JP6241397B2 - Image forming apparatus and image forming system - Google Patents

Description

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

  In recent years, image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers, and multifunction machines have become a necessity in offices and the like. Such an image forming apparatus directly obtains and prints image data by a user's direct operation, and receives image data input from an information processing terminal such as a personal computer through a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network). It is possible to print on top or send acquired image data to an information processing terminal.

  In recent years, portable information terminals such as smartphones and tablet terminals have been widely used. An image forming apparatus capable of printing such a document stored in a portable information terminal or printing a document stored in another apparatus such as a server apparatus based on an instruction from the portable information terminal is also widespread. It's getting on. For such communication between the portable information terminal and the image forming apparatus, so-called short-range wireless communication such as NFC (Near Field Communication) and Bluetooth (registered trademark) is used in addition to a wireless network such as a wireless LAN. Yes.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a print control device that permits printing if the position information of a mobile terminal that has issued a printing instruction is within a range in which printing is permitted, and prohibits printing if out of the range. ing. In this configuration, printing permission and printing prohibition can be set for each position of the mobile terminal that has transmitted the printing instruction.

JP 2007-148532 A

  The technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1 can set a print permission range for each position of a mobile terminal that has transmitted a print instruction without specifying the mobile terminal. However, in this configuration, since the print permission range is applied to all data to be printed, for example, it is necessary to separately manage print permission or print prohibition for highly sensitive data.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus and an image forming system capable of realizing printing control with higher security.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following technical means. First, the present invention is premised on an image forming system including a document storage device that stores a document and an image forming device that prints the document stored in the document storage device. In the image forming system according to the present invention, the document storage device includes a document storage unit that stores a document associated with print permission range information for designating a printable area.

  Further, the image forming apparatus includes a print instruction receiving unit, a position information holding unit, a determination unit, a document acquisition unit, and an image forming unit. The print instruction receiving unit receives a print instruction from the user. The position information holding unit holds position information of the device itself. The determination unit determines whether or not the position information held in the position information holding unit is included in an area specified by the print permission range information corresponding to the document in the document storage device specified by the print instruction. The document acquisition unit acquires the document stored in the document storage device designated by the print instruction when the determination unit determines that the area is within the printable area. The image forming unit prints the document acquired by the document acquisition unit on the transfer target.

  In this image forming system, since print permission range information is set for each document, it is possible to manage printing of the document for each document. For example, prohibition of printing in an unintended area can be set for each document, and a specific document can be set such that it can be printed only by a specific image forming apparatus. As a result, security can be improved as compared with the conventional configuration.

  In this image forming system, the image forming apparatus can further include a terminal position information acquisition unit and a terminal position determination unit. The terminal location information acquisition unit acquires location information of a portable information terminal connected in a state where data can be exchanged with the own device. The terminal position determination unit determines whether or not the position information of the portable information terminal acquired by the terminal position information acquisition unit is in an area designated in advance. In this configuration, when the terminal position determination unit determines that the area is within the designated area, the print instruction input from the portable information terminal is input to the print instruction reception unit.

  In this configuration, as described above, in addition to printing prohibition in an unintended area, printing from a position away from the image forming apparatus can be prohibited for a print instruction through the portable information terminal. That is, it is possible to prohibit printing from a user in a positional relationship that requires an unacceptable time until collection of printed matter.

  In this configuration, the image forming apparatus can further include a document erasing unit. The document erasing unit is configured to print the document by the image forming unit based on the print instruction input from the terminal position determining unit, and then when the portable information terminal is outside the designated area by the terminal position determining unit. The document acquisition unit acquires the document.

  In the image forming system described above, the image forming apparatus can further include an inquiry unit and a restricted printing execution unit. When the determination unit determines that the inquiry unit is outside the printable area, the inquiry unit prints the printed material in a mode different from the printed material obtained when the determination unit determines that the printing unit is within the printable area. Ask the user whether or not to implement. The restricted print execution unit causes the document acquisition unit to acquire a document stored in the document storage device designated by the print instruction when the user inputs an instruction to perform restricted printing to the inquiry unit, and forms an image. Prints the document in a limited manner.

