JP6354679B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a document box for storing document data.

  Some image forming apparatuses have a box function for storing document data obtained by reading a document or document data received via a network (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The image forming apparatus includes a plurality of user interfaces (for example, an operation panel and an external terminal) that can access the box, and is configured to be able to access the same document data from a plurality of user interfaces (the operation panel and the external terminal) at the same time. Yes. Therefore, each user can register document data in the box at any time via the user interface without worrying about other users, and print, send, edit, reference, etc. the document data in the box. be able to.

  The box has a capacity limit. When the box capacity is exceeded, document data cannot be registered. Therefore, techniques for compressing document data, setting a retention period for document data, and automatically deleting document data after the retention period has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3). ).

JP 2011-049618 A JP 2008-077224 JP 2008-052642 A

  However, if another user interface is accessing the document data that the user is trying to delete, the image forming apparatus does not immediately delete the document data due to internal processing, but does not delete all the access to the document data. In some cases, the deletion process is actually executed at the timing when there is no more. In this case, the user does not know when the document data to be deleted is actually deleted, and the user who performed the deletion operation recognizes that the document data has been deleted. It is a state that remains without being deleted. For this reason, the conventional technique has a problem in that the remaining capacity display of the box is not reduced even when the document data is deleted, or that new document data cannot be registered in the box due to oversize.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said subject, and it aims at providing the technique which can solve the said subject.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention is an image forming apparatus having a document box in which a plurality of boxes which can be stored is set to the specified volume of document data, access from the external terminal to said document box via a network An operation for receiving a receiving communication unit, an access state management table for registering an access state for the document box, a delete operation for instructing deletion of the document data or the box, and a registration operation for instructing accumulation of the document data and parts, if the delete operation is, whether deleted data the deletion is the document data or the box is instructed are accessed determined based on the access status management table, the access If not, delete the data to be deleted from the document box and access it. If the data is deleted, the data to be deleted is treated as being deleted from the document box, and the deletion processing for the data to be deleted is internally set to a deletion reservation state and is set to the deletion reservation state. interior and processing unit, the forced deletion execution capable of setting processing for deleting pre Yakude over data users to access to delete reservation data is the deletion target data to delete the deletion pre Yakude over data on all missing timing And when the registration operation is performed, when the deletion reservation data is in the box instructed to be stored, the operation unit selects the mode from a plurality of modes for each box. A setting screen that can be set in the mode, and when the mode 1 is set from the plurality of modes, the forcible deletion execution unit sets the deletion reservation data as When all accesses to be performed are lost, the deletion reservation data in the box instructed to be stored is deleted, and when mode 2 is set from among the plurality of modes, the box instructed to be stored When the registration operation is performed by another user who is a user other than the user who created the file, all the deletion reservation data in the box instructed to be stored is forcibly deleted, and mode 3 is selected from the plurality of modes When the registration operation is performed by the other user, the deletion reservation data in the box instructed to be stored is sized until all of the document data instructed to be stored is stored. Forcibly deleted in ascending order, and when mode 4 is set out of the plurality of modes, all the deletion reservation data in the box instructed to be stored are stored. If the deletion reservation state continues for a specific time when mode 5 is set from among the plurality of modes, all the deletion reservation data in the box instructed to be stored are deleted. Forcibly deleting the operation unit, a box remaining capacity display screen for confirming the remaining capacity of each box, a box list screen for displaying a list of the boxes, and a deletion reservation data list for displaying the deletion reservation data as a list The box remaining capacity display screen displays the maximum usable size that is the capacity of the box and the empty space of the box when the deletion reservation data remaining in the box is actually deleted. A device that indicates the available remaining capacity that indicates the capacity and the actual free space of the box excluding the document data including the deletion reservation data of the box. And the deletion reservation data amount, which is the total data amount of the deletion reservation data, is displayed, and the box list screen can be printed, transmitted, edited and referred to as the document data in the selected box. A “register” button for registering the document data, an “edit” button for editing the selected box or the document data, a “delete” button for deleting the selected box or the document data, and the deletion A "display deletion reservation status" button for displaying reservation data, and when the "display deletion reservation status" button is pressed, the deletion reservation data is added and displayed as a list, and the deletion reservation data is displayed. Is displayed, the “edit” button for the deletion reservation data becomes inoperable, and a “reference” button for referring to the deletion reservation data is displayed. The deletion reservation data list screen displays the box in the deletion reservation state and the document data in the deletion reservation state as the deletion reservation data, and displays the selected deletion reservation data in the forced deletion execution unit. A “forced deletion” button is provided for forcibly deleting immediately, and the operation unit does not display the box remaining capacity display screen or the deletion reservation data list screen while the deletion reservation data exists. The deletion reservation data status is displayed on a display screen .
Further, a state transition indicating whether or not the deletion target data in the deletion reservation state is being deleted may be displayed as the state of the deletion target data in the deletion reservation state.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to solve the problem that the data to be deleted is not deleted immediately for the convenience of internal processing.

