JP4895025B2 - Printer and printer control method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer that is shared and used by a plurality of users, and particularly has an authentication printing function for holding a print job having a file name including a character string designated in advance until a password is input. Regarding printers.

  In recent years, with the spread of networks and the like, a usage form in which a single printer is shared by a large number of people has become common. In a printer shared by a plurality of users, the print output for the print job is set as needed in the order of input of the print job. Because of this setting, there is a possibility that the print content that should be kept secret may be exposed to others' eyes. In order to solve this problem, when a print job is received, it is not printed out immediately, but is temporarily stored in the storage means, and is printed out only when a password is input. Printers having functions such as (printing) have appeared.

For example, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-216123), a confidential job is executed in which print jobs transmitted from a data output apparatus are executed in the order received and held until a password is input for a predesignated print job. When a password is entered for a confidential print job that has been put on hold in a printing device that has a print function, the confidential print job takes precedence over normal print jobs that do not require a password to be executed in the order in which the passwords are entered. There is disclosed a printing apparatus including a queue management unit for executing the above.
JP 2001-216123 A

  In password printing in a conventional printer as described in Patent Document 1, when a user tries to execute printing, it is necessary to designate password printing one by one. Since it is troublesome to specify such password printing one by one, the conventional printer has a problem that the password printing function itself is not effectively used.

  In some printers having a conventional password printing function, once password printing is designated, the password printing function is maintained until the designation is subsequently released. Such a printer has the advantage that it is not necessary to specify password printing one by one, and in this respect it is easy to eliminate security concerns. There is the inconvenience that you have to go to the printer and enter your password for easy printouts that are not important.

In order to cope with the above problems, the printer of the present invention includes an authentication print information storage unit that stores a user name of a user who performs authentication printing, a keyword included in a file name for authentication printing, and authentication information Authentication printing is performed according to whether the file name of the print job by the user stored in the authentication print information storage unit includes a keyword stored corresponding to the user in the authentication print information storage unit Authentication print determining means for determining whether or not authentication printing is determined by the authentication print determining means, and printing is performed only when authentic authentication information stored in the authentication print information storage unit is input. A printer unit that performs output and an operation panel unit that replaces and displays a character string constituting a keyword are provided.

  The printer according to the present invention is characterized in that the authentication information is a password.

  The printer of the present invention is characterized in that the authentication information is an ID of an IC card.

  The printer of the present invention is characterized in that the authentication information is biometric information.

Also, the printer control method of the present invention includes a registration process for registering a user name of a user who performs authentication printing, a keyword included in a file name for authentication printing, and authentication information, and the authentication print information storage unit. A determination step of determining whether to perform authentication printing according to whether a file name of a print job by a registered user includes a keyword registered corresponding to the user in the authentication print information storage unit ; An accumulating step for temporarily accumulating print information determined to perform authentication printing in the determining step, an authenticating step for determining that authentic authentication information has been input to the print information, and an authentication step for authenticating It is characterized by comprising a printing process for printing out the print information and a process for replacing the character string constituting the keyword and displaying it on the operation panel unit .

  According to the printer and the printer control method of the present invention, it is possible to provide a printer having a password printing function with excellent usability that does not require setting of password printing each time when a user performs a printout that places importance on security. can do.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a multi-function device is described as an example of a printer. However, the present invention is not limited to such a multi-function device and can be applied to a single printer.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a printer (multifunction machine) and its peripherals according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 10 is a network such as a LAN or WAN, 20 is a telephone line, 100 is a multifunction device, 110 is a control unit that performs main control of the multifunction device, 120 is a facsimile unit that transmits and receives facsimile documents, and 130 is a recording medium. A printer unit that prints on a document, 140 a scanner unit that reads a document, 150 an operation panel unit that serves as an interface with a user, 160 a network I / F, 170 a USB I / F, 200, 200 ′, 200 '' Indicates a personal computer, and 300 indicates an external device.

  In the system around the facsimile apparatus (multifunction machine) shown in FIG. 1, personal computers 200, 200 ′, 200 ″ such as clients and the multifunction machine 100 are connected via a network 10. Further, the facsimile unit 120 of the multifunction peripheral 100 is configured to be connected to the telephone line 20 and the USB I / F 170 is connected to an external device 300 such as a mobile phone or a digital camera.

  The multifunction device 100 scans and reads a document / image in color by a control unit 110 that performs main control of the multifunction device main body including an information processing device, an operation panel unit 150 that is an input / output device that receives a user's input operation, and the like. A scanner unit 140, a printer unit 130 that performs printing on printing paper or the like, and a facsimile unit 120 that performs facsimile transmission / reception are provided. That is, the multi-function device 100 includes a scanner function, a print function, a copy function combining the scanner function and the print function, and a facsimile transmission / reception function.

