JP5374603B2 - Network interface device, control method, program, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system in which print data can be deleted even from a printer which prohibits an operation part to delete print data. <P>SOLUTION: When a user instructs printing of data, a printer driver transmits a job to a printer 1000. When an NIC 700 performs port monitoring on the printer 1000, the job is stored in a mass storage 500. When the user holds an IC card 410 over a card reader 400, the card reader 400 reads a card ID 211, and reports it to the printer. The printer 1000 displays one of jobs corresponding to the user name from the mass storage 500 on a display. When the user holds the IC card 410 over the card reader 400 at that time, the corresponding job is deleted. On the other hand, when the user does not hold the IC card 410 over the card reader 400, the corresponding job is output as it is. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a network interface device, a control method, a program, and an image forming apparatus provided in a printing apparatus that is communicably connected to an information processing apparatus that generates print data.

Conventionally, a so-called “pull print (accumulated printing)” printing system that enables print data to be output from a printing apparatus when a user makes a print request to the print data temporarily accumulated on the server from the printing apparatus. Has been proposed.
As an example of a “pull print (accumulation print)” print system, Patent Document 1 is cited. Patent Document 1 discloses a print control system in which an authentication function is provided in a multifunction machine and security is taken into consideration.

Patent Document 1 is as follows.
As shown in FIG. 4 of Patent Document 1, first, the user logs in to a client PC (Personal Computer) 100 ((1) -1). Then, a print instruction is issued from the client PC 100 to the printer ((1) -2). Then, the client PC 100 transmits the generated print data to the print server 200 ((2) -1) and stores it in a predetermined storage location of the print server 200 ((2) -2). At this time, print data is not transmitted to the printing apparatus.
Next, the client PC 100 generates bibliographic information data of the print data transmitted to the print server 200, transmits the generated bibliographic information data to the print management server 400, and stores it in a predetermined storage location of the print management server 400. ((3) -1). When the bibliographic information data file is stored from the client PC 100, the print management server 400 analyzes the bibliographic information data file and registers the bibliographic information in the bibliographic information DB ((3) -2). Next, when the multifunction device 300 detects the IC card 410 by the card reader, it reads the personal authentication information in the IC card 410 and transmits the read personal authentication information to the print management server 400 as an authentication request ((4 ) -1). When the print management server 400 receives the personal authentication information from the multi-function peripheral 300, the print management server 400 performs authentication processing of the personal authentication information based on the IC card authentication table stored on the external storage device of the print management server 400, and the authentication result. Is returned to the MFP 300 ((4) -2).

Next, upon receiving an authentication result (login user ID of the client PC 100) indicating that the authentication has succeeded from the print management server 400, the multifunction device 300 transmits a print data list request to the print management server 400 ((5)). -1).
Note that the print data list request includes the login user ID of the client PC 100. When the print management server 400 receives a print data list request from the multifunction device 300, the print management server 400 searches the bibliographic information DB with the login user ID included in the print data list request, and generates a print data list corresponding to the login user ID. Then, the response is sent back to the multifunction machine 300 ((5) -2). When the MFP 300 receives the print data list from the print management server 400, the MFP 300 displays the print data list on the UI of the operation unit 308. When the user selects print data and gives a print instruction, the multi-function device 300 transmits a print request (output instruction) for the selected print data to the print management server 400 (6).

  When the print management server 400 receives a print data print request (output instruction) from the MFP 300, the bibliographic information of the print data for which the output instruction has been issued, the login user name of the client PC 100, and the print data time stamp as keys. Search from the bibliographic information DB. The print server 200 storing the corresponding print data is identified from the retrieved bibliographic information, and a print instruction for the corresponding print data is transmitted to the print server 200 (7). When the print server 200 receives a print instruction from the print management server 400, the print server 200 transmits print data to the multi-function apparatus 300 based on the print instruction and causes the multi-function apparatus 300 to print (8).

  According to the above method, the printed matter is output when the user makes a print request from the printing apparatus to the server. Therefore, the printed matter can be prevented from being left for a long time, and the secure print can be performed. A system can be realized.

JP 2006-99714 A

  However, in the above method, since user information is centrally managed by the authentication server, there is a problem that the business is stagnated when the authentication server is down.

  In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561, a print data list can be displayed on the operation unit, so that the user can specify print data to be deleted. This printer is a so-called multi-function printer (MFP), which has an operation unit (displayable operation unit) for operating a plurality of functions, and a list of print data is displayed on the operation unit. This is why the user can designate and delete unnecessary print data. On the other hand, since a single function printer (SFP) does not include an operation unit like a multi-function printer, print data cannot be specified when storing printing as in Patent Document 1 is to be realized. All the print data stored by the user holding the IC card is printed. That is, there is a problem in that unnecessary print data that has been printed by mistake in print settings is also printed. Some multifunction printers cannot display a list.

  Further, in the case of a printer that cannot display a list of print data on the operation unit, there is a problem that once a job is submitted, the user cannot select the print data and cannot delete it. In particular, there has been a problem that a job that has been input in error has to be printed even though it is originally intended to be deleted.

An object of the present invention is to switch whether to execute printing or deletion by reading the reading object in an image forming apparatus that executes printing of stored print data by reading the reading object, It is an object to provide a mechanism capable of easily deleting print data even from an image forming apparatus in which it is difficult to delete print data using an operation unit.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the first invention obtains print data by reading a reading object, which is used for a user to normally use the image forming apparatus, by reading means, and executes printing of the print data. A network interface device connected to a print data storage unit that stores print data associated with user identification information, and is used for normal use of the image forming device by a reading unit by reading the read object is, the object to be read is determined and the determination means for determining whether or not held over for a predetermined, and said object to be read by said determining means is held over for a predetermined in the reading unit If the reading reads the execution of a print switch to execute the deletion by the object, obtained by reading the object to be read by said reading means The print data corresponding to the user identification information identifying the user, characterized in that it comprises a print data deleting means for deleting from the print data storage unit.

The predetermined between is characterized by Ru time der.

In addition, the print data deleting unit is configured to identify the user obtained by reading the reading object with the reading unit when the determining unit determines that the reading object is held over a predetermined period. Is deleted from the print data storage means, and the reading means reads the reading object when the reading means determines that the reading object is not held for a predetermined period of time. the print data corresponding to the user identification information for identifying the obtained user, characterized by further comprising output means for outputting the acquired from the print data storage unit.

Further, the print data deleting unit again reads the reading target of the same user as the reading target read by the reading unit when the determining unit determines that the reading target is not held for a predetermined time. Each time it is received, the print data corresponding to the user identification information obtained by reading the object to be read by the reading means is deleted from the print data storage means.

In addition, in response to reading the object to be read by the reading unit and obtaining the user identification information, print data identification information of print data corresponding to the user identification information stored in the print data storage unit is set to a predetermined value. A print data identification information transmitting means for transmitting the print data identification information to the image forming apparatus so as to notify the user between the print data, and the print data deleting means transmits the print data transmitted by the print data identification information transmitting means. While receiving the data identification information for a predetermined period by the image forming apparatus, when the reading object of the same user is received again, the print data is stored from the print data storage unit according to the notified print data identification information. It is characterized by deleting.

In addition, when the print data identification information transmitted by the print data identification information transmission unit is notified for a predetermined time by the image forming apparatus for a predetermined period, the output unit performs printing when the reading object of the same user is not received again. The print data identification information transmitting means prints data on the image forming apparatus to notify the user of print data identification information for identifying the next print data stored in the print data storage means for a predetermined period. Data identification information is transmitted.

Further, the determination unit acquires a time during which the reading object is held over the reading unit, and determines whether or not the acquired time is a predetermined time.

The network interface device communicates with an authentication server for authenticating a user, reads an object to be read by the reading means, and if user identification information is obtained, sends an authentication request including the user identification information to the authentication server. Authentication request transmission means for transmitting to the authentication server, and when the user identification information is authenticated by transmitting an authentication request to the authentication server by the authentication request transmission means, print data identification of print data corresponding to the user identification information Print data identification information acquisition means for acquiring information, wherein the print data identification information transmission means transmits the print data identification information acquired by the print data identification information acquisition means.

The second invention is connected to an image forming apparatus that obtains print data by reading an object to be read normally used by a user with a reading unit, and executes printing of the print data . A method of controlling a network interface device connected to a print data storage unit that stores print data associated with user identification information, in order for the network interface device to normally use the image forming apparatus with a reading unit by reading the read object used, the読読collected object and determination step of determining whether or not held over for a predetermined in the reading means, and the object to be read in the determining step is held over for a predetermined If it is determined, reading reads the execution of a print switch to execute the deletion by the object read object to be read by said reading means The print data corresponding to the user identification information identifying the user obtained by Rukoto, and executes a print data deleting step of deleting from the print data storage unit.

The third invention is connected to an image forming apparatus that obtains print data by reading an object to be read that is normally used by the user with the reading unit, and executes printing of the print data . A program that can be executed by a network interface device connected to a print data storage unit that stores print data associated with user identification information, and normally uses the network interface device and the image forming apparatus as a reading unit. by reading the read object to be used for, determining means for determining whether or not the object to be read on the reading means is held over for a predetermined, the object to be read by said determining means is held over for a predetermined If it is determined that switches the execution of printing by reading the object to be read to execute the deletion, read by the reading unit pairs The print data corresponding to the user identification information identifying the user which is obtained by reading the object, characterized in that to function as a print data deleting means for deleting from the print data storage unit.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention , print data is acquired by reading a reading object used for a user to normally use an image forming apparatus by a reading unit, printing the print data, and associating with user identification information. an image forming apparatus connected to the print data storage means for storing print data that is, by reading the read object used to normally use the image forming apparatus by the reading means, the said reading means a reading object determining means for determining whether held over for a predetermined, when the object to be read by said determining means is determined to have been held over for a predetermined, the execution of printing by reading the object to be read switching to the execution of the deletion, the printing data corresponding to the user identification information identifying the user which is obtained by reading the reading read by means object, the print data Characterized in that it comprises a print data deleting means for deleting from 憶 means.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention , print data is acquired by reading a reading object used for a user to normally use an image forming apparatus by a reading unit, the print data is printed, and associated with user identification information. A method for controlling an image forming apparatus connected to a print data storage unit that stores received print data, wherein the image forming apparatus uses a reading unit to normally read the image forming apparatus. by reading, when the object to be read on the reading means determines a determination step of determining whether or not held over for a predetermined, and said object to be read in the determining step is held over for a predetermined, read switching the execution of printing by reading the object in the execution of the deletion, the corresponding user identification information identifying the user which is obtained by reading the object to be read by the reading means The print data, and executes a print data deleting step of deleting from the print data storage unit.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention , print data is acquired by reading a reading object, which is used for a user to normally use the image forming apparatus, by reading means, printing the print data, and associating with user identification information An object that can be executed by an image forming apparatus connected to a print data storage unit that stores the received print data, and that is used to normally use the image forming apparatus as a reading unit. by reading, in the case where the object to be read on the reading means it determines a judging device for judging whether or not held over for a predetermined, and said object to be read by said determining means is held over for a predetermined, reading read execution of a print switch to execute the deletion by the object, the user identification information identifying a user obtained by reading the object to be read by the reading means The print data corresponding to, characterized in that to function as a print data deleting means for deleting from the print data storage unit.