1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a registration example of a document box illustrated in FIG. 1. It is the figure which showed the example of registration of the access state management table shown in FIG. It is an example of the setting screen displayed on the operation part shown in FIG. It is an example of the box remaining capacity display screen displayed on the operation part shown in FIG. It is an example of the deletion reservation data list screen displayed on the operation part shown in FIG. It is an example of the status display of the deletion reservation data displayed on the operation part shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that, in the following embodiments, the same reference numerals are given to configurations showing similar functions.

  An image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a multi function peripheral (MFP) having a copying function, a scanner function, a network communication function, and the like. The image forming apparatus 1 includes an operation unit 11, a communication unit 12, a document reading unit 13, a storage unit 14, an image processing unit 15, a printing unit 16, and a control unit 17.

  The operation unit 11 includes a display unit provided with a transparent pressure sensor on the surface of the liquid crystal display panel, a touch panel functioning as an input unit, a numeric keypad for inputting numerical values such as the number of prints, and an instruction to initialize setting information. Reset key for input, stop key for stopping copying operation or deleting input numerical value, interrupt key for instructing interrupt copying, start key for inputting output instruction for starting printing operation It is a user interface provided with various operation keys.

  The communication unit 12 has a function of transmitting / receiving various data to / from an external terminal which is an external user interface via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

  The document reading unit 13 irradiates a document fed by a document feeder (not shown) or a document placed on a platen glass by a user and receives reflected light or the like to form a document image. It is a scanner that reads.

  The storage unit 14 is a storage unit such as a semiconductor memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and is a storage unit in which document data read by the document reading unit 13 and document data received by the communication unit 12 are accumulated. . In the present embodiment, the document data is a general term for document data including image data, text data, graphic data, or a combination thereof.

  The storage unit 14 is set with a document box 141 for registering document data that can be printed, transmitted, edited, and referenced as necessary. The document box 141 includes a plurality of divided storage areas called boxes in which document data is stored. The capacity of each box is determined in advance, but can be changed as appropriate by the administrator. Each box is managed by a different “box ID”. The box may be configured to be set in advance, or may be configured to be appropriately set by the user (for example, for each user or each application). The document box 141 can also be accessed from an external terminal via the communication unit 12.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of registration of the document box 141. The document data includes a “box ID” of the document box 141, a “document ID” that is identification information assigned to each document data, a “document name” of the document data, and a “data size” of the document data. 141 is stored and registered. For example, in FIG. 2, document data with a document ID “0101”, a document name “document A”, and a document data size “1.2 MB” is stored in a box with a box ID “001” of a document box 141. Similarly, document data having a document ID “0121”, a document name “document B”, and a document data size “0.7 MB” is stored in a box having a box ID “001”. Also, in the box with the box ID “002” of the document box 141, document data with the document ID “0128”, the document name “document C”, and the document data size “1.5 MB” is stored.