  As a result, printing outside the area specified by the print permission range information is not prohibited, but the document is printed in a state where it can be identified that the document is printed outside the area specified by the print permission range information. be able to.

  On the other hand, from another viewpoint, the present invention can also provide an image forming apparatus. That is, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a print instruction receiving unit, a position information holding unit, a determination unit, a document acquisition unit, and an image forming unit. The print instruction receiving unit receives a print instruction from the user. The position information holding unit holds position information of the device itself. The determination unit includes the position information held in the position information holding unit in the area specified by the print permission range information specifying the printable area of the document associated with the document specified by the print instruction. It is determined whether or not. The document acquisition unit acquires the document specified by the print instruction when the determination unit determines that the print area is within the printable area. The image forming unit prints the document acquired by the document acquisition unit on the transfer target.

  The image forming apparatus can further include a terminal position information acquisition unit and a terminal position determination unit. The terminal location information acquisition unit acquires location information of a portable information terminal connected in a state where data can be exchanged with the own device. The terminal position determination unit determines whether or not the position information of the portable information terminal acquired by the terminal position information acquisition unit is in an area designated in advance. In this configuration, when the terminal position determination unit determines that the area is within the designated area, the print instruction input from the portable information terminal is input to the print instruction reception unit.

  According to the present invention, print control with higher security can be realized with a relatively simple configuration.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a flowchart showing an example of a print control procedure executed by an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, the present invention is embodied as an image forming system including a digital multifunction peripheral, a portable information terminal such as a smartphone, and a document storage device such as a server device as components.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the image forming system in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, the image forming system 10 includes a multifunction peripheral 100, a portable information terminal 190, and a document storage device 200.

  The multifunction device 100 includes a main body 101 including an image reading unit 120 and an image forming unit 140, and a platen cover 102 attached above the main body 101. An operation panel 171 is provided on the front surface of the multi-function device 100 so that a user can give a copy start or other instruction to the multi-function device 100 and check the status and settings of the multi-function device 100.

  An image reading unit 120 is provided on the upper portion of the main body 101. The image reading unit 120 reads an image of a document with the scanning optical system 121 and generates digital data (image data) of the image.

  The generated image data can be printed on a sheet as a transfer medium in the image forming unit 140. The generated image data can also be transmitted to another device (not shown) through the network 162 by the network interface 161. As shown in FIG. 1, the document storage device 200 is connected to a network 162 as one of other devices.

  The image forming unit 140 prints the image data generated by the image reading unit 120 and the image data received from another device connected to the network 162 on a sheet. The image forming unit 140 feeds paper from the manual feed tray 151, the paper feed cassettes 152, 153, and 154 to the transfer unit 155 that transfers the toner image. The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred in the transfer unit 155 is discharged to a discharge tray 149.

  The multifunction device 100 also includes a device-side wireless communication unit 181. The device-side wireless communication unit 181 exchanges data between the device-side wireless communication unit 181 and the terminal-side wireless communication unit 191 when the terminal-side wireless communication unit 191 of the portable information terminal 190 exists within the wireless communicable range. Establish a wireless link capable of

  A communication method for establishing the wireless line is not particularly limited. For example, so-called short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be used. In addition, a wireless LAN can be used as a configuration in which the apparatus-side wireless communication unit 181 has an access point (wireless base station) function. In the present embodiment, the setting for specifying the other party of the connection to establish the wireless line (for example, pairing) is performed in advance, and the apparatus-side wireless communication unit 181 and the terminal-side wireless communication unit When 191 belongs to the wireless communicable range, the wireless channel between the apparatus-side wireless communication unit 181 and the terminal-side wireless communication unit 191 is automatically established.

  FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a control system in the multifunction machine. The MFP 100 according to the present embodiment includes a central processing unit (CPU) 201, a random access memory (RAM) 202, a read only memory (ROM) 203, a hard disk drive (HDD) 204, an image reading unit 120, and an image forming unit 140. A driver 205 corresponding to each drive unit is connected via an internal bus 206. The ROM 203, the HDD 204, and the like store programs, and the CPU 201 controls the multifunction peripheral 100 in accordance with instructions from the control program. For example, the CPU 201 uses the RAM 202 as a work area, and controls the operation of each driving unit by exchanging data and commands with the driver 205. The HDD 204 is also used to store image data obtained by the image reading unit 120, image data received from other devices through the network interface 161, and data received through the device-side wireless communication unit 181.

  An operation panel 171 and various sensors 207 are also connected to the internal bus 206. The operation panel 171 receives a user operation and supplies a signal based on the operation to the CPU 201. Further, the operation panel 171 displays an operation screen on a display provided in the operation panel 171 according to a control signal from the CPU 201. The sensor 207 includes various sensors such as an open / close detection sensor for the platen cover 102, a document detection sensor on the document table, a temperature sensor for the fixing device, and a detection sensor for the conveyed paper or document.

  The CPU 201 executes, for example, a program stored in the ROM 203 to realize the following means (functional blocks), and controls the operation of each means according to signals from these sensors.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the image processing system of the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the image processing system 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a multifunction peripheral 100, a portable information terminal 190, and a document storage device 200. The multifunction device 100 and the document storage device 200 are connected via a network 162 in a state where data can be exchanged. In addition, the multifunction device 100 and the portable information terminal 190 exchange data via a wireless line established between the device-side wireless communication unit 181 included in the multifunction device 100 and the terminal-side wireless communication unit 191 included in the portable information terminal 190. Connected as possible.

  First, the document storage device 200 will be described. The document storage device 200 includes a server device and is connected to the network 162 via the network interface 211. The document storage device 200 includes a document storage unit 301. The document storage unit 301 stores a document associated with print permission range information for designating a printable area (hereinafter referred to as a printable area).

  The print permission range information is specified for each document. The print permission range information is not particularly limited as long as it can define a specific area. For example, latitude information and longitude information can be used as print permission range information. In the case of a rectangular area, latitude information and longitude information indicating four points defining a rectangle can be used as print permission range information. In the case of a circular area, latitude information and longitude information indicating one point of the center and a distance from the center can be used as print permission range information. Further, altitude information (altitude above sea level) may be included in the print permission range information.

  The document and the print permission range information only need to be associated with each other, and the format is not particularly limited. That is, the document and the print permission range information may be stored as integral data, or may be stored as individual data. In the present embodiment, the print permission information is included in a document file.

  Note that the document storage device 200 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and an HDD, as with the multifunction peripheral 100. The CPU realizes various functions as a server device by executing a program stored in, for example, a ROM or HDD using the RAM as a work area.

  Further, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the multifunction peripheral 100 includes a print instruction receiving unit 302, a position information holding unit 303, a determination unit 304, a document acquisition unit 305, a terminal position information acquisition unit 306, and a terminal position determination unit 307.

  The print instruction receiving unit 302 receives a print instruction from the user. The print instruction by the user is input through operation of the operation panel 171, for example. Alternatively, the information is input from the information processing terminal connected to the network 162 through the network interface 161. Further, the information is input from the portable information terminal 190 connected to the device-side wireless communication unit 181 through the device-side wireless communication unit 181.

  The position information holding unit 303 holds position information where the own apparatus is installed. The position information is information that can be compared with the print permission range information. For example, when the print permission range information is expressed by latitude information and longitude information, the position information is also preferably expressed by latitude information and longitude information. In this case, the position information may be information that can be converted into latitude information and longitude information such as an address. Such conversion can be executed using a map database or the like connected to the network 162, for example. Although not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, latitude information and longitude information indicating the installation location of the multifunction device 100 are registered in the position information holding unit 303 in advance.