According to the present invention, in an image forming apparatus that executes printing of stored print data by reading a reading object that is used for a user to use the image forming apparatus normally, printing is performed by reading the reading object. The print data can be easily deleted even from an image forming apparatus in which it is difficult to delete the print data at the operation unit.

The figure which shows an example of a structure of the conventional secure print system 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a secure print system 1 according to the present invention. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of LDAP server 200 and client PC300 The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the printing apparatus 1000 The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of NIC700 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a secure print system 1 according to the present invention. The flowchart which shows an example of the print job input processing procedure of the secure print system 1 The flowchart which shows an example of the print job output processing procedure of the secure print system 1 The flowchart which shows an example of the print job output processing procedure of the secure print system 1 The flowchart which shows an example of the print job output processing procedure of the secure print system 1 The flowchart which shows an example of the print job output processing procedure of the secure print system 1 The flowchart which shows an example of the print job output processing procedure of the secure print system 1 The flowchart which shows an example of the deletion confirmation processing procedure of the secure print system 1 The flowchart which shows an example of the deletion processing procedure of the secure print system 1 The flowchart which shows an example of the detailed procedure of the output process of the secure print system 1 The flowchart which shows an example of the LDAP server monitoring processing procedure of the secure print system 1 The flowchart which shows an example of the user notification processing procedure of the secure print system 1 The figure which shows an example of the setting information 802 The figure which shows the detail of the monitoring port 907 FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a message displayed on the printing apparatus 1000. Diagram showing details of job 310 The figure which shows the detail of the printing information management header 311 The figure which shows the detail of the job information 820 The figure which shows the detail of the job list 805 The figure which shows the detail of the execution list 804 The figure which shows the detail of the file system 501 The figure which shows the detail of IC card 410 The figure which shows an example of the user information 210 The figure which shows the detail of the LDAP directory 201 The figure which shows an example of the deletion setting 840 The figure which shows an example of the execution card information 850 The figure which shows an example of return time information 860 The figure which shows the Example of the secure print system 1a The figure which shows the Example of the secure print system 1b The flowchart which shows an example of the print job output processing procedure in Embodiment 2 of the secure print system 1 The flowchart which shows an example of the print job output processing procedure in Embodiment 2 of the secure print system 1 The figure which shows an example of the setting information 802 in Embodiment 2 of the secure print system 1

Embodiment 1
As a configuration for achieving the object of the present invention, for example, there is a configuration that does not use a print server. As a printing method without using the print server, a method using a normal print mode and a job accumulation mode is used.
The normal print mode is a mode in which printing is performed without accumulating jobs in the storage. The job accumulation mode is a mode in which jobs are accumulated in the storage and printing is performed by the user holding the IC card. When the authentication server is normal, the job storage mode is used. When the authentication server is down, the job storage mode is switched to the normal print mode.
More specifically, for example, when a user submits a job in the job accumulation mode, the job is accumulated in the storage. Next, assume that the authentication server is down when the IC card is held over to print a job. If the authentication server is down, the user name associated with the IC card cannot be acquired. Therefore, the user's job cannot be specified from the stored jobs. Therefore, it is necessary to switch to the normal print mode for operation. When the user submits the same job again, the job is output as it is without being stored. Thereby, even if the authentication server is down, the user can perform printing without hindering business. Further, when the authentication server is restored, the normal print mode is switched to the job accumulation mode. As a result, since jobs can be stored as usual, high-security printing can be performed. That is, when the authentication server returns, when the user holds the IC card, the job stored in the storage is printed again.
However, in such an operation, the user has already output a job having the same content, so that there is no need to print the job stored in the storage, but the useless job when the IC card is held over. (Duplicate job) is printed. In such an operation, there is a problem that it is impossible to delete a duplicate job that occurs at the time of switching, and it is necessary to print while knowing it is useless.
According to the present invention, the above problems can be solved.
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a secure print system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a conventional secure print system.

  As shown in FIG. 1, for example, one or a plurality of printing apparatuses (image forming apparatuses) 1000 installed on each floor, one or a plurality of client PCs 300 installed on the administrator, one on each user, and so on. One or more printer servers 101 installed at each site and one or more authentication servers 102 installed at each site are connected via a LAN (Local Area Network) 150. A card reader 400 is connected to the printing apparatus (image forming apparatus) 1000 via the USB cable 160.

The client PC 300 is a PC for setting the printing apparatus (image forming apparatus) 1000. The client PC 300 has a function capable of communicating with the printing apparatus (image forming apparatus) 1000 via the LAN 150 by, for example, HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol), and the like. PC.
The client PC 300 is a PC for inputting a print job from the user. When a user generates a print job from an application running on the client PC 300 via a printer driver, the printer driver uses a print protocol such as LPR (Line Printer daemon protocol) to send the print job to the printing apparatus (image forming apparatus) 1000 or the like. It can be transmitted to the printer server 101.

  The printer server 101 receives a print job from the client PC 300, analyzes the print job, acquires job information, and accumulates the print job. Also, it receives a print request from the printing apparatus (image forming apparatus) 1000, searches for the user's job from the stored job based on the user name included in the print request, and finds the user's job found in the printing apparatus (image forming apparatus). Device) 1000 and print instructions.

  The authentication server 102 is a server for the printing apparatus (image forming apparatus) 1000 to perform user authentication. It has data such as user name, e-mail address, usage authority, etc. associated with the card ID 211. In response to an inquiry from the printing apparatus (image forming apparatus) 1000, the authentication server 102 has a function of returning the presence / absence of a user and user information when there is a user.

The card reader 400 is connected to the printing apparatus (image forming apparatus) 1000 via the USB cable 160.
When the IC card 410 (for example, FeliCa (registered trademark) of Sony (registered trademark)) is held over the card reader 400, the card reader 400 reads information in the card and prints it via the USB cable 160 (image forming device). ) 1000 is notified.

Next, the secure print system 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the secure print system 1 according to the present invention.

A secure print system 1 shown in FIG. 2 is connected to a client PC (information processing apparatus) 300, an LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) server (authentication server) 200, and a NIC (network interface apparatus) 700 via a LAN 150. A NIC (network interface device) 700 is inserted into the printing apparatus 1000.
The NIC 700 connects a mass storage (storage unit) 500 and a card reader 400 via a USB cable 160 and a USB hub 600.
Although the mass storage 500 and the USB hub 600 are externally attached to the printing apparatus 1000 via the NIC 700, they may be built in the printing apparatus 1000. Further, when the NIC 700 has a plurality of USB ports 160, it is not necessary to go through the USB hub 600, and the card reader 400 and the mass storage 500 are directly connected to the NIC 700.

The LDAP server 200 performs the role of the authentication server 102 in FIG. 1 and has a function of performing communication using the LDAP protocol. The LDAP server 200 can centrally manage user information in an internal directory. The LDAP server 200 may be composed of one server. Further, the LDAP server 200 may be composed of two servers, a primary server and a secondary server, as will be described later. Further, the LDAP server 200 may be configured by three or more servers. In any case, the fact that the LDAP server 200 is down means that all the servers constituting the LDAP server 200 are down.
Although the LDAP server 200 is used in FIG. 2, the server is not limited to the LDAP server as long as it can perform authentication.
The client PC 300 is an information processing apparatus that generates print data.

The mass storage 500 is hardware having a large capacity file system such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory, and is connected to the USB hub 600 via the USB cable 160.
The mass storage 500 can perform file system control such as file writing, reading, and deletion from the printing apparatus 1000.

Next, the client PC 300, the LDAP server 200, the printing apparatus 1000, and the NIC 700 will be described with reference to FIGS.
3 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the LDAP server 200 and the client PC 300, FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the printing apparatus 1000, and FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the NIC 700.

  As shown in FIG. 3, an LDAP server 200 and a client PC 300 are connected via a system bus 2004 to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 2001, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 2002, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 2003, an input controller 2005, a video. A controller 2006, a memory controller 2007, and a communication I / F controller 2008 are connected.

The CPU 2001 controls each device and controller connected to the system bus 2004 in an integrated manner.
The ROM 2003 or the external memory 2011 holds a basic input / output system (BIOS) and an operating system (OS) that are control programs of the CPU 2001, various programs executed by each server or each PC, and the like.
A RAM 2002 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 2001. The CPU 2001 implements various operations by loading a program necessary for execution of processing from the ROM 2003 or the external memory 2011 to the RAM 2002 and executing the loaded program.

An input controller 2005 controls input from a pointing device such as a keyboard (KB) 2009 or a mouse (not shown).
The video controller 2006 controls display on a display device such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) 2010. The display is not limited to the CRT, but may be another display such as a liquid crystal display. These are used by the administrator as needed.

The memory controller 2007 is a hard disk (HD), flexible disk (FD), or PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) that stores a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, editing files, various data, and the like. Controls access to an external memory 2011 such as a compact flash (registered trademark) memory connected to the card slot via an adapter.
The communication I / F controller 2008 connects and communicates with an external device via a network such as the LAN 150, and executes communication control processing on the network. The communication I / F controller 2008 can perform communication using TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol), for example.

The CPU 2001 can display on the CRT 2010 by executing outline font rasterization processing on a display information area in the RAM 2002, for example. Further, the CPU 2001 enables a user instruction using a mouse cursor (not shown) on the CRT 2010 or the like.
Various programs operating on the hardware of the LDAP server 200 and the client PC 300 are recorded in the external memory 2011, loaded into the RAM 2002 as necessary, and executed by the CPU 2001. Definition files and various information tables used when executing the program are stored in the external memory 2011.

