a liquid crystal display unit having a touch panel function, a keyboard, and the like, and functions as a reception unit that receives user instructions.

  A printer I / F 216 connects the printer 220 and the control unit 210. Image data to be printed by the printer 220 is transferred from the control unit 210 via the printer I / F 216 and printed on a recording medium by the printer 220.

  The scanner I / F 217 connects the scanner 221 and the control unit 210. The scanner 221 reads an image on a document, generates image data (image file), and inputs the data to the control unit 210 via the scanner I / F 217. The MFP 101 can send the image data generated by the scanner 221 to a file or mail.

  A network I / F 218 connects the control unit 210 (MFP 101) to the LAN 100. The network I / F 218 transmits various types of information to an external device on the LAN 100 and receives various types of information from the external device on the LAN 100. Further, the MFP 101 has a modem (not shown), and can perform fax transmission / reception via a telephone line.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the authentication server 102. A control unit 310 including a CPU 311 controls the operation of the entire authentication server 102. The CPU 311 reads out the control program stored in the ROM 312 and executes various control processes. The RAM 313 is used as a temporary storage area such as a main memory or work area of the CPU 311. In the authentication server 102, one CPU 311 executes each process shown in a flowchart to be described later using one memory (RAM 313 or HDD 314), but other modes may be used. For example, a plurality of CPUs, a plurality of RAMs, or HDDs can be cooperated to execute each process shown in a flowchart described later.

  The HDD 314 stores image data and various programs. The network I / F 315 connects the control unit 310 (server 102) to the LAN 100. The network I / F 315 transmits and receives various information to and from other devices on the LAN 100.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing information managed by the authentication server 102 in the HDD 314. The authentication server 102 manages a domain including the image processing system shown in FIG. 1 and manages information 401 and 402 necessary for authenticating (identifying) a user and information 403 and 404 related to the user for each user. Yes. The information 401 is a user name that uniquely identifies the user. Here, the information 401 is, for example, an employee code of a company where the MFP 101 is installed, but may be other information.

  FIG. 4 shows user information corresponding to the user name A1001. When the user of A1001 starts to use the MFP 101, it is necessary to input “A1001” as the user name and “xyz” as the password. User information (user name and password) input by the MFP 101 is transmitted to the authentication server 102. The authentication server 102 compares the user information transmitted from the MFP 101 with information managed as information 401 and 402, and notifies the MFP 101 of authentication OK if they match. On the other hand, if the user information does not match, the MFP 101 is notified of authentication NG.

  Information 403 and 404 are information notified to the MFP 101 together with the authentication OK when the authentication is successful. Information 403 indicates that the name of the user of A1001 is “User X”. Information 404 indicates the mail address of the user A1001 himself. The user of A1001 can receive an e-mail transmitted with the e-mail address managed as the information 404 as a destination.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen displayed on the operation unit 219. The user can select a function by operating the operation key 501 or 502 on the screen of FIG. FIG. 5 shows a state where the operation key 501 is selected. In FIG. 5, “scan and send” and “copy” are illustrated as functions, but the MFP 101 may have other functions.

  The user who has selected the operation key 501 can set the destination of the image data to be transmitted by operating the operation key 511 or 512. When the user operates the operation key 511, the contents of the address book held in the HDD 214 are displayed. The user can set the destination of the image data with reference to the contents registered in the address book.

  The operation key 512 is an operation key operated when the user wants to set his / her own mail address as the destination of the image data. When the user operates the operation key 512, the user's own mail address is automatically set as the destination of the image data.

  The operation key 521 is an operation key used when performing reading settings such as color / monochrome. The operation key 522 is an operation key used when setting the reading resolution. The operation key 523 is an operation key used when setting a file format of image data to be transmitted. The operation key 524 is an operation key used when setting single-sided / double-sided reading. The operation key 525 is an operation key used when setting a reading size. The operation key 526 is an operation key used when setting an end notification destination described later.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen displayed on the operation unit 219. FIG. 6 is an address book screen displayed when the operation key 511 is pressed. Information 601 indicates the type of each address. The MFP 101 can register types of addresses such as e-mail, fax, and file. A file is a method of transmitting image data by SMB (Server Message Block) or FTP (File Transfer Protocol).