  Each of the information processing mechanisms of the multifunction peripheral 100 is configured by, for example, a general-purpose computer system, and each component or function is realized by, for example, executing a computer program written in a storage unit.

  The scanner unit 140 includes a document table (not shown) on which a document can be placed and an optical system that reads the document table. The document table of the scanner unit 140 is provided with a document size detection sensor that can detect the size of the document placed on the document table. Further, the multifunction peripheral 100 may be provided with an ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) that automatically and continuously feeds documents to the scanner unit 140.

  The data read by the scanner unit 140 is once stored in a storage unit (not shown) of the control unit 110. The control unit 110 outputs the document image data read by the scanner unit 140 from the printer unit 130 as it is or at a set magnification according to the designation from the operation panel unit 150 or the like (copy function of the MFP 100). , Transmitted from the facsimile unit 120 via a telephone line (facsimile function of the multifunction device 100), or transmitted to the personal computers 200, 200 ′, 200 ″ via the network I / F 160 and the network 10 (multifunction device). 100 scanner functions).

  The printer unit 130 forms an image on a recording sheet. The printer unit 130 employs a method of forming a latent image on a photoconductor with a laser or an LED line head, or directly ejects ink onto a recording sheet. A well-known hardware configuration such as an ink jet method employing the method can be used. The control unit 110 causes the printer unit 130 to perform predetermined paper output based on an instruction from the operation panel unit 150, the personal computers 200, 200 ′, and 200 ″, or an external device 300 such as a mobile phone or a digital camera. Is. That is, the printer unit 130 receives image data read by the scanner unit 140, facsimile data received by the facsimile unit 210, data from application software of the personal computers 200, 200 ′, 200 ″, and external devices 300. The image data is output on paper.

  The facsimile unit 120 is connected to the telephone line 20 and is received by a facsimile transmission / reception unit (not shown) that performs facsimile transmission / reception, a transmission buffer that temporarily stores transmission data to be transmitted by the facsimile transmission / reception unit, and a facsimile transmission / reception unit. And a facsimile unit memory for constituting a reception buffer for temporarily storing received data.

  Further, when the facsimile unit 120 receives data transmitted by facsimile from the telephone line 20, it temporarily stores the received data. The stored received data is sent to the control unit 110 and printed by the printer unit 130. The facsimile unit 120 performs facsimile transmission / reception independently of other components in the multifunction peripheral 100. In other words, when the facsimile unit 120 receives transmission data from the multifunction device 100, the facsimile unit 120 performs facsimile transmission independently of the multifunction device 100. If facsimile data is transmitted from the telephone line 20, the facsimile unit 120 receives the facsimile data.

  The copy function of the multifunction peripheral 100 is set in the control unit 110 by the user operating the operation panel unit 150. From the operation panel unit 150, a copy magnification setting, a document image size setting, and an output paper size setting related to the copy function can be set. Based on these settings, the control unit 110 can copy the MFP 100. Perform the function. The copy function of the multifunction peripheral 100 performs copy magnification processing on the original image data read by the scanner unit 140, and outputs the result to paper of a size specified by the printer unit 130.

  The hardware of the operation panel unit 150 is roughly composed of a display unit composed of an LCD for performing display related to an operation, and a touch panel unit capable of inputting by pressing with a finger or the like. The display unit and the touch panel unit are configured to overlap each other, and the user can perform various settings of the MFP 100 by operating the touch panel unit with a finger while referring to the display on the display unit. ing. A well-known technique can be used about the specific structure of the input mechanism by a touchscreen part, and the display mechanism by a display part. The operation panel unit 150 can select various functions such as a facsimile function, a printer function, and a copy function of the multifunction machine 100, and display an image preview.

  In the multifunction machine 100, the personal computers 200, 200 ', and 200 "are shared and used by each user. The printer (multifunction device 100) of the present invention is provided with a password printing function for users who place importance on security. In the present invention, since an authentication method other than a password is also used to perform printing with an emphasis on security, the authentication printing function is hereinafter referred to as a password printing function.

  The authentication printing function in the multifunction peripheral 100 configured as described above will be described in more detail. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an extracted configuration related to the authentication printing function of the printer (multifunction machine) according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of the data structure of a print job transmitted from the personal computer to the printer (multifunction machine).

  A portion of FIG. 2 that is not shown in FIG. 1 will be described. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 111 denotes an authentication print control unit, 112 denotes display information generation means, 113 denotes a character string search means, 114 denotes authentication print determination means, 115 denotes a print data storage unit, and 116 denotes an authentication print information storage unit. It is.