Next, the hardware configuration of the printing apparatus 1000 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the printing apparatus 1000 includes an input unit 3000, a CPU 3001, an operation unit 3002, a print processing unit 3003, a storage unit 3004, an output cassette 3005, a paper cassette 3006, and the like.

The input unit 3000 connects the printing apparatus and the NIC 700, and controls data communication with the NIC 700.
A CPU 3001 controls the overall operation of the printing apparatus 1000.
The operation unit 3002 provides an interface for direct user operation to the printing apparatus 1000.
A print processing unit 3003 analyzes a command received by the input unit 3000, analyzes print data (PDL), and the like.
The storage unit 3004 includes a ROM (not shown) for operating the printing apparatus 1000, a RAM (not shown), a secondary storage device (not shown), and the like. The RAM is a data storage area that is not restricted in use, and is used for data reception or the like in the reception buffer of the input unit 3000 or the print processing unit 3003.
The output unit 3005 transfers the print data received by the input unit 3000 into image information that can be printed by the print processing unit 3003 onto paper.
The paper cassette 3006 supplies appropriate paper in accordance with the processing of the output unit 3005.

  The NIC 700 is a network interface card. The NIC 700 receives data received from another device via the LAN 150 as a window, and passes the data to a program (not shown) in the NIC or the input unit 3000 of the printing apparatus 1000.

Next, the hardware configuration of the NIC 700 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5, the NIC 700 includes a CPU 4001, a RAM 4002, a communication I / F controller 4003, a USB I / F controller 4004, an internal memory 4005, a memory controller 4006, a ROM 4007, a device I / F controller 4008, and the like.

The CPU 4001 controls the NIC 700 and controls devices connected internally.
A RAM 4002 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 4001. The CPU 4001 loads a program necessary for execution of processing from the ROM 4007 or the internal memory 4005 to the RAM 4002 and executes the loaded program.
The communication I / F controller 4003 connects and communicates with an external device via a network such as the LAN 150, and executes communication control processing in the network. For example, communication using a communication protocol such as TCP / IP or UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is possible.

The USB I / F controller 4004 connects and communicates with the NIC 700 and USB devices such as the card reader 400, the mass storage 500, and the USB hub 600, and executes USB communication control processing.
The internal memory 4005 includes an OS that controls the NIC 700, and stores application programs that operate on the OS and setting information thereof.
The memory controller 4006 controls access to the internal memory 4005 that stores various applications, various data, and the like.
The ROM 4007 is a read-only semiconductor memory and stores a boot program because the contents are not lost even when the power is turned off.
A device I / F controller 4008 connects and communicates with the NIC 700 and the printing apparatus 1000.

Next, refer to FIGS. 6, 18, 19, 21, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 30, 31, and 32. However, the overall processing flow of the secure print system 1 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the secure print system 1 according to the present invention. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of the setting information 802, and FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating details of the monitoring port 907. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating details of the job 310. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing details of the print information management header 311. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating details of the job information 820. FIG. 24 is a diagram showing details of the job list 805. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing details of the execution list 804. FIG. 26 is a diagram showing details of the file system 501. FIG. 27 is a diagram showing details of the IC card 410. FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating an example of the user information 210. FIG. 29 is a diagram showing details of the LDAP directory 201. FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an example of the deletion setting 840. FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating an example of the execution card information 850. FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating an example of the return time information 860.

  In the secure print system 1, the NIC 700 connected to the LDAP server 200, the client PC 300, and the printing apparatus 1000 is connected via a LAN 150 capable of bidirectional communication. A mass storage 500, a USB hub 600, and a card reader 400 are connected to the NIC 700 via a USB cable 160 capable of USB communication.

The LDAP server 200 includes an LDAP directory 201, an LDAP function unit 202, an I / F driver unit 190, and the like. The LDAP server 200 can have a redundant configuration, and a plurality of LDAP servers may be installed.
Since the LDAP server 200 has a role of searching for user information in the system, the LDAP server 200 is not limited to the LDAP server as long as it has a function for storing and searching for user information.

The LDAP directory 201 stores data shown in FIG.
In the LDAP directory 201, one or a plurality of identification codes are arranged under the highest unit Suffix for grouping data groups, and one or a plurality of user information 210 is stored under the identification codes.
Generally, the identification code is constructed by OU (Organization Unit). Active
In Directory (registered trademark), Suffix is a unit called a domain.
As shown in FIG. 28, the user information 210 has a card ID 211, a user name 212, a password 213, a sub user 1 214, a sub user 2 215, a sub user 3 216, a sub user 4 217, a use restriction 218, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 27, the card ID 211 registers the ID of the user's IC card 410, and is a unique value in the suffix.
The user name 212 is the name of the user holding the IC card 410 that matches the card ID 211.
The password 213 is stored for user identification when performing user authentication.
The sub-users 1 to 4 214 to 217 have different names from the main user name 212 used by the user, and are user names used when the user acts as a proxy for another user.
The usage restriction 218 stores restriction information for using the printing apparatus 1000.

The LDAP function unit 202 performs communication connection, authentication, search, change, addition, deletion, disconnection, and the like according to the LDAP protocol.
In connection, a logical communication path is secured for the client that issued the connection request.
In the authentication, the user name that issued the authentication request is searched from the LDAP directory 201, the password is verified, and the authentication result is returned.
In the search, based on the value received the search request, the corresponding user is searched from the LDAP directory 201 and the matched user information 210 is returned.

  The I / F driver unit 190 connects and communicates with an external device via a network such as the LAN 150, and controls communication according to a communication protocol such as TCP / IP or UDP.

The client PC 300 includes an application unit 301, a printer driver unit 302, a transmission buffer 303, an I / F driver unit 190, and the like.
The application unit 301 provides a graphic user interface to the user, and generates image data suitable for the user's purpose.
The printer driver unit 302 converts the image data generated by the application unit 301 into page description language (PDL) data that can be printed by the printing apparatus 1000. Further, a print information management header 311 including job information such as a job owner 312 and a job name 313 is added to the PDL data as shown in FIG. 22 to create a job 310 shown in FIG.
The transmission buffer 303 temporarily stores the job 310 created by the printer driver unit 302 and realizes spooling.

The USB hub 600 includes a USB communication unit 195 and the like. The USB hub 600 relays the USB data, and transfers the USB data of the device connected to the USB hub 600 to other devices.
The USB communication unit 195 performs data communication such as control transfer, interrupt transfer, bulk transfer, and isochronous transfer according to the USB specification. Data transfer is a necessary condition, and the transfer speed, USB version, etc. are not particularly limited.

The mass storage 500 includes a file system 501, a file system management unit 502, a USB communication unit 195, and the like.
As shown in FIG. 26, the file system 501 stores the job 310 in an internal storage device (not shown). Also, the job 310 is written, read and deleted.

The card reader 400 includes a USB communication unit 195, a card reading unit 401, and the like.
The card reading unit 401 is for reading the card ID 211 from the IC card 410 (storage medium). When the IC card 410 is held over the card reader 400, information such as the card ID 211 is read from the IC card 410 (storage medium), and the information is transmitted to other devices connected via the USB communication unit 195.
In this embodiment, the authentication is performed by holding the IC card over the card reader. However, the authentication may be performed using fingerprint or vein information of the hand or finger (biological information). . In this case, it can be realized by replacing the card reader 400 with a reader (reading unit) that reads an object to be read such as a finger or a hand.

The NIC 700 includes an application 800, a NIC OS 900, and the like.
The application 800 is a program that operates on the NIC OS 900.
The NIC OS 900 controls the NIC 700, and at the same time, manages the application 800 on the NIC 700 and performs various instructions to the printing apparatus 1000.

  An application 800 of the NIC 700 includes a setting information management unit 801, setting information 802, an LPR communication unit 803, an execution list 804, a job list 805, an LDAP communication unit 806, an LDAP server monitoring unit 807, a print information management protocol analysis unit 808, and a list management. A section 809, a user notification section 810, a card reader management section 811, a file management section 812, a print instruction section 813, a beep instruction section 814, a panel display instruction section 815, and the like. Further, although not shown in FIG. 6, the application 800 includes a deletion setting 840, execution card information 850, return time information 860, and the like.

The setting information management unit 801 manages setting information 802 necessary for execution of the application 800 shown in FIG. 18, and writes and reads the setting information 802.
When the client PC 300 accesses the application 800 using a browser to set the setting information of the application 800, and the application 800 receives an instruction from the client PC 300, the setting information management unit 801 displays the set data as setting information 802. Hold as.
The setting information 802 includes a Suffix 831, an identification code 832, a primary server 833, a primary port 834, a secondary server 835, a secondary port 836, a user 837, a password 838, and the like.

The Suffix 831 and the identification code 832 are conditions for designating a search location when issuing a search request to the LDAP server 200.
The primary server 833, the primary port 834, the secondary server 835, and the secondary port 836 are information for connecting to the LDAP server 200. Since the LDAP server 200 can have a redundant configuration, it is possible to set a plurality of units such as primary and secondary.
The user 837 and the password 838 are information necessary for issuing an authentication request to the LDAP server 200.

The LPR communication unit 803 analyzes the LPR printing protocol and performs communication. The LPR communication unit 803 analyzes and communicates the protocol when receiving the job 310 from the client PC 300.
Here, LPR is described as an example, but the printing protocol is not limited to LPR.

The execution list 804 is shown in FIG. 25 and is a subset of the job list 805 shown in FIG. When printing is performed, a print instruction is issued based on the job information 310 stored in the execution list 804.
The job list 805 includes job information 820 shown in FIG. The job information 820 is information obtained by extracting information necessary for managing the job 310, and includes a user name 821, a file name 822, a job name 823, a time stamp 824, and the like. The job list 805 holds all information on the job 310 stored in the file system 501.

The LDAP communication unit 806 communicates with the LDAP server 200 according to the LDAP protocol, and connects to the LDAP server 200 specified by the primary server and the primary port of the setting information 802.
The LDAP communication unit 806 performs authentication using the user 837 and the password 838 of the setting information 802. Further, the LDAP communication unit 806 searches the user information 210 (FIG. 28) associated with the card ID 211 using the suffix 831 and the identification code 832 of the setting information 802 as search locations. If neither the primary nor the secondary can be accessed, the print port designation is canceled from the monitoring port 907.