  Information 602 indicates the name of each address. Information 603 indicates the contents of each address. If the type is mail, the content of the address is the mail address. When the type is fax, the address content is a telephone number (fax number). If the type is a file, the address content is the host name of the file server.

  When the user selects at least one address from the address book and presses the enter button 604, the selected address is set as the destination of the image data. Here, the following description will be given on the assumption that three types of seven addresses shown in FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for describing a login operation in MFP 101 (a series of operations when the user starts using MFP 101). Each operation (step) shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 is realized by the CPU 211 of the MFP 101 executing a control program stored in the HDD 214.

  In step S <b> 701, input of user information (user name and password) is received via the screen displayed on the operation unit 219.

  In step S702, the user information received in step S701 is transmitted to the authentication server 102 to request user authentication (inquiries about whether the user can use the MFP 101). In step S703, it is determined whether the content notified from the authentication server 102 is authentication OK or authentication NG. As a result, if the authentication is OK, the process advances to step S704 to permit the user to use the MFP 101. On the other hand, if it is authentication NG, the process is terminated as it is (or the process returns to step S701 to redisplay the screen for inputting user information).

  In step S704, the user is permitted to use the MFP 101. In step S 705, the mail address notified from the authentication server 102 (404 in FIG. 4) is acquired and stored in the RAM 213.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a first setting operation (first e-mail destination setting operation) in the MFP 101. Each operation (step) shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8 is realized by the CPU 211 of the MFP 101 executing a control program stored in the HDD 214.

  In step S801, it is determined whether or not the operation key 511 has been operated. If it determines with the operation key 511 having been operated, it will progress to step S802, and if that is not right, it will progress to step S806. In step S802, the address book screen (FIG. 6) is displayed. The detailed operation for displaying this screen will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In step S803, selection of an address by the user via the address book screen is accepted. When the user touches a display area of a desired address on the address book screen, that area is highlighted. In step S804, it is determined whether or not the enter button 604 has been operated with at least one address selected. If it is determined that the enter button 604 has been operated with at least one address selected, the process proceeds to step S805; otherwise, the process returns to step S803. In step S805, the address selected by the user is set as the destination of the image data. When the type of the selected address is mail, the selected mail address is set as an e-mail destination to which image data is attached.

  In step S806, it is determined whether or not the operation key 512 has been operated. If it is determined that the operation key 512 has been operated, the process proceeds to step S807; otherwise, the process ends. In step S807, the mail address (404 in FIG. 4) acquired from the authentication server 102 and stored in the RAM 213 is set as the destination of the email to which the image data is attached. By using the “Send mail to me” operation key, you do not need to select your mail address from many addresses registered in the address book, and you can send image data to your mail address with a simple operation. be able to.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining a second setting operation (second e-mail destination setting operation) in the MFP 101. Each operation (step) shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9 is realized by the CPU 211 of the MFP 101 executing a control program stored in the HDD 214.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 8, the case of setting the destination of the image data (the destination of the e-mail to which the image data is attached) has been described. In the flowchart of FIG. 9, the case of setting the destination of the end notification mail will be described. The end notification is a function for notifying a predetermined destination by e-mail when a scan job (corresponding to the operation key 501) or a copy job (corresponding to the operation key 502) in the MFP 101 is completed. As a result, when it takes time to execute a scan job or a copy job, the user can once move to another location and confirm the end by notification.

  In step S901, it is determined whether or not the operation key 526 has been operated. If it is determined that the operation key 526 has been operated, the process proceeds to step S902, and if not, the process ends. In step S902, the address book screen (FIG. 12) is displayed. The detailed operation for displaying this screen will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In step S903, selection of an address by the user via the address book screen is accepted. When the user touches a display area of a desired address on the address book screen, that area is highlighted. In step 904, it is determined whether or not the enter button 604 has been operated with at least one address selected. If it is determined that the enter button 604 has been operated with at least one address selected, the process proceeds to step S905, and if not, the process returns to step S903. In step S905, the address selected by the user is set as the destination of the end notification mail.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining an address book display operation in the MFP 101. The flowchart in FIG. 10 shows detailed operations in step S802 in FIG. 8 and step S902 in FIG. Each operation (step) shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 is realized by the CPU 211 of the MFP 101 executing a control program stored in the HDD 214.