  The authentication printing control unit 111 is a part that executes control related to the authentication printing function among various controls of the multifunction peripheral 100. The display information creation unit 112, the character string search unit 113, and the authentication printing determination unit have unique configurations. 114.

  The display information creating unit 112 creates display information to be displayed on the operation panel unit 150 when executing the authentication printing function of the multifunction peripheral 100. The user is prompted to enter a password based on the display content of the operation panel unit 150 on which the display information created by the display information creation unit 112 is displayed.

  The character string search means 113 searches for a registered character string (keyword) from the character string of the print job file name shown in FIG. The authentication print determination unit 114 determines whether the print job transmitted from the user (personal computer 200, 200 ′, 200 ″) is a print job for performing the authentication print, based on the search result of the character string search unit 113 or the like. To do. In the present invention, a user who intends to use the authenticated printing function of a printer uses a character string including a specified keyword in the file name of a file to be printed. On the printer side, a print job having a file name including a designated keyword is regarded as a print job to be authenticated, and control is performed so as to request authentication from the user. According to such a printer, it is possible to provide an authentication printing function with excellent usability that does not need to be set for password printing each time when performing a printout that places importance on security.

  The print data storage unit 115 is a storage unit that stores print data of a print job for which authentication printing is performed by the authentication print determination unit 114. If the user is authenticated as a result of authentication such as a password, the print data read from the print data storage unit 115 is printed out by the printer unit 130.

  The authentication print information storage unit 116 stores a user name of a user who performs authentication printing, a character string (keyword) included in a file name for authentication printing, and authentication information such as a password in association with each other. Details of the data structure of the authentication print information storage unit 116 will be described later.

  The flow of the authentication printing function in the multifunction peripheral 100 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of user name registration processing in the printer (multifunction machine) according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, a user who intends to use the authentication printing function of the multifunction peripheral 100 performs an operation for registering a user name, a keyword, and the like in advance. Note that such registration-related work can be performed on the operation panel unit 150 of the multi-function peripheral 100, or can be performed on the user's personal computers 200, 200 ', 200' '. A well-known bi-directional communication technique between a multifunction device (printer) and a personal computer that enables such a registration operation to be performed on the personal computers 200, 200 ', 200' 'can be used.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 4, when the user name registration operation is started in step S100, the user is prompted to input the user name by a user interface screen (not shown) in the subsequent step S101. Here, the user enters a new user name. In a succeeding step S102, it is determined whether or not the input user name has already been registered. The data structure of the authentication print information storage unit 116 used for the determination in this step will be described later.

  If the user name has already been registered and the result of determination in step S102 is NO, the process returns to step S101. If the determination result in step S102 is YES, the process proceeds to step S103. In step S103, the user interface screen shown in FIG. 5 prompts the user to input a master password. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface screen in the printer (multifunction machine) according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In the subsequent step S104, the user name and master password entered on the user interface screen of FIG. 5 are registered in the authentication print information storage unit 116. In step S105, the user name registration process ends.

  Next, a keyword registration process in the authentication printing function of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the keyword registration process in the printer (multifunction machine) according to the embodiment of the present invention. When the keyword registration process is started in step S200, the process proceeds to step S201, and the user is prompted to select a user name on the user interface screen as shown in FIG. When the user selects his / her user name on the screen, the process proceeds to step S202, where the user is prompted to input a master password. When the master password is input by the user, the process proceeds to step S203. In step S <b> 203, it is determined whether or not the input master password matches that registered in the authentication print information storage unit 116. When the determination result is NO, the process returns to step S202. When the determination result in step S203 is YES, the process proceeds to step S204 to prompt the user to input a new keyword. In step S205, the user is prompted to input a password used for authentication in step S205. Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S206, where the user is prompted to input a character string for replacing the keyword, for example, when the file name including the keyword is displayed on the operation panel unit 150. In step S207, a user other than himself / herself who permits authentication printing is input.

  As user interface screens in steps S204 to S207, those shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 can be used. For example, in the example of FIG. 8, a character string “HR” is input as a new keyword. Therefore, it is assumed that Mr. Taro Patent intends to use the authentication printing function when using a file name including the keyword “HR”, such as “HR change dated April 1, 2007. DOC”. Is done. FIG. 9 is an example of a screen that prompts selection of a print-permitted user name. Even if the authentication printing function is used, there is a case where another person wants to bring a printout. In this case, it is the setting of the print permitted user that designates another person. Such other people may be colleagues in the same section, or secretaries or subordinates. For these people, there are many cases where there is no problem even if a printout is seen. Therefore, by satisfying the needs such as setting print permission users for these people and sharing the password for authentication with these people, you want other people to bring printouts. Can do.