  The LDAP server monitoring unit 807 periodically monitors whether the LDAP server 200 and the NIC 700 can communicate with each other. Actual connection processing and the like are performed through the LDAP communication unit 806. When it is determined that the LDAP server 200 and the NIC 700 can communicate during the monitoring process, and the print port is not set in the monitor port 907, the print port is added to the monitor port 907. This realizes the return of print switching when the server is down.

The print information management protocol analysis unit 808 analyzes the print information management header 311 included in the job 310. The print information management header 311 is binary data added to the head of PDL data, and includes various job information.
When the job owner 312 and job name 313 included in the print information management header 311 are acquired and the job information 820 is created, the value analyzed by the print information management protocol analysis unit 808 is used.

  A list management unit 809 manages the execution list 804 and the job list 805. When the job 310 is written in the file system 501, the job information 820 is received from the file management unit 812, and added to the job list 804 for management. In addition, job information 820 that matches the user name passed from the LDAP communication unit 806 is extracted from the job list 805 to create an execution list 804. The list management unit 809 receives a notification from the file management unit 812 when printing is completed, and deletes the corresponding job information 820 from the job list 805.

  The user notification unit 810 notifies the user who is using the printing apparatus 1000 of an error or the like. The user notification unit 810 issues a beep instruction to the NIC OS 900, sounds a beep from the printing apparatus 1000 to appeal to the user's hearing, and instructs the panel display to display arbitrary characters on the panel of the printing apparatus 1000. , Has a function to appeal to the user's vision.

  The card reader management unit 811 is for controlling the card reader 400 connected to the NIC 700 via the USB 160. When the IC card 410 (storage medium) is held over the card reader 400, the card reader management unit 811 acquires the card ID 211.

  The file management unit 812 manages the job 310 within the application 800. The file management unit 812 encrypts the job 310 and stores it in the file system 501. Also, the job 310 is decrypted and the job 310 is sent to the print instruction unit 813 or the job 310 is deleted from the file system 501 at the timing when the job input to the print instruction unit 813 is completed.

The print instruction unit 813 transmits the decrypted job 310 sent from the file management unit 812 to the NIC.
A print instruction is issued to the OS 900 using a print information management protocol.

The beep instruction unit 814 receives the beep command from the user notification unit 810 and notifies the NIC OS 900 of it. Regarding the beep sound, it is possible to use a print information management protocol, JL, UDP, or the like, or to realize a beep sound by various methods. Which function is supported differs depending on the printing apparatus 1000. The beep instruction unit 814 absorbs the difference depending on the type of the printing apparatus 1000 and performs an appropriate beep instruction.
The panel display instruction unit 815 displays an arbitrary message on a panel (not shown) of the printing apparatus 1000 using MIB (Management Information Base). In the case of a printing apparatus 1000 of a model that cannot be displayed for a certain period of time, the display is reset after being displayed for a few seconds.

  The deletion setting 840 is shown in FIG. 30 and is a setting related to the deletion processing function of the print data accumulated in the mass storage 500 when the LDAP server 200 is down and then returned. In the case of “ON”, the NIC 700 executes a deletion process. In the case of “AUTO”, the NIC 700 checks the execution list 804 and executes a deletion process when there is a job to be deleted. In the case of “OFF”, the NIC 700 does not execute the deletion process. The execution card information 850 is shown in FIG. 31 and is information on a card held by the user who executes the deletion process. The return time information 860 is shown in FIG. 32, and is information indicating the time when the LDAP server 200 is returned after being down. Note that in the case of a configuration in which it is confirmed whether or not communication with the LDAP server 200 is possible at regular intervals, the return time information 860 is not the time when the LDAP server 200 is actually recovered, but the connection is attempted by trying to connect to the LDAP server 200. It is also possible to set the confirmed time. That is, the return time information 860 can be restated as connection time information. Time includes time.

Next, details of the NIC OS 900 will be described.
The NIC OS 900 includes an I / F driver unit 190, a USB communication unit 195, an encryption / decryption unit 905, a print information management protocol analysis / communication unit 904, a JL communication unit 903, a UDP communication unit 902, an MIB communication unit 901, a communication control. Section 906 and a monitoring port 907.

The encryption / decryption unit 905 is for performing encryption and decryption of data. The format is not fixed, and block encryption such as DES (Data Encryption Standard), Triple DES, and AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), and stream encryption such as RC4 can be performed.
The print information management protocol analysis / communication unit 904 is for performing data communication according to the print information management protocol. The print information management protocol is a communication protocol for controlling the printing apparatus 1000, and can perform a print instruction, a beep sound, and the like.
The JL communication unit 903 is for performing JL communication. JL is a job control language, and can issue an information acquisition command for the printing apparatus 1000, a PDL data reception command, a beep command to the printing apparatus 1000, and the like.

The UDP communication unit 902 performs UDP communication. Using this UDP communication, a DNS (Domain Name System) query, a beep command, and the like can be performed.
The MIB communication unit 901 is for performing MIB communication. The MIB is a protocol for managing communication devices, and performs panel display of the printing apparatus 1000 and the like.
The communication control unit 906 notifies the application 800 of data received from the I / F driver unit 190 or passes it to the printing apparatus 1000. The communication control unit 906 notifies the application 800 when data is transmitted to the port set as the monitoring port 907, and receives data for a port not set as the monitoring port 907. Data is transferred to the printing apparatus 1000.
As illustrated in FIG. 19, the monitoring port 907 is information for the communication control unit 906 to determine which of the application 800 and the printing apparatus 1000 should transfer data. The monitoring port 907 specifies a communication port number to be notified to the application 800.

Next, the printing apparatus 1000 will be described.
The printing apparatus 1000 includes an I / F driver unit 190, a reception buffer 1001, a transmission buffer 1002, an MIB communication unit 901, a UDP communication unit 902, a JL communication unit 903, a print information management protocol analysis / communication unit 904, an LPR communication unit 803, A panel display unit 1008, a beep sound unit 1009, a PDL translator unit 1011, a device DB unit 1010, a drawing buffer 1012, a drawing unit 1013, and a printer engine unit 1014 are provided.

The reception buffer 1001 temporarily secures all data received by the I / F driver unit 190 and serves as a buffer for processing delay.
The transmission buffer 1002 temporarily secures all data before transmission to the I / F driver unit 190 and serves as a buffer for processing delay.
The panel display unit 1008 displays the designated message on the panel of the printing apparatus 1000.
The beep sounding unit 1009 activates a sounding device (not shown) built in the printing apparatus 1000 to make a sound.
The device DB unit 1010 stores information on the printing apparatus 1000 set by JL and provides the information to the PDL translator unit 1011. The environmental information here is, for example, the number of printed sheets.

The PDL translator unit 1011 performs a translation process on the PDL data and converts it into intermediate data that is a drawing object suitable for drawing.
The drawing buffer 1012 temporarily stores intermediate data of the drawing object generated by the PDL translator unit 1011 until actual printing is performed.
The drawing unit 1013 actually draws the drawing object temporarily stored in the drawing buffer 1012 to generate image data that is a bitmap image.
The printer engine unit 1014 receives the bitmap image generated by the drawing unit 1013 and prints it on a medium such as paper using a known printing technique.

Next, detailed processing of the secure print system 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 20.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print job input processing procedure of the secure print system 1. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print job output processing procedure of the secure print system 1. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print job output processing procedure of the secure print system 1. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print job output processing procedure of the secure print system 1. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print job output processing procedure of the secure print system 1. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print job output processing procedure of the secure print system 1. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a deletion confirmation processing procedure of the secure print system 1. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the deletion processing procedure of the secure print system 1. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a detailed procedure of output processing of the secure print system 1. FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an LDAP server monitoring process procedure of the secure print system 1. FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a user notification processing procedure of the secure print system 1. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a message displayed on the printing apparatus 1000.

  In the following, processing performed by the NIC 700 is described by distinguishing the function of the application 800 and the function of the NIC OS 900. Therefore, for the sake of convenience, the subject of processing is assumed to be the application 800 and the NIC OS 900. However, in practice, the NIC 700 is the subject that performs the processing. The NIC 700 that is hardware executes processing described later in cooperation with the application 800 or NIC OS 900 that is software.

  In FIG. 7, the NIC 700 receives print data from the client PC 300. The NIC 700 stores the received print data in the mass storage 500. The NIC 700 transmits print data to the printing apparatus 1000.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the job submission process to the secure print system 1, the application of the client PC 300 generates a job 310 via the printer driver (step S001).
When the client PC 300 transmits the generated job 310 to the NIC OS 900 (step S002), the NIC OS 900 receives the data transmitted from the client PC 300, and performs branch processing by looking at the setting of the monitoring port 907 (step S002). S003).
The client PC 300 does not need to be aware of whether the printing method uses the mass storage 500 or whether the printing is performed directly from the printing apparatus 1000 without being able to communicate with the LDAP server 200. Since the job 310 can be transmitted without being conscious of whether or not communication with the LDAP server 200 is possible when printing is output, it is possible to save the trouble of changing the setting and to realize a secure print system with higher usability. ing.

In the case of data to a non-monitoring port that is not set in the monitoring port 907, the NIC OS 900 transfers the received job 310 to the printing apparatus 1000 (step S004), and the printing apparatus 1000 accepts the transferred job 310, The data is stored in the reception buffer 1001, and spool processing is performed (step S005).
The printing apparatus 1000 analyzes the print information management header 311 of the spooled job 310 data (step S006). The analyzed data is used for internal log data (not shown).
The printing apparatus 1000 analyzes the PDL data in the job 310, creates intermediate data of the drawing object, and creates a bitmap image based on the intermediate data (step S007).
The printing apparatus 1000 prints the created bitmap image on a medium such as paper using a known printing technique (step S008).

When the received data is data to the port set as the monitoring port 907, if the received data is data to the port to be monitored, the NIC OS 900 transfers the job 310 to the application 800 (step S009).
The application 800 analyzes the print information management header 311 of the job 310, acquires the job owner and job name (step S010), and the application 800 creates job information 820 (step S011).
The acquired job owner 312 is stored as a user name 821, and the acquired job name 313 is stored as a job name 823. Also, a character string that is unique within the application is generated and used as the file name 822. The time stamp 824 is stored after writing the file.