  The determination unit 304 determines whether the position information held in the position information holding unit 303 is included in an area (printable area) specified by the print permission range information corresponding to the document specified by the print instruction. To do. In this embodiment, the determination unit 304 acquires a printable area from the document storage device 200 and determines whether or not the position information held in the position information holding unit 303 is included.

  When the determination unit 304 determines that the document is within the printable area, the document acquisition unit 305 acquires the document specified by the print instruction from the document storage device 200. The document acquired by the document acquisition unit 305 is printed on a sheet that is a transfer target in the image forming unit 140.

  The terminal location information acquisition unit 306 acquires location information of the portable information terminal 190 connected in a state where data can be exchanged with the device itself. The position information is information indicating the current position of the portable information terminal 190 and is held by the portable information terminal 190.

  The terminal position determination unit 307 determines whether or not the position information of the portable information terminal 190 acquired by the terminal position information acquisition unit 306 is within an area specified in advance (hereinafter referred to as a specified area). The designated area is not particularly limited as long as it can identify a specific area. For example, the designated area can be defined by latitude information and longitude information. When the designated area is a rectangle, the designated area can be defined by latitude information and longitude information indicating four points that define the rectangle. Further, when the designated area is a circular area, the designated area can be presented by latitude information and longitude information indicating one point of the center and the distance from the center. Also, altitude information (altitude above sea level) may be included in the information defining the designated area. In the present embodiment, the terminal position determination unit 307 that has determined that it is within the designated area inputs the print instruction input from the portable information terminal 190 to the print instruction reception unit 302.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment further includes a document erasing unit 308, an inquiry unit 309, and a restricted print execution unit 310.

  When the image forming unit 140 prints a document based on the print instruction input from the terminal position determining unit 307, the document erasing unit 308 then causes the terminal position determining unit 307 to move the portable information terminal 190 outside the designated area. When this happens, the document acquisition unit 305 deletes the document.

  The inquiry unit 309 prints a printed material in a mode different from the printed material obtained when the determining unit 304 determines that the printable area is outside the printable area when the determining unit 304 determines that the printable area is outside the printable area. Ask the user whether to perform restricted printing. The inquiry is performed according to the route through which the print instruction is input. For example, when a print instruction is input through the operation panel 171, the inquiry is performed through a display included in the operation panel 171. When a print instruction is input through an information processing terminal connected to the network 161, the inquiry is performed through a display included in the information processing terminal. Further, when a print instruction is input through the portable information terminal 190, the inquiry is performed through a display included in the portable information terminal 190.

  When the user inputs an instruction to execute restricted printing to the inquiry unit 309, the restricted print execution unit 310 causes the document acquisition unit 305 to acquire the document designated by the print instruction from the document storage device 200. Then, the restricted print execution unit 310 causes the image forming unit 140 to print the document with restriction. As described above, restricted printing is printing in a mode different from a printed material obtained when it is determined that the printable area is within the printable area, and includes, for example, aggregate printing, watermarked printing, and the like. Such restricted printing is, for example, a situation where a formal printed material is allowed to be printed only on a specific multifunction device, and other multifunction devices are only permitted to print a printed matter for reference. , It can be in a state where it can be clearly recognized separately from the official printed matter.

  On the other hand, the portable information terminal 190 includes a position information detection unit 321. The position information detection unit 321 detects the current position information of the portable information terminal 190. The position information detection method is not particularly limited. In the present embodiment, the position information detection unit 321 acquires latitude information and longitude information of the current position of the portable information terminal 190 using a so-called GPS (Global Positioning System). Note that the portable information terminal 190 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and an HDD, as with the multifunction machine 100. The CPU implements each function of the portable information terminal 190 by executing a program stored in, for example, a ROM or HDD using the RAM as a work area.