  In step S1001, it is determined whether the e-mail to be transmitted is for notifying the end of processing. Specifically, when the user operates the operation key 511 and the flowchart of FIG. 10 is started, it is determined that the e-mail to be transmitted is not for notifying the end of the process, and the process proceeds to step S1003.

  In step S1003, it is determined whether the limited mode is selected. The limited mode is a function for limiting the destination to the mail address of the user who is currently operating the MFP 101 when an e-mail attached with image data is transmitted from the MFP 101. Since general users can freely register addresses in the address book, there is a possibility that inappropriate mail addresses may be registered as destinations for confidential information such as external mail addresses. If confidential information is transmitted accidentally or intentionally with such an e-mail address as the destination, there is a risk of information leakage. Therefore, the MFP 101 provides a limited mode for preventing confidential information from being transmitted to an inappropriate destination by limiting the destination of the email to the email address of the user who is currently operating the MFP 101.

  Note that the limited mode of the MFP 101 is provided only for electronic mail, but a similar limited mode may be provided for faxes and files.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen displayed on the operation unit 219. The screen in FIG. 11 can be operated only by an administrator, and is not displayed when a general user operates the MFP 101. The administrator can set the limited mode via the screen of FIG. When the operation key 1101 is operated, the limited mode is set to “ON”. When the limited mode is set to “ON”, regarding e-mail transmission, transmission to a destination other than the destination set using the operation key 512 is prohibited. When the operation key 1102 is operated, the limited mode is “OFF”.

  If it is determined in step S1003 that the limited mode is “OFF”, the process advances to step S1005 to extract all addresses registered in the address book. On the other hand, if it is determined that the limited mode is “ON”, the process proceeds to step S1004, and addresses other than “mail” are extracted from the addresses registered in the address book.

  On the other hand, if the user operates the operation key 526 and the flowchart of FIG. 10 is started in step S1001, it is determined that the e-mail to be transmitted is for notifying the end of the process, and the process proceeds to step S1002. . In step S1002, an address whose type is “mail” is extracted from the addresses registered in the address book.

  In step S1006, the address extracted in step S1002, S1004, or S1005 is displayed on the address book screen. If the e-mail to be sent is for notifying the end of the process by the above process, only the address of the type “mail” is displayed among the addresses registered in the address book, and other addresses Is not displayed. This is because the end notification from the MFP 101 is sent only by e-mail and not by any other type (fax or file).

  If the e-mail to be sent is not for notifying the end of processing and the limited mode is “ON”, the address registered in the address book has a type other than “Mail”. Is displayed, and addresses of the type “Mail” are not displayed. This is because if the limited mode is “ON”, the mail address registered in the address book cannot be set as the destination, and if you want to send the image data by e-mail, you can use your operation key 512 to send your mail. This is because it is necessary to set an address.

  If the e-mail to be sent is not for notifying the end of processing and the limited mode is “OFF”, all addresses registered in the address book are displayed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the e-mail to be transmitted is not for notifying the end of the process, the destination is limited according to the selection of the limited mode, and the e-mail to be transmitted notifies the end of the process. Therefore, such a restriction on the destination is not performed. Note that if the result of determination in step S1001 is that the e-mail to be sent is not for notifying the end of processing, the determination in step S1003 may be skipped and processing may proceed to step S1004.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen displayed on the operation unit 219. FIG. 12 is an address book screen displayed when the operation key 526 is pressed. Comparing the screen of FIG. 12 with the screen of FIG. 6, it can be seen that only addresses whose type is mail are displayed, and addresses of other types are not displayed. It should be noted that the address other than the mail type may not be displayed here, but may be displayed in an unselectable state.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining a transmission operation in the MFP 101. The flowchart of FIG. 13 is started when a start key (not shown) is operated after the destination of the image data is set. Each operation (step) shown in the flowchart of FIG. 13 is realized by the CPU 211 of the MFP 101 executing a control program stored in the HDD 214.