In order to encrypt the job 310, the application 800 passes the data of the job 310 to the NIC OS 900, and specifies an encryption key, an encryption algorithm, and the like (step S012).
The NIC OS 900 encrypts the passed job data using the designated parameter (step S013).
The application 800 writes (writes) the job encrypted by the NIC OS 900 in the file system 501 (storage unit) (step S014).
Writing the job 310 to the file system 501 eliminates the need to write the job 310 to the printer server 101 as in the prior art. As a result, the printer server 101 is not required, and a secure print system with higher security is realized. Further, since the printer server 101 is unnecessary, it is possible to save the cost of installing the server and the trouble of setting the server installation in the secure print system introduction. Furthermore, even if the mass storage 500 is removed from the printing apparatus 1000, since the job 310 is written in an encrypted manner, there is no fear of reading the PDL data in the job 310, and higher security is realized. Yes.

When the NIC OS 900 transmits the processing for storing the job 310 to the mass storage 500 (step S015), the mass storage 500 writes the encrypted job 310 into the file system 501 (step S016).
The NIC OS 900 transmits the write processing of the encrypted job 310 to the file system 501 to the application 800 (step S017). When transmitted to the application 800, the application 800 acquires a time stamp (storage time information) at the time when the writing of the job 310 to the file system 501 is completed, and stores it in the time stamp 824 of the job information 820 (step S018).
The application 800 stores the created job information 820 in the job list 805 (step S019).

  Next, job output processing of the secure print system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. FIG.

  In FIG. 8, the NIC 700 transmits an authentication request including user information 210 to the LDAP server 200. Further, the NIC 700 determines whether or not communication with the LDAP server 200 is possible. If communication with the LDAP server 200 is not possible, the NIC 700 cancels the setting for storing the print data in the mass storage 500. In addition, when the setting to enable communication with the authentication server and the storage of the print data in the mass storage 500 is cancelled, the NIC 700 resets the setting.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the card reader 400 detects the IC card 410 (storage medium), reads the card ID 211 recorded therein (step S100), and the NIC OS 900 transmits the read information to the application 800. (Step S101). In this reading, the card ID is acquired by reading a specific area of the IC card (storage medium). In this specific area, card identification information or user identification information may be stored.

The application 800 acquires a card ID from the NIC OS 900 (accepts user identification information). Then, by checking the setting of the monitoring port 907, it is confirmed whether a print port (for example, 9100 for Raw or 515 for LPR) is set (step S102).
When the print port is not subject to monitoring and communication with the LDAP server 200 is not possible, the application 800 selects “AP Display Date”, which is message 1 from the message shown in FIG. 20, and the user notification process shown in FIG. Is performed (step S103).

  If the print port is set as the monitoring port 907, or if communication can be established by communicating with the LDAP server 200 even if the print port is not monitored, the print port is added to the monitoring port. The application 800 tries to connect to the LDAP server 200 based on the setting information 802 (step S104). More specifically, the application 800 refers to the setting information 802 and connects to the primary port of the primary LDAP server 200a. If the application 800 cannot be connected to the secondary port of the secondary LDAP server 200b, Connect to it. At this time, if communication with the LDAP server 200 is possible, the current time is set in the return time information 860 (time information storage). By comparing the time stamp of the job information 820 in the execution list 804 and the time stamp set in the return time information 860, it is possible to automatically determine whether there is a job to be deleted in the execution list 804. It becomes.

The NIC OS 900 tries to connect to the LDAP server 200 based on the connection request (step S105), and the application 800 performs a branch process depending on whether the connection attempt is successful (communication availability determination) (step S106).
More specifically, if it is not possible to connect to both the primary LDAP server 200a and the secondary LDAP server 200b, it is regarded as a connection failure.
Then, the application 800 cancels the setting of the print port set in the monitoring port 907 (step S107), selects “AP server error” in message 2 from the message shown in FIG. 20, and performs user notification processing (step S107). Step S108).
When the connection to the LDAP server 200 cannot be established, the setting of the monitoring port 907 is canceled, so that the job 310 is not stored in the mass storage 500 and printing is performed directly from the printing apparatus 1000 from the next printing. Accordingly, it is possible to output a printed matter even when communication with the LDAP server 200 is not possible.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, when the connection can be made to either the primary LDAP server 200a or the secondary LDAP server 200b, the application 800 performs LDAP authentication (step S109).
The user 837 and the password 838 of the setting information 802 are transmitted to the LDAP server 200, and an authentication request is issued (authentication request transmission). This authentication process is a process in the case where strong security is applied such that the search is not performed unless the LDAP server 200 authenticates. As another embodiment, when a setting that does not require authentication when performing a search (non-authentication setting) has been made, the processing from S109 to S114 accompanying authentication may be omitted.

The NIC OS 900 transmits the data transmitted from the application 800 to the LDAP server 200 (step S110).
The LDAP server 200 searches the LDAP directory 201 with the user name of the data transmitted by the LDAP server 200. When the user is found, the transmitted data is compared with the password 213 included in the user information 210 of the corresponding user, and the authentication result is returned (step S111).
When the NIC OS 900 transmits the data received from the LDAP server 200 to the application 800 (step S112), the application 800 receives the LDAP authentication result (step S113).

The application 800 performs a branching process depending on whether or not the authentication result in the previous stage S113 is acceptable (step S114). If the authentication fails, the application 800 selects “AP server error” of the message 2 from the message shown in FIG. This is performed (step S115).
If the authentication is successful, the application 800 searches the LDAP server 200 for the card ID 211 based on the setting information 802 (step S116).
The application 800 designates a search position using the Suffix 831 and the identification code 832 of the setting information 802.

The NIC OS 900 transmits the data transmitted from the application 800 to the LDAP server 200 (step S117).
The LDAP server 200 searches the LDAP directory 201 based on the data transmitted from the application 800, and returns the search result (step S118).
The specified card ID 211 is searched from the data under the specified Suffix 831 and the identification code 832, and the found user information 210 is transmitted. The Suffix 831 and the identification code 832 are information that is specified to specify the position of the user in the LDAP directory 201, and are generally values that are specified as SearchBases during the LDAP search.

  When the NIC OS 900 transmits the data received from the LDAP server 200 to the application 800 (step S119), the application 800 acquires a search result from the LDAP server 200 (accepts user identification information) (step S120).

Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the application 800 performs branch processing depending on whether the user information 210 has been acquired by looking at the search result from the LDAP server 200, that is, whether or not the user exists (step S <b> 121). .
When the user information 210 cannot be acquired, the application 800 selects “AP user password” of message 3 from the message shown in FIG. 20 and performs user notification processing (step S122).

When the user information can be acquired, the application 800 performs a branching process based on whether or not the user has a usage right based on the usage restriction of the user information 210 (step S123).
Various setting methods can be considered for the usage restriction. For example, the usage authority is expressed by a 4-digit number, the first digit is the printer usage authority, the second digit is the copy usage authority, and the third digit is a scan. Use authority The fourth digit is the use authority for fax. The value “0” is “unusable”, “1” is “monochrome only usable”, and “2” is “both color monochrome usable”. Then, referring to the usage authority in the user information 210, a method of considering “no authority” if the printer item is “0”, and “authorizing” if “1” or “2” is considered.
If there is no usage right, the application 800 selects “AP user error” in message 4 from the message shown in FIG. 20, and performs user notification processing (step S124).

  In FIG. 11, when the NIC 700 can communicate with the LDAP server 200, the NIC 700 acquires print data corresponding to the user information 210 from the mass storage 500.

As shown in FIG. 11, when there is a use authority, the application 800 extracts job information 820 having the same user name from the job list 805 using the user name in the acquired user information 210 as a key (step S125). .
The application 800 creates the execution list 804 using the extracted job information 820 as a list (step S126).

The application 800 acquires a sub user from the acquired user information 210 (step S127).
If sub user 1 has been acquired immediately before, the next sub user 2 is acquired. A series of processes from S127 to S130 related to the sub-user is a process performed to output a printed matter of a plurality of users by one user. For example, in the past, only one user could be registered per IC card, so it was necessary for the secretary to borrow an IC card if he wanted to output the supervisor's printed material. In addition, a user who uses two PCs alone needs to carry two IC cards. By performing processing related to this series of sub-users, it is possible to solve the above problems and to output printed materials of a plurality of users with a single IC card.

The application 800 checks the acquired sub-user (step S128), and if all the sub-users up to the sub-user 4 have been acquired, or if the sub-user has not been acquired or has not been registered, the process proceeds to S131. move on.
If the sub user can be acquired, the application 800 extracts job information 820 that matches the sub user from the job list 805 (step S129),
The extracted job information 820 is added to the execution list 804 (step S130).

When all the sub users are acquired, the application 800 sorts the created execution list 804 (step S131).
The job information 820 is sorted by the time stamp 824, then sorted by the user name 821, and rearranged in chronological order by the user name 821. By this sort, when it is desired to output a printed matter of a plurality of users, a collective output matter is obtained for each user, and the labor of sorting can be saved. In addition, since the printed matter of each user is arranged in the order of timeout, the order is in accordance with the instruction of the user who executed printing, and the output order is easy to understand for the user. Further, the sorting method is not limited to this method, and sorting may be performed by user name and then by time stamp.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 12, the application 800 checks the number of job information 820 in the execution list 804 (step S132), and in the case of 0, the message “AP job not” from message 5 shown in FIG. And a user notification process is performed (step S133).

  Next, the deletion confirmation process shown in FIG. 13 is performed (step S134), and all the job information 820 in the execution list 804 is cleared (step S138).

  Next, the deletion confirmation process of the secure print system 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the application 800 refers to the deletion setting 840 (step S601). If the deletion setting 840 is “OFF”, the process advances to step S602. If the deletion setting 840 is “ON” or “AUTO”, the process proceeds to step S607. The reason why the deletion setting 840 is confirmed here is that the deletion process shown in FIG. 14 takes more time than normal printing, and if it is not set, the normal printing process is performed.

If the deletion setting 840 is “OFF” in the determination in step S601, the application 800 performs a loop process with the number of job information 820 in the execution list 804 (step S602). When all the job information 820 is referenced, the loop process is terminated. This loop processing is processing for performing steps S603 to S606 for all job information 820 in the execution list. In step S602, it is determined whether the process has been completed for all job information 820 in the execution list. If the process has been completed, the deletion confirmation process is terminated.
The application 800 determines whether or not a job can be submitted (step S603). Usually, since a printing device has a limited RAM, a print job that can be submitted at one time is limited. The reason for determining whether or not to submit a job is to prevent a job from being submitted even though the submission limit has been exceeded and printing from failing.
Next, the application 800 performs a weight process (step S604). This wait processing prevents the phenomenon of occupying the CPU by continuing the loop (step S603 to step S604) when the job cannot be submitted beyond the submission limit.
The application 800 performs the detailed output process shown in FIG. 15 (step S605), and deletes the job information 820 from the execution list 804 (step S606).