  In step S208, the information input in steps S204 to S207 is registered in the authentication print information storage unit 116. In step S209, the user name registration process ends.

  The authentication print information storage unit 116 that stores various data input in the above procedure will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a data structure of the authentication print information storage unit in the printer (multifunction machine) according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the registration information for one user of the authentication print information storage unit 116 includes “user name”, “master password”, “keyword”, “password”, “replacement character”, and “print permitted user name”. It is composed of

  “Master password” is a password for “user name”, and “password” is a password used for authentication for print output of a file name including “keyword”. The “replacement character” is a character string for replacing a keyword. When displaying a file name or the like on the operation panel unit 150, the replacement character string is displayed in place of the keyword character string so that a third party can see the file name of the print job for performing authentication printing. However, it is possible to make it difficult to determine the contents of printing. In this example, Mr. Taro has set “personnel”, “assessment”, and “confidential” as keywords, and when a print job with a file name including these character strings is input to the multifunction device 100 The multifunction device 100 handles the print job as authentication-required printing. In addition, according to the setting of Mr. Taro, the permission is given to Mr. Hanako and Mr. Goro Kokusai for print jobs with file names containing the keyword “HR”. With this setting, the trademark Hanako Miss and Goro Kokusai replaced the documents such as “Personal Changes on April 1, 2007. DOC” sent by Mr. Taro to the MFP 100 on behalf of Mr. Taro. You will be able to print out by entering your password.

  Next, the flow of authentication printing processing in the multifunction machine 100 will be described. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the printing process in the printer (multifunction machine) according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  When the MFP 100 receives the print job and print processing is started in step S300, the process proceeds to step S301. In step S301, the user who has transmitted the print job with reference to the authentication print information storage unit 116 transmits the print job. Determine if it is registered. If the user is not registered and the determination in step S301 is NO, there is no need to perform authentication printing, so the process proceeds to step S304, and the received print job is printed out by the sprinter unit 130. If the determination in step S301 is yes, the process proceeds to step S302.

  In step S302, the character string search unit 113 and the authentication print information storage unit 116 determine whether there is a keyword registered in the file name of the print job. If there is no such keyword in the file name and the determination result in step S302 is NO, authentication printing is not necessary, and the process proceeds to step S304 to print out the print job. If the result of the determination in step S302 is YES and authentication-required printing is determined, the process proceeds to step S303, and the print job file is stored in the print data storage unit 115. In step S305, the printing process ends.

  Next, an authentication print process for performing the print process of the authentication print data stored in the print data storage unit 115 as described above will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the authentication printing process in the printer (multifunction machine) according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  When the authentication printing process is started in step S400, the process proceeds to step S401. In step S <b> 401, a list of authenticated print jobs that have been authenticated printing and stored and stored in the print data storage unit 115 is displayed on the operation panel unit 150. A display example of the authentication print job list on the operation panel unit 150 is shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface screen in the printer (multifunction machine) according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 13, the keyword character string of the file name of the print job for performing the authentication printing is converted into a replacement character string and displayed on the operation panel unit 150. In step S402, when the user selects a file name to be printed, the process proceeds to step S403, where a user interface screen that prompts the user to input a password is displayed on the operation panel unit 150, and the user is requested for the password. . In step S404, it is determined whether the password entered by the user matches the one registered in the authentication print information storage unit 116. When the result of determination in step S404 is NO, the process returns to step S403. If the determination result in step S404 is YES, an authentic password has been input for the registered keyword, so the process proceeds to step S405, and the print unit 130 performs printout processing. In step S406, the authentication printing process ends.

  According to the present invention configured as described above, it is not necessary to set password printing one by one, only by assigning a file name including a keyword specified when performing printout that places importance on security.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In another embodiment of the present invention, instead of using a password as authentication information, an authentication means such as an IC card or biometric information is used. An IC card refers to a card that is held by each user and in which an ID unique to the user is stored in an IC chip. In particular, the convenience of the present invention is improved by using a non-contact type IC card that performs wireless communication among such IC cards. The biological information is information related to the user's physical characteristics (biological organs). Such biometric information includes information related to fingerprints and information related to irises in the pupil, and the identity of each can be confirmed. As described above, the present invention can be implemented by adopting any known technology relating to IC cards and biometric information. Hereinafter, a description will be given centering on differences from the previous embodiment. The basic concept of performing authentication printing with a keyword in the file name is common to the previous embodiment.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a printer (multifunction machine) and its peripherals according to another embodiment of the present invention. A difference from the multi-function device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is that a card reader (or biological information reader) 180 is provided. In this embodiment, instead of inputting a password, an authentication operation is performed by reading the ID of an IC card from such a card reader (or biometric information reader) 180 or by reading biometric information. Only when the user is recognized as authentic, the print unit 130 performs printout.