  The storage unit 14 also stores an access state management table 142 in which the access state of a user interface (such as the operation unit 11 or an external terminal) accessing the document box 141 is registered.

  FIG. 3 shows a registration example of the access state management table 142. The access state management table 142 includes a “box ID” of the document box 141, a “document ID” of the document data, a “name” of the accessing user, a “status” of the access, and a user interface that is being accessed. The name “access source” and a “deletion reservation state” indicating whether or not this box or document data is in a deletion reservation state. When the “delete reservation state” is “0”, it is not in the delete reservation state, and when it is “1”, it is in the delete reservation state. When the deletion instruction for the document data or the box is issued, the deletion target data for which the deletion instruction is issued is registered in the access state management table 142, that is, the document data or the box for which the deletion instruction has been issued is being accessed. If the user interface exists, a flag is set to “delete reservation state” and becomes “1”. Data whose “delete reservation state” is “1” is data that is deleted as soon as access from the user interface is lost. When a deletion instruction is issued for a box, all document data stored in the box for which the deletion instruction has been issued becomes deletion target data and is deleted for each box.

  For example, in the access status management table 142, the user “tanaka” accesses the document data with the document data ID “0101” stored in the box with the box ID “001” via the access source “external UI”. The status is “accessing”, and the deletion reservation status is registered as “1”. Also, the document data with the document data ID “0128” stored in the box with the box ID “002” is accessed by the user “kimura” via the access source “external UI” and the status is “accessing”. "And the deletion reservation state is" 0 ". The external UI is an external terminal that is accessing the image forming apparatus 1 via a network.

  The image processing unit 15 is means for performing predetermined image processing on document data. In the image processing unit 16, for example, enlargement / reduction processing, image improvement processing such as density adjustment, gradation adjustment, and the like are performed.

  The printing unit 16 is a printing unit that prints document data stored in the storage unit 14 as a document image. For example, the printing unit 16 forms a latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum based on the document data read from the storage unit 14, performs image formation using the latent image as a toner image with toner, and records from the photosensitive drum. The toner image is transferred onto the paper, and the toner image is fixed onto the recording paper and discharged.

  The control unit 17 is connected to the operation unit 11, the communication unit 12, the login processing unit 13, the document reading unit 13, the storage unit 14, the image processing unit 15, and the printing unit 16, and predetermined instructions input from the operation unit 11. The operation control of the entire image forming apparatus 1 is executed according to the information. The control unit 17 is an information processing unit such as a microcomputer including a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The ROM stores a control program for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 17 reads out a control program stored in the ROM and develops the control program in the RAM, thereby controlling the entire apparatus according to predetermined instruction information input from the operation unit 11.

  Further, the control unit 17 functions as an internal processing unit 171 and a forced deletion execution unit 172.

  When the internal processing unit 171 performs a deletion operation for instructing deletion of a box or document data in the document box 141 via the operation unit 11, the internal processing unit 171 refers to the access state management table 142 and the box for which deletion is instructed. Alternatively, it is determined whether or not document data (data to be deleted) is being accessed. If not, the internal processing unit 171 performs a deletion process on the deletion target data. If it exists, the internal processing unit 171 treats the deletion target data as having been deleted externally, and internally deletes the deletion target data by setting the deletion reservation state in the access state management table 142 of the deletion target data to “1”. The reservation state is set, and the deletion process is executed at the timing when all access from the user interface to the deletion target data (deletion reservation data) in the deletion reservation state is lost.

  The forced deletion execution unit 172 has a function of forcibly deleting the deletion reservation data in accordance with user settings.