  Next, processing executed by the image forming system 10 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a print management procedure executed by the image forming system according to the embodiment of the present invention. The procedure starts, for example, when a user inputs a print instruction for a document stored in the document storage device 200 through the portable information terminal 190. Note that the print instruction includes information for specifying a document.

  The print instruction by the user is temporarily held in the terminal position determination unit 307, for example. At this time, the terminal position determination unit 307 instructs the terminal position information acquisition unit 306 to acquire the position information of the portable information terminal 190. In response to the instruction, the terminal location information acquisition unit 306 requests terminal location information from the portable information terminal 190 (step S401). In response to the request, the portable information terminal 190 transmits the position information detected by the position information detection unit 321 to the terminal position information acquisition unit 306 (steps S401 Yes, S402). At this time, when the position information detection unit 321 is in a state where position detection cannot be performed, the portable information terminal 190 notifies the terminal position information acquisition unit 306 that the position information cannot be transmitted (No in step S401). If the notification is received, the procedure ends. In this case, the terminal position information acquisition unit 306 may notify the portable information terminal 190 that the print instruction is transmitted again while the position detection function (GPS function) is valid.

  The terminal position information acquisition unit 306 that acquired the position information from the portable information terminal 190 inputs the acquired position information to the terminal position determination unit 307. At this time, the terminal position determination unit 307 determines whether or not the portable information terminal 190 is in the designated area registered in advance in the multifunction peripheral 100 as described above (step S403).

  If the position of the portable information terminal 190 is outside the designated area, the procedure ends (No in step S403). In this case, the terminal position determination unit 307 may notify the portable information terminal 190 that the print instruction cannot be accepted because it is outside the designated area of the multifunction peripheral 100.

  When the position of the portable information terminal 190 is within the designated area, the terminal position determination unit 307 inputs a print instruction from the portable information terminal 190 that is held to the print instruction reception unit 302. In response to the input of the print instruction to the print instruction reception unit 302, the determination unit 304 instructs the document acquisition unit 305 to acquire the print permission range information of the document specified by the print instruction. In response to the instruction, the document acquisition unit 305 acquires print permission range information of the document from the document storage unit 301 of the document storage device 200. Then, the document acquisition unit 305 inputs the acquired print permission range information to the determination unit 304.

  At this time, the determination unit 304 determines whether or not the MFP 100 is within the printable area specified by the input print permission range information by the above-described method (step S404). In this example, since the print instruction is input from the portable information terminal 190, the determination unit 304 also determines whether or not the portable information terminal 190 is in the printable area. Although not particularly limited, here, the determination unit 304 is configured to acquire the position information of the portable information terminal 190 from the terminal position determination unit 307.

  When the position of the MFP 100 and the position of the portable information terminal 190 are within the printable area, the determination unit 304 instructs the document acquisition unit 305 to print the document specified by the print instruction. In response to the instruction, the document acquisition unit 305 acquires the document from the document storage unit 301 of the document storage device 200 (Yes in steps S404 and S405). Then, the document acquisition unit 305 prints the acquired document in the image forming unit 140 (step S406).

  On the other hand, when the position of the multifunction device 100 or the position of the portable information terminal 190 is outside the printable area, the determination unit 304 notifies the inquiry unit 309 to that effect (No in step S404). In response to the notification, the inquiry unit 309 inquires of the user whether or not to execute restricted printing (step S409). In this example, since the print instruction is input from the portable information terminal 190, the inquiry unit 309 displays the user's display on the display included in the portable information terminal 190 via the device-side wireless communication unit 181 and the terminal-side wireless communication unit 191. An inquiry screen including a selection button for inputting the selection is displayed.

  When the user selects to execute restricted printing on the inquiry screen, the inquiry unit 309 instructs the restricted printing execution unit 310 to execute restricted printing (Yes in step S409). In response to the instruction, the restricted print execution unit 310 instructs the document acquisition unit 305 to acquire the document specified by the print instruction. The document acquisition unit 305 acquires the document from the document storage unit 301 of the document storage device 200 (step S410). Then, the restricted print execution unit 310 prints the document acquired by the document acquisition unit 305 with restriction in the image forming unit 140 (step S411).