  If the deletion setting 840 is “ON” or “AUTO” in the determination in step S601, the application 800 determines whether the deletion setting 840 is “AUTO” (step S607). Here, the deletion setting 840 is checked because the deletion process shown in FIG. 14 takes more time than normal printing, and the setting can be switched so that the deletion print process does not have to be performed every time. It is to do.

If the deletion setting 840 is ON in step S607, the application 800 performs the deletion process shown in FIG. 14 (step S610).
If the deletion setting 840 is “AUTO”, the execution list 804 is confirmed (step S608). Specifically, the time stamp 824 in the job information 820 in the execution list 804 (time (including time) when storing the print data) is compared with the return time information 860. This compares all the job information 820 in the execution list 804. As a result, if there is at least one job information 820 before the return time information 860, it is considered that there is a job to be deleted, and conversely, if there is no job information 820, it is considered that there is no job to be deleted (step S609). Thereby, it is possible to avoid a useless job being output when the LDAP server 200 is restored.

  A job to be deleted is a job that was submitted before the authentication server went down, and after that, the authentication server went down and could not be printed. Even for a job to be deleted, it is necessary for the user to determine whether or not to actually delete the job. This may be deleted if the user prints a job with the same content after the authentication server goes down, but should not be deleted otherwise. This is because I don't know. For example, even if the user name 821, the file name 822, and the job name 823 shown in FIG. 23 are all the same, the system cannot determine whether the contents match. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, it is necessary to make a judgment based on the job submission time (time stamp 824, etc.) rather than the contents of the submitted job (file name 822, job name 823, etc.), and user judgment is required. The user as a job to be deleted.

  If there is no job to be deleted in step S609, the application 800 proceeds to step S602 and performs normal printing.

  If there is a job to be deleted in step S609, the application 800 performs the deletion process shown in FIG. 14 (step S610).

  Next, the deletion process of the secure print system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. There are three deletion processes. The first method is to confirm deletion of all jobs in the execution list 804 with the user, which will be described below. Second, only the jobs in the execution list 804 that have been determined to be deleted in step S609 are confirmed with the user. The remaining jobs are automatically printed according to the flow from step S602 to step S606. Third, among the jobs in the execution list 804, those that are determined to be deleted in step S609 are automatically deleted without confirmation from the user. The remaining jobs are automatically printed according to the flow from step S602 to step S606. Here, the flow of the first pattern will be described.

  First, the application 800 stores the card ID 211 read in step S100 in the execution card information 850 (user identification information storage) (step S701). Thereby, it is possible to prevent unauthorized deletion by holding the card over another user. Subsequently, the application 800 performs a loop process with the number of job information 820 in the execution list 804 (step S702). When all the job information 820 is referenced, the loop process is terminated. This loop processing is processing for performing steps S703 to S715 for all job information 820 in the execution list. In step S702, it is determined whether the processing has been completed for all job information 820 in the execution list. If the processing has been completed, the card ID 211 set in the execution card information 850 is deleted (step S702). S717), the deletion process is terminated.

  The application 800 acquires job information 820 from the execution list 804 (acquires print data identification information), and issues a command to the NIC OS 900 to display the job name 823 (print data identification information) therein on the panel (printing). Data identification information transmission) (step S703).

  The NIC OS 900 transfers the command received from the application 800 to the printing apparatus 1000 (print data identification information transmission) (step S704).

  The printing apparatus 1000 displays the job name 823 on the panel (notification of identification information) based on the command received from the NIC OS 900 (step S705).

The application 800 determines whether a button (print instruction button) on a panel installed in the printing apparatus 1000 has been pressed (step S706). Whether the button on the panel has been pressed is determined by receiving a notification that the button has been pressed from the NIC OS 900 that has detected that the button has been pressed. If pressed, the process proceeds to S712. In addition, since the display unit of the panel is immediately reset as the interrupt process, it is possible to perform the processes of S708 to S710 at this timing.
If not pressed, the application 800 determines whether or not a card is held over while the job name 823 is displayed on the display unit of the panel (between steps S703 and S705) (S711). If the card is held over, the card ID 211 of the held card is compared with the execution card information 850 (determining whether or not they match) (step S716). Here, the comparison of the card IDs 211 is performed to prevent a person other than the user who holds the card first from holding the card and deleting the printed matter of the other person illegally.
If the card ID 211 is the same as (matches) the execution card information 850, a job described later is deleted (step S715). If the card ID 211 is different from the execution card information 850, an error notification is sent to the effect that it is determined that the card is not someone else and cannot be deleted (S718). This error notification may be notified by displaying a message “cannot be deleted” on the display unit of the panel, or may be notified by voice.
If the card is not held up, it is confirmed whether or not a predetermined number of seconds is displayed (notified for a predetermined time) on the display unit of the panel (step S707). . The reason for confirming the pressing of the panel button is to improve convenience. If you don't do this, you'll always wait for a few seconds for jobs you know are unnecessary. Therefore, for jobs that are clearly unnecessary, they are immediately hidden by pressing the panel button, and printing is performed immediately. The reason why the job name 823 is displayed on the display unit of the panel for a predetermined number of seconds is to recognize the job name displayed to the user and to give time to hold the card.

If the application 800 determines in step S706 that the card is held over, the application 800 determines that the job is not deleted and determines whether or not the job can be submitted (step S712). Usually, since a printing device has a limited RAM, a print job that can be submitted at one time is limited. The reason for determining whether or not to submit a job is to prevent a job from being submitted even though the submission limit has been exceeded and printing from failing.
Next, when the job input limit (the number of jobs that can be input) is exceeded (NO in step S712), the application 800 performs a wait process, that is, a temporary standby process (step S713). This wait process prevents step S712 from being performed without waiting when a job cannot be submitted beyond the submission limit. This prevents the phenomenon of occupying the CPU.
If it is determined in step S712 that a job can be submitted, the application 800 performs detailed output processing shown in FIG. 15 (step S714), and deletes the job information 820 from the execution list 804 (step S715). Also, the job corresponding to the file system 501 is deleted.
The application 800 instructs the NIC OS 900 to reset the display unit of the panel after deleting the job in step S715 or displaying the job name 823 on the panel for a fixed time (when it is determined that the fixed number of seconds is displayed in S707). A request is made (step S708).

  The NIC OS 900 transfers the command received from the application 800 to the printing apparatus 1000 (step S709).

  The printing apparatus 1000 resets the panel display based on the command received from the NIC OS 900 (step S710). The panel display unit is reset after the process of S715 is performed, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the panel reset process can be performed at an arbitrary timing. For example, when it is determined in S707 that the predetermined number of seconds is displayed, the process of S707 is executed before the process of S712 is performed. Alternatively, when it is determined in S706 that the button has been pressed, the process of S707 is executed before the process of S712 is started.

  When the process of step S708 ends, the application 800 returns to step S702 and moves to the process of the next job information 820 in the execution list 804.

Next, detailed job output processing of the secure print system 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 15, the NIC 700 transmits print data to the printing apparatus 1000.

As shown in FIG. 15, the application 800 acquires a job 310 from the file system 501 based on the job information 820 passed from the upper level (step S201). The application 800 requests the mass storage 500 to acquire a file in the file system 501 that matches the file name 822 stored in the job information 820.
When the NIC OS 900 transmits a command from the application 800 to the mass storage 500 (step S202), the mass storage 500 reads a specified file from the file system 501 and returns it to the application 800 (step S203). The command from 500 is transmitted to the application 800 (step S204).

The application 800 requests the NIC OS 900 to decrypt the acquired job 310 and simultaneously designates a decryption key, a decryption algorithm, and the like (step S205).
The NIC OS 900 performs a data decryption process (step S206), and the application 800 issues a print instruction for the decrypted job 310 (step S207).
The NIC OS 900 receives a command from the application 800, and sends a print instruction for the job 310 to the printing apparatus 1000 using print information management protocol communication (step S208).

The printing apparatus 1000 receives the job 310, stores it in the reception buffer, and performs spool processing (step S209). When the storage in the reception buffer ends, the printing apparatus 1000 returns control to the NIC OS 900 without waiting for the end of printing.
The printing apparatus 1000 analyzes the print information management header 311 of the spooled job 310 data (step S210). The analyzed data is used for internal log data (not shown).
The printing apparatus 1000 analyzes the PDL data in the job 310 to generate intermediate data of the drawing object, generates a bitmap image based on the intermediate data (step S211), and the generated bitmap image is known. Printing is performed on a medium such as paper using a printing technique (step S212).

When the NIC OS 900 transmits a command from the printing apparatus 1000 to the application 800 (step S213), the application 800 requests the mass storage 500 to delete the corresponding job 310 from the file system 501 (step S214).
When the NIC OS 900 transmits the command of the application 800 to the mass storage 500 (step S215), the mass storage 500 deletes the designated job 310 from the file system 501 (step S216).
The NIC OS 900 transmits a command from the mass storage 500 to the application 800 (step S217).

Next, the LDAP server monitoring process of the secure print system 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 16, the NIC 700 confirms whether or not communication with the LDAP server 200 is possible at regular intervals. In addition, when the NIC 700 can communicate with the LDAP server 200 and the setting for storing the print data in the mass storage 500 has been canceled, the NIC 700 resets the setting.

  As illustrated in FIG. 16, when the application 800 registers the LDAP server monitoring process as a thread in the NIC OS 900 and starts the process (step S301), the NIC OS 900 checks whether the application 800 has ended (step S302). .

If the application 800 has not ended, the application 800 requests the NIC OS 900 to connect to the ports of the primary LDAP server 200a and the secondary LDAP server 200b set in the setting information 802 (step S303), and the NIC OS 900 Connects to the two specified LDAP servers 200 (step S304).
The application 800 checks whether it can connect to either the primary LDAP server 200a or the secondary LDAP server 200b (communication availability determination) (step S305). If the connection is established, the application 800 prints with the setting of the monitoring port 907. It is confirmed whether or not a port is set (step S306).
If no print port is set for the monitoring port 907, the application 800 adds the print port to the monitoring port 907 (step S307).
At this time, if communication with the LDAP server 200 is possible, the current time is set in the return time information 860. By comparing the time stamp of the job information 820 in the execution list 804 and the time stamp set in the return time information 860, it is possible to automatically determine whether there is a job to be deleted in the execution list 804. It becomes.
The application 800 performs a wait process and avoids the possibility of occupying the CPU due to a loop (step S308).