  FIG. 4 is an example of a setting screen G80 in which the process of the forced deletion execution unit 172 for deletion reservation data can be set. On the setting screen G80, the process of the forced deletion execution unit 172 for the deletion reservation data can be set from Mode 1 to Mode 6. The forced deletion execution unit 172 displays the mode set on the setting screen G80 when there is deletion reservation data in the box of the document box 141 instructed to store when a registration operation instructing storage of document data is performed. The process for the deletion reservation data is executed according to. This setting can be set for each box.

<Mode 1> The deletion reservation data is deleted when all access to the deletion reservation data is lost.
<Mode 2> When another user tries to register document data in this box, all deletion reservation data in this box are forcibly deleted.
<Mode 3> When another user tries to register document data in this box, the deletion data is forcibly deleted in order from the smallest size until the registration of all the document data requested by the other user is completed.
<Mode 4> Forcibly delete all deletion reservation data in this box. (Forcibly delete all the in-access status without deleting reservation status and delete deletion reservation data forcibly)
<Mode 5> When the deletion reservation state continues for a specific time, all deletion reservation data in this box is forcibly deleted.
<Mode 6> When the deletion reservation state continues for a specific time, the deletion reservation state of all deletion reservation data in this box is forcibly released.

  Mode 1 is a normal mode. The other users in mode 2 and mode 3 are users other than the user who created the box. In mode 3, only deletion reservation data necessary for registration of document data can be forcibly deleted. The specific time in mode 5 and mode 6 can be set by the user. In modes 2 to 5, when the deletion reservation data is forcibly deleted, the user interface that is accessing the deletion reservation data is forcibly released from accessing the deletion reservation data.

  The deletion reservation data is temporary data that is automatically deleted by the internal processing unit 171 when there is no access from the user interface. However, depending on the timing at which the deletion reservation data is actually deleted, there is a case where the deletion reservation data remains, so that the document data cannot be newly registered in the box due to the oversize. According to this setting screen G80, when document data registration operation is performed for a box in which deletion reservation data remains, the forced deletion execution unit 172 forces deletion reservation data according to the mode set on the setting screen G80. Since it can be deleted, new document data can be registered.

  Further, in the box remaining capacity display screen G90 shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to confirm the box remaining capacity in consideration of the data amount of the deletion reservation data remaining in each box.

  On the box remaining capacity display screen G90, “maximum usable size”, “usable remaining capacity”, “device remaining capacity”, and “deletion reserved data amount” can be displayed for each box. “Maximum usable size” is the capacity of the box. “Remaining usable capacity” is the maximum usable size−the amount of data in use−the amount of reserved data for deletion. The “in-use data amount” is the total data amount of document data registered in this box, and includes the deletion reservation data. “Device remaining capacity” is the maximum usable size−the amount of data in use. “Delete reservation data amount” is the total amount of delete reservation data remaining in this box. In other words, “Available remaining capacity” indicates the free space in the box when the deletion reservation data that remains now is actually deleted, and “Device remaining capacity” excludes actual data including deletion reservation data. Shows the free space of the actual box.

  It is also possible to display a list of deletion reservation data. FIG. 6 is an example of a deletion reservation data list screen G100 displaying a list of deletion reservation data. On the deletion reservation data list screen G100, a box in the deletion reservation state and a list of document data in the deletion reservation state are displayed in the access state management table 142. In the box list, the “box ID” of the box, the “name” of the accessing user, the “status” of the access, the “access source” that is the name of the accessing user interface, and the “box data” of the box "Size" is displayed. In the document data list, the “document data ID” of the document data, the “box ID” in which the document data is registered, the “name” of the accessing user, and the “status” of access are accessed. The user interface name “access source” and the “document data size” of this document data are displayed.

  The deletion reservation data list screen G100 includes a forced deletion button B101. When the user checks the desired deletion reservation data and presses the forced deletion button B101, the checked deletion reservation data is forcibly deleted. The part 172 is forcibly deleted immediately.