  If the user selects not to execute restricted printing on the inquiry screen, the procedure ends (No in step S409).

  In the present embodiment, when a document is acquired from the document storage device 200, the document acquisition unit 305 is used while the portable information terminal 190 that has input the print instruction is within the designated area of the multi-function peripheral 100 to which the print instruction has been input. The document is held (No in step S407). As a result, when a reprint instruction is input again by the user, it is possible to perform quick printing. Such a configuration can be realized by the terminal position determination unit 307 continuously performing the above-described determination.

  When the portable information terminal 190 that has input the print instruction moves outside the designated area of the multifunction peripheral 100 to which the print instruction has been input, the terminal position determination unit 307 notifies the document deletion unit 308 to that effect. In response to the notification, the document erasure unit 308 erases the document held by the document acquisition unit 305 (Yes in steps S407 and S408).

  As described above, in the image forming system 10, the print permission range information is set for each document, so that document printing can be managed for each document. For this reason, for example, printing prohibition in an unintended area can be set for each document, and a specific document can be set to be printed only by a specific image forming apparatus. As a result, security can be improved as compared with the conventional configuration.

  Further, in the image forming system 10, regarding the print instruction through the portable information terminal 190, as described above, in addition to prohibiting printing in an unintended area, printing from a position away from the multifunction device 100 may be prohibited. it can. That is, it is possible to prohibit printing from a user in a positional relationship that requires an unacceptable time until collection of printed matter.

  Further, since the image forming system 10 includes the restricted print execution unit 310, printing outside the printable area is not prohibited, but the document can be identified as a document printed outside the printable area. Can be printed.

  Although the above embodiment has been described based on a case where a print instruction is input from the portable information terminal 190, the present invention can be similarly applied to a case where a print instruction is input from an information processing terminal connected to the network 162. is there. In this case, information indicating the distance between the information processing terminal and the multifunction device 100 is input to the multifunction device 100, and the information processing terminal is located in the designated area of the multifunction device 100 as in the case of the portable information terminal 190 described above. It is preferable to determine whether or not is included. Further, the present invention is applicable even when a print instruction is input from the operation panel 171. In this case, a print instruction from the operation panel 171 is directly input to the print instruction receiving unit 302.

  In the above-described embodiment, the restricted printing execution unit 310 is configured to perform restricted printing specified in advance. However, the restricted printing mode may be configured to be selectable by the user. For example, when the user selects execution of restricted printing, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which it is possible to select whether printing is performed in aggregate printing or watermarked printing.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the multifunction device 100 and the document storage device 200 are configured as separate devices, but the configuration in which the multifunction device includes a document storage unit is not excluded.

  The above-described embodiments do not limit the technical scope of the present invention, and various modifications and applications other than those already described are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration that can handle a print instruction from the portable information terminal 190 is illustrated as a particularly preferable form. However, when the use of the portable information terminal 190 is unnecessary, the device-side wireless communication unit 181 and the terminal The position information acquisition unit 306 and the terminal position determination unit 307 are not necessary. In addition, when it is not necessary to be able to execute restricted printing and printing outside the printable area is completely prohibited, the inquiry unit 309 and the restricted printing execution unit 310 are unnecessary. The document erasing unit 308 is also a selective component and is not an essential component for the present invention. Even in a configuration that does not include the component, document printing can be managed for each document.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, the order of the steps can be changed as appropriate within a range in which equivalent actions can be achieved. For example, in the example of FIG. 4, when the portable information terminal 190 is within the designated area of the multifunction device 100, it is determined whether the portable information terminal 190 and the multifunction device 100 are within the printable area of the document. However, when the portable information terminal 190 and the multifunction device 100 are within the printable area of the document, it may be configured to determine whether or not the portable information terminal 190 is within the designated area of the multifunction device 100. .