  Next, the user notification process of the secure print system 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 17, the application 800 acquires a message character string transmitted from the host (step S501), and requests the NIC OS 900 to sound a beep and designate a message (step S502).
The NIC OS 900 determines the type of the printing apparatus 1000 and instructs a beep sound using an appropriate method (step S503). For example, because UDP, print information management protocol, and JL are used depending on the model, the NIC OS 900 absorbs the information and issues a beep sound instruction by a method suitable for the model of the printing apparatus 1000. For panel display, a display instruction is sent to the printing apparatus 1000 using the MIB.
The printing apparatus 1000 receives the command, makes a beep sound (step S504), and displays a specified message on the panel (step S505).

Next, an embodiment of the secure print system 1a according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 33 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the secure print system 1a.

The user logs in to the client PC 300 (step 1-1) and issues a data print instruction (step 1-2).
The printer driver generates a job from the data and transmits it to the printing apparatus 1000 (step 2-1). If the NIC 700 does not monitor the port on the printing apparatus 1000, the job is output as it is from the printing apparatus 1000 (step 2-2A). On the other hand, when the NIC 700 is monitoring the port, the NIC 700 prefetches the job before passing it to the printing apparatus 1000 and stores it in the mass storage 500 (step 2-2B).

The user who gives the print instruction holds the IC card 410 over the card reader 400 (step 3-1). The card reader 400 reads the card ID 211 from the IC card 410 and notifies the printing apparatus 1000 (step 3-2).
The printing apparatus 1000 inquires of the LDAP server 200 about the user name that matches the received card ID 211 (step 4-1). The LDAP server 200 searches the LDAP directory 201 and transmits the searched user name to the printing apparatus 1000 (step 4-2).
The printing apparatus 1000 searches the mass storage 500 for a job that matches the user name (step 5-1), and the mass storage 500 passes the corresponding job to the printing apparatus 1000 (step 5-2).
The printing apparatus 1000 displays one of the received jobs on the display. In the meantime, if the user holds the IC card 410 over the card reader 400, the corresponding job is deleted (step 6-1). If the user does not hold the IC card 410 over the card reader 400, the corresponding job is output as it is (step 6-2). The printing apparatus 1000 repeats Step 6-1 and Step 6-2 for the number of jobs acquired in Step 5-2.

Next, an embodiment of the secure print system 1b according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the secure print system 1b.
The user logs in to the client PC 300 (step 1-1) and issues a data print instruction (step 1-2).
The printer driver generates a job from the data and transmits it to the printer server 101 (step 2-1). The printer server 101 stores the job in the file system (step 2-2), extracts bibliographic data from the job, and registers it in the bibliographic information (step 2-3).
The user who gives the print instruction holds the IC card 410 over the card reader 400 (step 3-1). The card reader 400 reads the card ID 211 from the IC card 410 and notifies the printing apparatus 1000 (step 3-2).
The printing apparatus 1000 inquires of the authentication server 102 about the user name that matches the received card ID 211 (step 4-1). The authentication server 102 searches the authentication table and transmits the searched user name to the printing apparatus 1000 (step 4-2).
The printing apparatus 1000 requests the printer server 101 to acquire a job list that matches the user name (step 5-1). The printer server 101 searches the bibliographic data (step 5-2) and transmits a list to the printing apparatus 1000 (step 5-3).
The printing apparatus 1000 displays one of the received jobs on the display. In the meantime, if the user holds the IC card 410 over the card reader 400, a deletion request is issued to the printer server 101 (step 6-2). If the user does not hold the IC card 410 over the card reader 400, a print instruction is issued to the printer server 101 so as to print the user's job (step 6-2). The printer server 101 searches for the job of the corresponding user from the bibliographic information (step 6-3), and acquires actual job data from the file system based on the bibliographic data (step 6-4). The printer server 101 issues a print command to the printing apparatus 1000 (step 6-5), and the printing apparatus 1000 outputs data according to the command (step 6-6).
The printing apparatus 1000 repeats Step 6-1 and Step 6-6 as many times as the number of jobs acquired in Step 5-3.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a mechanism for deleting print data even from a printer in which print data cannot be deleted by the operation unit. In addition, even when authentication cannot be performed due to an authentication server going down or the like, it is possible to provide a mechanism for preventing printing work from being delayed.

  In the secure print system 1a and the secure print system 1b according to the present invention, the print data can be deleted even from a printer in which the print data cannot be deleted by the operation unit. In the secure print system 1a and the secure print system 1b according to the present invention, even if the authentication server does not operate for some reason, it is possible to perform printing, and therefore a highly available system that does not stop the user's work. It becomes.

  Since the secure print system 1a according to the present invention does not use a printer server, the problem that print data is accumulated in the printer server and becomes a security hole is solved, and the system becomes more confidential. In addition, since a printer server is not used, the environment construction cost for secure printing can be reduced, resulting in a cheaper system. Further, in the secure print system 1a according to the present invention, by not using a printer server, the client is different even in the case of accumulated printing for performing secure printing or in the case of not performing accumulated printing when the authentication server is stopped. This makes it possible to submit a print job with exactly the same operation without being conscious of the fact that the system is more user-friendly. In addition, the secure print system 1a according to the present invention does not use a printer server and does not require a printer driver setting change, so that the installation and installation can be easily performed and the system is less time-consuming.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, a second embodiment of the secure print system 1a (FIG. 33) according to the present invention will be described.
In the first embodiment, when a user deletes a job, the IC card is temporarily held over, and then the job displayed on the panel is viewed. If the job is to be deleted, the IC card is held over and the deletion is determined for each job However, in the present embodiment, a configuration in which all user jobs are deleted when the IC card is held over a predetermined time will be described.
Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
Note that FIG. 8 in the first embodiment is replaced with FIG. 35, FIG. 12 in the first embodiment is replaced with FIG. 36, and FIG. 18 in the first embodiment is replaced with FIG. .
Other drawings are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

First, data used in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 37 is a diagram showing details of the setting information 802 in the present embodiment.
The setting information 802 includes a Suffix 831, an identification code 832, a primary server 833, a primary port 834, a secondary server 835, a secondary port 836, a user 837, a password 838, a total deletion waiting time 839, and the like. The all deletion waiting time 839 stores a value for comparison with the time the IC card is held over. This time can be arbitrarily set. For example, a time (predetermined time) such as 3 seconds can be set.
Note that the setting information 802 shown in FIG. 37 is the same as the setting information 802 shown in FIG. 18, and is obtained by adding a total deletion waiting time 839 to the setting information 802 shown in FIG.

Next, detailed processing of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 35 and 36.
FIG. 35 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print job output processing procedure according to the present embodiment. FIG. 36 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print job output processing procedure according to the present embodiment.
In the following, processing performed by the NIC 700 is described by distinguishing the function of the application 800 and the function of the NIC OS 900. Therefore, for the sake of convenience, the subject of processing is assumed to be the application 800 and the NIC OS 900. However, in practice, the NIC 700 is the subject that performs the processing. The NIC 700 that is hardware executes processing described later in cooperation with the application 800 or NIC OS 900 that is software.

First, the details of the print job output process of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 35, the application 800 stores the time that the IC card 410 (storage medium) was held over. Further, the NIC 700 transmits an authentication request including the user information 210 to the LDAP server 200. Further, the NIC 700 determines whether or not communication with the LDAP server 200 is possible. If communication with the LDAP server 200 is not possible, the NIC 700 cancels the setting for storing the print data in the mass storage 500. In addition, when the setting that enables communication with the authentication server and the storage of the print data in the mass storage 500 is cancelled, the NIC 700 resets the setting.

As shown in FIG. 35, the card reader 400 detects the IC card 410 (storage medium), reads the card ID 211 recorded therein (step S100), and the NIC OS 900 transmits the read information to the application 800. (Step S101). In this reading, the card ID is acquired by reading a specific area of the IC card (storage medium). In this specific area, card identification information or user identification information may be stored.
When the card is detected in step S100 of FIG. 35, the card reader 400 transmits (transmits) information indicating that the card including the card ID of the IC card is held over to the NIC OS 900, and the NIC OS 900 transmits the IC to the application 800. Information indicating that the card including the card ID of the card is held over is notified (transmitted).
Since the card ID is uniquely associated with the user name in the LDAP server 200, the card ID can be paraphrased as user identification information for identifying the user.

  When the application 800 receives information indicating that the card including the card ID of the IC card is held, the application 800 acquires the current time in seconds and stores it as “IC card holding time stamp” (step S101-1). ). The reason why the current time is acquired is to calculate the time when the IC card 410 (storage medium) is held over later.

  The card reader 400 detects that the IC card 410 (storage medium) held in the previous stage is released, and transmits (transmits) information indicating that the card including the card ID of the IC card 410 is released to the NIC OS 900. (Step S101-2). Further, the NIC OS 900 notifies (transmits) information indicating that the card including the transmitted (transmitted) card ID has been released to the application 800 (step S101-3).

The application 800 receives information indicating that the card including the card ID has been released, acquires the time that the IC card 410 (storage medium) is held over the card reader 400 (“IC card holding time”), and acquires the RAM 4002. (Step S101-4).
Specifically, the current time at which the information indicating that the card including the card ID has been released is received in seconds, and stored as “IC card removal time stamp”. Then, the difference from the “IC card holding time stamp” stored in step S 101-1 is calculated and stored in the RAM 4002 (determining the time the IC card was held over). This calculation result is defined as the time when the IC card 410 is held over.
In this example, the held time, the removed time, and the held time are calculated as the number of seconds. However, if it is desired to check strictly, the time may be calculated in milliseconds.
In addition, the calculation method of the time from when the IC card is held up to when the IC card is removed starts a timer when information indicating that the IC card is held is received without using a time stamp, Next, it is possible to obtain a time when information indicating that the IC card has been removed is received.
Since the processing in steps S102 to S108 is the same as that in the first embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.
In this embodiment, authentication is performed by holding an IC card over a card reader. However, as in the first embodiment, authentication using fingerprint or hand / finger vein information (biological information) is performed. The configuration used may be used. In this case, it can be realized by replacing the card reader 400 with a reader (reading unit) that reads an object to be read such as a finger or a hand.
In addition to the time when the IC card (reading object) is held over the card reader (reading unit), the finger or hand (reading object) is placed on the reader (reading unit). It is also possible to switch between deleting all print jobs or deleting print jobs one by one according to this time.