  In step S1301, the scanner 221 reads an image on a document and generates image data. In step S1302, the image data generated in step S1301 is transmitted to the destination set in step S805 or S807 in FIG. At this time, if the destination is a mail address, an e-mail attached with image data is generated and transmitted via the mail server 103.

  In step S1303, it is determined whether an end notification is set using the operation key 526. If the end notification is set, the process proceeds to step S1304. Otherwise, the process ends. In step S1304, an e-mail for notifying the end of the scan job (transmission end) is generated and transmitted to the destination set in step S905 of FIG. The end notification mail includes the reception number, start time, number of pages, transmission file name, and destination information, but the image data transmitted in step S1302 is not attached.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the limited mode is set to “ON”, an e-mail sent with image data attached is set to a predetermined e-mail address (currently the MFP 101). Limited to the email address of the user who is operating. That is, setting a mail address other than a predetermined mail address as a destination is prohibited. On the other hand, if the e-mail to be sent is an end notification mail, the destination is limited to a predetermined mail address (the mail address of the user who is currently operating the MFP 101) even if the restriction mode is set to “ON”. Do not do. That is, it is not prohibited to set a mail address other than a predetermined mail address as a destination. Thereby, it is possible to maintain user convenience while avoiding the risk of information leakage. In the above description, the example in which the destination of the e-mail attached with the image data is limited to the mail address of the user who is currently operating the MFP 101 has been described, but the destination may be limited by other methods. For example, a plurality of e-mail addresses that can be set as destinations of e-mails attached with image data are registered in advance, and the e-mail addresses that can be set when the restriction mode is “ON” are limited to those e-mail addresses. You may do it. Alternatively, a domain of an e-mail address that can be set as an e-mail destination to which image data is attached is registered in advance, and an e-mail address including the domain can be set when the limited mode is “ON”. You may make it limit to.

  In the above description, the example in which the image data generated by the scanner 221 is attached to an e-mail and transmitted is used. However, the same applies to the case of transmitting image data stored in advance in the HDD 214. That is, when the restriction mode is set to “ON”, the destination of an electronic mail transmitted with image data attached is limited to the mail address of the user who is currently operating the MFP 101.

  In the above description, an example in which a scan job completion notification email is transmitted is used, but the same applies to the completion notification emails of other jobs (such as copy jobs). That is, even if the limited mode is set to “ON”, the destination is not limited to the mail address of the user who is currently operating the MFP 101.

  The object of the present invention can also be achieved by executing the following processing. That is, a storage medium that records a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus is stored in the storage medium. This is the process of reading the code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

101 MFP
210 Control unit 211 CPU
212 ROM
213 RAM
214 HDD

An image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a reading unit that reads a document and generates image data, an e-mail transmission unit that transmits an e-mail attached with the image data, and an end notification that notifies the end of e-mail transmission. An end notification mail transmitting means for transmitting mail, and a restricting means for restricting a destination to which an email can be transmitted to an email address of a user who is logged in to the image processing apparatus, The end notification mail transmitting means is configured to send the e-mail address of the user who is logged in to the image processing apparatus even if the destination to which the e-mail can be transmitted is limited to the e-mail address of the user who is logged in to the image processing apparatus. An end notification mail can be transmitted to another electronic mail address different from the above.

Claims (1)

An image processing apparatus,
Reading means for reading a document and generating image data;
An e-mail transmitting means for transmitting an e-mail attached with the image data, and an end for transmitting an end notification mail for notifying the end of the e-mail transmission according to the end of the e-mail transmission Notification email sending means,
The destination to which the end notification mail can be sent is not limited to the email address of the user who has logged in to the image processing apparatus, and the destination to which the email can be sent is the email of the user who has logged in the image processing apparatus An image processing apparatus comprising: setting means for setting to limit to an address.

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