  Although not shown, a box list screen for displaying a list of boxes of the document box 141 may be displayed. In this box list screen, a “Register” button for registering document data in the selected box, an “Edit” button for editing the selected box or document data, and a “Delete” button for deleting the selected box or document data are displayed. A “delete” button may be provided. The box list screen is provided with a “display deletion reservation status” button for displaying the deletion reservation data. When the “display deletion reservation status” button is pressed, the deletion reservation data list screen G100 is displayed in the box list screen. The deletion reservation data list may be added and displayed. When the deletion reservation data is displayed, the “edit” button for the deletion reservation data cannot be operated, and the “reference” button for referring to the deletion reservation data is displayed.

  Further, while there is deletion reservation data, the state of the deletion reservation data is displayed on the operation unit 11. Therefore, the user can grasp that the deletion reservation data exists without displaying the deletion reservation data list screen G100 and the box remaining capacity display screen G90. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, “Waiting for deletion reservation” is displayed at the bottom of the display screen, and the information of the box and document data whose deletion reservation status is “1” registered in the access status management table 142 is displayed. Is displayed. If there is room in the display space on the screen of the operation unit 11, the number of items and the data size may be displayed for the box reserved for deletion and the document data as shown in FIG. When there is not enough space on the screen of the operation unit 11, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) is provided in the operation unit 11, and the presence / absence of deletion reservation data and its state are displayed by a lighting pattern such as LED lighting / flashing. You may do it.

  Further, the control unit 17 changes the status display of the deletion reservation data to be displayed on the operation unit 11 according to the state transition of the deletion reservation data (for example, waiting for deletion reservation or executing deletion reservation). Change to “execute reservation for deletion”. While waiting for deletion execution in the "Reservation waiting for deletion" state, there is little effect on the performance of other system processes. This is because there is a possibility of affecting the performance of system processing, and it is necessary to inform the user of the current status.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment determines whether the deletion target data in the document box 141 instructed to be deleted by the user is accessed based on the access state management table 142 and is accessed. If the deletion target data is externally treated as being deleted from the document box, the deletion processing for the deletion target data is internally set to the deletion reservation state, and the deletion reservation data is no longer accessed. And an internal processing unit 171 for deleting the deletion reservation data, and the user can set processing for the deletion reservation data. For this reason, the user's desired processing is performed on the deletion reservation data, and the problem associated with the deletion target data that is not deleted immediately after entering the deletion reservation state can be solved.

  For example, the deletion reservation data remaining in the document box can be forcibly deleted based on the access state management table 142 when a registration operation is accepted by the operation unit 11 according to the user setting. Further, when a registration operation is accepted by the operation unit 11 according to the user setting, deletion reservation data having a small size is stored until all document data instructed to be newly accumulated is accumulated in the document box 141. It can be forcibly deleted in order. Further, according to the setting of the user, the deletion reservation data remaining in the document box 141 is forced based on the access state management table 142 when a preset time has elapsed since the registration operation was accepted by the operation unit 11. Can be deleted.

  Depending on the user's settings, the amount of document data that remains in the box externally and the amount of deletion reservation data that remains internally in the box are subtracted from the specified capacity of the box. It can be displayed as available remaining capacity. Therefore, the user can know the free space actually usable in the box.

  Further, when the deletion reservation data list display screen is displayed according to the user setting and the forced deletion button B101 is pressed, the deletion reservation data selected by the user can be deleted. Therefore, the user can select desired deletion reservation data and forcibly delete it at a pinpoint.