Next, a print job output process following FIG. 11 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 36, the application 800 checks the number of jobs in the execution list 804. Further, the application 800 branches the process depending on the time over which the IC card 410 (storage medium) is held.

As shown in FIG. 36, the application 800 checks the number of job information 820 in the execution list 804 (step S132), and if the number of job information 820 in the execution list 804 is zero, the message shown in FIG. From message 5 is selected, and user notification processing is performed (step S133).
If the number of job information 820 in the execution list 804 is not zero (one or more), the process proceeds to step S140.
The application 800 acquires the time that the IC card 410 (storage medium) stored in step S101-4 was held from the RAM 4002 and determines whether or not the held time is equal to or longer than a certain time (IC card is It is determined whether or not the held time is a predetermined time) (step S140).
Specifically, the “IC card holding time” calculated in step S101-4 is compared with the total deletion waiting time 839 set in the setting information 802. As a result of the comparison, if “IC card holding time” is longer, it is determined that the card has been held for a certain period of time (YES in step S140). As a result of the comparison, if the total deletion waiting time 839 is longer, it is determined that it has not been held for a certain period of time.
In addition, since the setting of the total deletion waiting time 839 as a determination criterion can be changed, even in a case where normal printing is performed, there is an environment where there is a user with a long time for holding the IC card 410, an environment where there is a user who wants to quickly delete all, etc. It can respond flexibly according to the user's environment.

The application 800 refers to the execution list 804 and deletes all the user jobs corresponding to the card ID from the mass storage (storage unit) (step S141).
Specifically, job information 820 is extracted from the execution list 804. Next, the file name 822 held in the job information 820 is acquired. Next, the job 310 matching the file name 822 is searched in the file system 501 and deleted.
The above processing is repeated for the number of jobs stored in the execution list 804.

  Since step S134 and step S138 are the same as those in the first embodiment, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. However, in step S140, the IC card 410 (storage medium) stored in step S101-4 was held from the RAM 4002. When the time is acquired and it is determined that the held time is not equal to or longer than the predetermined time (NO in step S140), the process proceeds to step S134, and the job name 823 is displayed on the panel (identification information notification) to make the IC Each time the card is held over, the job corresponding to the job name is deleted from the mass storage (storage unit).

With the above processing (step S140, step S141), the user can easily delete all jobs with a simple operation of holding the IC card longer than usual. Therefore, even when a user accidentally submits a large number of jobs or a large number of jobs that do not need to be printed remain, it is not necessary to delete them one by one as in the first embodiment. It becomes an easy mechanism.
Further, if the time over which the IC card is held is short, the same processing as in the first embodiment can be performed, so that the first embodiment and the present embodiment (second embodiment) can be switched. Therefore, the user determines a method for deleting all jobs or printing / deletion for each job according to the purpose, and switches the deletion method on the printing apparatus according to the operation (time) of holding the IC card. It becomes possible.
In the present embodiment, the configuration of FIG. 33 has been described. However, the present embodiment can also be realized in a system (secure print system 1b) including the print server 101 of FIG.

  Thus, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a mechanism for deleting a job by holding a card. In addition, a mechanism for deleting all the jobs of the user can be provided by holding the card for a long time.

  The preferred embodiments of the secure print system and the network interface device according to the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but are not limited to the above-described embodiments. It is obvious for those skilled in the art that various modifications or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood that it belongs.

101... Printer server 102... Authentication server 150.
160 ......... USB cable 200 ......... LDAP server 300 ......... Client PC
400 ......... Card reader 500 ......... Mass storage 600 ......... USB hub 700 ......... NIC
1000 ... Printer

Claims (13)

The print object is acquired by reading a reading object that is normally used by the user to use the image forming apparatus with the reading unit, and is connected to the image forming apparatus that executes printing of the print data, and is associated with the user identification information. A network interface device connected to print data storage means for storing the received print data,
By reading the read object used to normally use the image forming apparatus by the reading means, the object to be read to the reading means and determining means for determining whether held over for a predetermined,
When the object to be read by said determining means is determined to have been held over for a predetermined reading reads the execution of a print switch to execute the deletion by the object, obtained by reading the object to be read by said reading means A network interface apparatus comprising: print data deleting means for deleting print data corresponding to user identification information for identifying a user from the print data storage means. The predetermined between the network interface device of claim 1, wherein the Ru time der. The print data deleting unit corresponds to user identification information for identifying a user obtained by reading the reading object by the reading unit when the determining unit determines that the reading object is held for a predetermined time. All print data to be deleted from the print data storage means,
When the object to be read by said determining means is determined not held over for a predetermined, the print data corresponding to the user identification information identifying the user which is obtained by reading the object to be read by the reading means Output means for obtaining and outputting from the print data storage means
The network interface device according to claim 1 , further comprising: The print data deleting unit re-accepts the reading object of the same user as the reading object read by the reading unit when the determining unit determines that the reading object is not held for a predetermined time. The print data corresponding to the user identification information obtained by reading the object to be read by the reading unit is deleted from the print data storage unit. Network interface equipment. In response to reading the object to be read by the reading unit and obtaining the user identification information, the print data identification information of the print data corresponding to the user identification information stored in the print data storage unit is determined for a predetermined period of time by the user. A print data identification information transmitting means for transmitting the print data identification information to the image forming apparatus.
The print data deleting unit is notified when the print object identification information transmitted by the print data identification information transmitting unit is received again for a predetermined period by the image forming apparatus and when the object to be read by the same user is received again. 5. The network interface device according to claim 4, wherein the print data is deleted from the print data storage unit according to the print data identification information. When the print data identification information transmitted by the print data identification information transmitting unit is notified for a predetermined time by the image forming apparatus for a predetermined period of time, when the reading object of the same user is not received again, the output unit displays the print data. The print data identification information transmitting means outputs the print data identification information to the image forming apparatus to notify the user of print data identification information for identifying the next print data stored in the print data storage means for a predetermined time. 6. The network interface device according to claim 5, wherein the network interface device transmits information.   7. The determination unit according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit acquires a time during which the reading object is held over the reading unit, and determines whether the acquired time is a predetermined time. The network interface device according to claim 1. The network interface device communicates with an authentication server for authenticating a user;
When the reading object is read by the reading means and user identification information is obtained, an authentication request transmitting means for transmitting an authentication request including the user identification information to the authentication server;
Print data identification information acquisition for acquiring print data identification information of print data corresponding to the user identification information when the user identification information is authenticated by transmitting an authentication request to the authentication server by the authentication request transmission unit And further comprising means
The network interface device according to claim 1, wherein the print data identification information transmission unit transmits the print data identification information acquired by the print data identification information acquisition unit. The print object is acquired by reading a reading object that is normally used by the user to use the image forming apparatus with the reading unit, and is connected to the image forming apparatus that executes printing of the print data, and is associated with the user identification information. A method for controlling a network interface device connected to print data storage means for storing received print data,
The network interface device is
A determination step of determining whether or not the reading unit is held over the reading unit for a predetermined period by reading the reading unit that is normally used to normally use the image forming apparatus by the reading unit;
Is obtained by reading the determination if the object to be read in step is determined to have been held over for a predetermined reading reads the execution of a print switch to execute the deletion by the object, an object to be read by said reading means A control method for a network interface device, comprising: executing a print data deletion step of deleting print data corresponding to user identification information for identifying a user from the print data storage unit. The print object is acquired by reading a reading object that is normally used by the user to use the image forming apparatus with the reading unit, and is connected to the image forming apparatus that executes printing of the print data, and is associated with the user identification information. A program executable by a network interface device connected to a print data storage means for storing the received print data,
The network interface device;
By reading the read object used to normally use the image forming apparatus by the reading means, the object to be read to the reading means and determining means for determining whether held over for a predetermined,
When the object to be read by said determining means is determined to have been held over for a predetermined reading reads the execution of a print switch to execute the deletion by the object, obtained by reading the object to be read by said reading means A program that causes print data corresponding to user identification information for identifying a user to function as a print data deletion unit that deletes the print data from the print data storage unit. The print data is acquired by reading a reading object that is normally used by the user for using the image forming apparatus with the reading unit, the print data is printed, and the print data associated with the user identification information is stored. An image forming apparatus connected to the print data storage means
By reading the read object used to normally use the image forming apparatus by the reading means, the object to be read to the reading means and determining means for determining whether held over for a predetermined,
Is obtained by reading the when the object to be read by the determining means is determined to have been held over for a predetermined reading reads the execution of a print switch to execute the deletion by the object, an object to be read by said reading means An image forming apparatus comprising: a print data deleting unit that deletes print data corresponding to user identification information for identifying a user from the print data storage unit. The print data is acquired by reading a reading object that is normally used by the user for using the image forming apparatus with the reading unit, the print data is printed, and the print data associated with the user identification information is stored. A method for controlling an image forming apparatus connected to print data storage means
The image forming apparatus includes:
By reading the read object used to normally use the image forming apparatus by the reading means, the object to be read to the reading means and the determination step of determining whether or not held over for a predetermined,
Is obtained by reading the determination if the object to be read in step is determined to have been held over for a predetermined reading reads the execution of a print switch to execute the deletion by the object, an object to be read by said reading means A control method comprising: executing a print data deletion step of deleting print data corresponding to user identification information for identifying a user from the print data storage unit. The print data is acquired by reading a reading object that is normally used by the user for using the image forming apparatus with the reading unit, the print data is printed, and the print data associated with the user identification information is stored. A program executable by the image forming apparatus connected to the print data storage means
The image forming apparatus;
By reading the read object used to normally use the image forming apparatus by the reading means, the object to be read to the reading means and determining means for determining whether held over for a predetermined,
Is obtained by reading the when the object to be read by the determining means is determined to have been held over for a predetermined reading reads the execution of a print switch to execute the deletion by the object, an object to be read by said reading means A program that causes print data corresponding to user identification information for identifying a user to function as a print data deletion unit that deletes print data from the print data storage unit.

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