  In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is embodied as a digital multifunction peripheral. However, the present invention can be applied not only to a digital multifunction peripheral but also to an arbitrary image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine. .

  According to the present invention, printing control with higher security can be realized, which is useful as an image forming apparatus and an image forming system.

10 image forming system 100 multifunction peripheral (image forming apparatus)
140 Image forming unit 190 Portable information terminal 200 Document storage device 301 Document storage unit 302 Print instruction receiving unit 303 Position information holding unit 304 Determination unit 305 Document acquisition unit 306 Terminal position information acquisition unit 307 Terminal position determination unit 308 Document deletion unit 309 Inquiry Part 310 Restricted print execution part

Claims (5)

An image forming system comprising a document storage device for storing a document and an image forming device for printing the document stored in the document storage device,
The document storage device
A document storage unit for storing a document associated with print permission range information for designating a printable area;
With
The image forming apparatus includes:
A print instruction receiving unit for receiving a print instruction from the user;
A position information holding unit for holding the position information of the own device;
A determination unit configured to determine whether or not the position information held in the position information holding unit is included in an area designated by print permission range information corresponding to a document in the document storage device designated by the print instruction; ,
A document acquisition unit that acquires a document stored in the document storage device specified by the print instruction when the determination unit determines that the print area is within the printable area;
An image forming unit that prints a document acquired by the document acquisition unit on a transfer target;
When the determination unit determines that it is outside the printable area, the restricted printing is performed to print the printed material in a mode different from the printed material obtained when the determination unit determines that it is within the printable area. An inquiry section that asks the user whether or not to
When an instruction to execute restricted printing is input from the user to the inquiry unit, the document acquisition unit is caused to acquire a document in the document storage device specified by the print instruction, and the document is stored in the image A restricted printing execution unit that performs restricted printing in the forming unit;
An image forming system. The image forming apparatus includes:
A terminal location information acquisition unit for acquiring location information of a portable information terminal connected to a state where data can be exchanged with the own device;
A terminal position determination unit that determines whether or not the position information of the portable information terminal acquired by the terminal position information acquisition unit is within a predesignated area;
Further comprising
The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein when the terminal position determination unit determines that the area is within the designated area, the print instruction input from the portable information terminal is input to the print instruction reception unit.   In the image forming apparatus, when the document is printed by the image forming unit based on the print instruction input from the terminal position determining unit, the terminal position determining unit then moves the portable information terminal out of the designated area. The image forming system according to claim 2, further comprising: a document erasing unit that erases the document acquired by the document acquisition unit when the document is acquired. A print instruction receiving unit for receiving a print instruction from the user;
A position information holding unit for holding the position information of the own device;
Whether the position information held in the position information holding unit is included in the area specified by the print permission range information specifying the printable area of the document associated with the document specified by the print instruction A determination unit for determining
A document acquisition unit that acquires the document specified by the print instruction when it is determined by the determination unit to be in a printable area;
An image forming unit that prints a document acquired by the document acquisition unit on a transfer target;
When the determination unit determines that it is outside the printable area, the restricted printing is performed to print the printed material in a mode different from the printed material obtained when the determination unit determines that it is within the printable area. An inquiry section that asks the user whether or not to
When an instruction to perform restricted printing is input from the user to the inquiry unit, the document acquisition unit acquires the document specified by the print instruction, and the document is restricted by the image forming unit. A restricted print execution unit for printing;
An image forming apparatus. A terminal location information acquisition unit for acquiring location information of a portable information terminal connected to a state where data can be exchanged with the own device;
A terminal position determination unit that determines whether or not the position information of the portable information terminal acquired by the terminal position information acquisition unit is within a predesignated area;
Further comprising
The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein when the terminal position determination unit determines that the area is within the designated area, the print instruction input from the portable information terminal is input to the print instruction reception unit.

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