  Further, the state of the deletion reservation data remaining in the document box 141 is displayed on the display unit until all deletion reservation data is deleted. Therefore, the user can know the existence of the deletion reservation data without performing a special operation for confirming the deletion reservation data. Further, since the status display of the deletion reservation data indicates a state transition indicating whether or not the deletion reservation data is being deleted, the processing performance of the image forming apparatus 1 can be confirmed.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 11 Operation part 12 Communication part 13 Original reading part 14 Storage part 15 Image processing part 16 Printing part 17 Control part 141 Document box 142 Access state management table 171 Internal processing part 172 Forced deletion execution part G80 Setting screen G90 Box remaining Capacity display screen G100 Deletion reservation data list screen B101 Forced deletion button

Claims (2)

An image forming apparatus including a document box in which a plurality of boxes capable of storing document data up to a specified capacity is set ,
A communication unit for accepting access from an external terminal to the document box via a network;
An access state management table in which an access state for the document box is registered;
An operation unit for receiving a deletion operation for instructing deletion of the document data or the box, and a registration operation for instructing accumulation of the document data;
When the deletion operation is, whether deleted data the deletion is the document data or the box is instructed are accessed determined based on the access status management table, not being accessed In this case, the deletion target data is deleted from the document box, and when accessed, the deletion target data is treated as being deleted from the document box externally, and the deletion target data is internally processed. an internal processing unit and a deletion process to delete reservation state, deleting the deletion pre Yakude over data at the timing when access is no longer any relative delete reservation data is the deletion target data in the deletion reservation state for,
The processing for the deletion pre Yakude over data and a user force deletion execution section settable,
The operation unit is
When the registration operation is performed, if there is the deletion reservation data in the box instructed to be stored, a setting screen capable of setting the mode for each box from a plurality of modes is displayed.
The forced deletion execution unit
When mode 1 is set out of the plurality of modes, when all accesses to the deletion reservation data are lost, the deletion reservation data in the box instructed to be stored is deleted, and the plurality of the plurality of modes are deleted. When mode 2 is set from among the modes, when the registration operation is performed by another user who is a user other than the user who created the box for which accumulation is instructed, the contents in the box for which accumulation is instructed are stored. When all of the deletion reservation data is forcibly deleted and mode 3 is set from among the plurality of modes, all of the document data instructed to be stored when the other user performs the registration operation Until the storage is instructed, the deletion reservation data in the box instructed to be stored is forcibly deleted in ascending order of size, and mode 4 is selected from the plurality of modes. When set, forcibly delete all the deletion reservation data in the box instructed to be stored, and when the mode 5 is set from among the plurality of modes, the deletion reservation state continues for a specific time If this is the case, forcibly delete all the deletion reservation data in the box instructed to store,
The operation unit is
It is possible to display a box remaining capacity display screen for confirming the remaining capacity of each box, a box list screen for displaying a list of the boxes, and a deletion reservation data list screen for displaying a list of the deletion reservation data,
The box remaining capacity display screen
The maximum usable size which is the capacity of the box, the usable remaining capacity indicating the free capacity of the box when the deletion reservation data remaining in the box is actually deleted, and the deletion reservation data of the box A device remaining capacity indicating the actual free space of the box excluding the document data including, and a deletion reservation data amount that is a total data amount of the deletion reservation data,
The box list screen
“Register” button for registering document data that can be printed, transmitted, edited, and referred to as the document data in the selected box; “Edit” button for editing the selected box or the document data; A “delete” button for deleting the selected box or the document data and a “display deletion reservation status” button for displaying the deletion reservation data are provided, and the “display deletion reservation status also” button is pressed. The deletion reservation data is added and displayed as a list. When the deletion reservation data is displayed, the “edit” button for the deletion reservation data becomes inoperable, and the deletion reservation data is referred to. Display the Browse button,
The deletion reservation data list screen is
“Forced deletion” in which the deletion reservation state and the document data in the deletion reservation state are listed as the deletion reservation data, and the selected deletion reservation data is forcibly deleted immediately by the forced deletion execution unit. A button is provided,
The operation unit is
An image forming apparatus that displays the state of the deletion reservation data on the display screen while the deletion reservation data exists without displaying the box remaining capacity display screen or the deletion reservation data list screen . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a state transition indicating whether or not the deletion target data in the deletion reservation state is being deleted is displayed as the state of the deletion target data in the deletion reservation state.

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