  Also in a printer (multifunction machine) according to another embodiment of the present invention, a keyword for performing authentication printing is set. An authentication print information storage unit 116 used in a printer (multifunction machine) according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a data structure of an authentication print information storage unit in a printer (multifunction machine) according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 15, the registration information for one user of the authentication print information storage unit 116 includes “user name”, “master password”, “keyword”, “authentication information”, “replacement character”, “permitted user name / Authentication information ”. The authentication information includes both information based on an IC card and information based on biometric information, and any known method can be used for registering such authentication information.

  An authentication print process for performing a print process of the authentication print data stored in the print data storage unit 115 using the authentication print information storage unit 116 of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the authentication printing process in a printer (multifunction machine) according to another embodiment of the present invention.

  When the authentication printing process is started in step S500, the process proceeds to step S501, where a user interface screen that prompts input of authentication information (IC card or biometric information) is displayed on the operation panel unit 150, and a password is requested from the user. . In step S <b> 502, it is determined whether the authentication information (IC card or biometric information) input by the user matches that registered in the authentication print information storage unit 116. When the result of the determination in step S502 is NO, the process returns to step S501. If the determination result in step S502 is YES, since authentic authentication information (IC card or biometric information) has been input for the registered keyword, the process proceeds to step S503, where the print unit 130 performs printout. Process. In step S504, the authentication printing process ends.

  According to another embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, password printing is set one by one only by assigning a file name including a keyword specified when performing a printout emphasizing security. There is no need. Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to store a password, and authentication printing can be performed more easily.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a printer (multifunction peripheral) and its peripherals according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an extracted configuration related to an authentication printing function of a printer (multifunction machine) according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a data structure of a print job transmitted from a personal computer to a printer (multifunction machine). It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the user name registration operation | movement in the printer (multifunction machine) which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface screen in the printer (multifunction machine) which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the keyword registration process in the printer (multifunction machine) which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface screen in the printer (multifunction machine) which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface screen in the printer (multifunction machine) which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface screen in the printer (multifunction machine) which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the authentication printing information storage part in the printer (multifunction machine) which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a printing process in the printer (multifunction machine) according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of authentication printing processing in the printer (multifunction machine) according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface screen in the printer (multifunction machine) which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure of the printer (multifunction machine) which concerns on other embodiment of this invention, and its periphery. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the authentication printing information storage part in the printer (multifunction machine) which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the authentication printing process in the printer (multifunction machine) which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Network, 20 ... Telephone line, 100 ... Multifunction machine, 110 ... Control part, 111 ... Authentication printing control part, 112 ... Display information creation means, 113 ... Character Column search means 114... Authentication print determination means 115... Print data storage section 116... Authentication print information storage section 120. Facsimile section 130. Scanner unit, 150 ... operation panel unit, 160 ... network I / F, 170 ... USB I / F, 180 ... card reader (biological information reader), 200, 200 ', 200' ' ..Personal computers, 300 ... external devices

Claims (5)

An authentication print information storage unit that stores a user name of a user who performs authentication printing, a keyword included in a file name of authentication printing, and authentication information;
Whether to perform authentication printing depending on whether the file name of the print job by the user stored in the authentication print information storage unit includes a keyword stored in correspondence with the user in the authentication print information storage unit Authentication printing determination means for determining
A printer unit that performs print output only when authentic authentication information stored in the authentication print information storage unit is input when it is determined by the authentication print determination means to perform authentication printing ;
An operation panel unit that replaces and displays a character string constituting a keyword . The printer according to claim 1 , wherein the authentication information is a password. The printer according to claim 1 , wherein the authentication information is an ID of an IC card. The printer according to claim 1 , wherein the authentication information is biometric information. A registration process for registering a user name of a user who performs authentication printing, a keyword included in a file name for authentication printing, and authentication information;
Whether to perform authentication printing depending on whether the file name of a print job by a user registered in the authentication print information storage unit includes a keyword registered corresponding to the user in the authentication print information storage unit A determination step of determining
An accumulation step for temporarily accumulating print information determined to perform authentication printing in the determination step;
An authentication process for determining that authentic authentication information has been input for the print information;
A printing process for printing out the print information authenticated in the authentication process;
A method for controlling a printer, comprising: replacing a character string constituting a keyword and displaying the character string on an operation panel unit .

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