JP7135137B2 - PRINTING DEVICE, PRINTING DEVICE CONTROL METHOD, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printing device that prints print data received from an external device.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, so-called reserved printing systems have become widespread, in which print data sent from a PC is reserved in a printer or print server. In a reservation printing system, print data is stored in a hard disk of a printer or a server on a network, and printing of the print data is started in response to a specific operation performed by a user in front of the printer. Reservation printing systems are used when the printer is a shared printer connected to a network, and when it is desired to prevent other people from viewing output printed matter.

In Patent Document 1, print data to which identification information is added is received and temporarily stored, and when the identification information input from the front panel of the printer matches the identification information added to the print data, A printer that initiates printing is disclosed.

Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200000, when a print job for which confidential printing is specified is received, the print job and user information are accumulated, then the user is authenticated, and only the print job of the authenticated user is permitted to be printed. An image recording apparatus is disclosed.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200003 discloses a printing system in which a printer that receives print data corresponding to an authenticated user from a print server and prints the data deletes password information from the print data before printing.

JP-A-1-264865 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-182187 JP 2009-223610 A

However, in the above-described reserved printing, when printing print data that requires user authentication and requires input of identification information at the time of printing, the following problems arise. That is, even though the user has already been authenticated, if the user is required to enter identification information at the time of printing, the user's operation becomes extremely complicated.

Further, if user authentication is required and printing is not allowed without user authentication, unauthenticated users will not be able to even print the retained print data, which is extremely inconvenient. end up

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and selectively executes retention printing after authenticating the user or prompting the user to enter a password. The aim is to provide a possible means.

In the present invention, the execution means can execute the password print job without receiving password information for the password print job corresponding to the person who has undergone the personal authentication in the state where the person has been authenticated, and The password print job can be executed by accepting the same password information as the password information of the password print job without authentication.

According to the present invention, in reservation printing, it is possible to selectively perform reservation printing after authenticating the user or having the user enter a password.

1 is an overall view of a network system including a multi-function peripheral as an example of a printing device and a PC as an example of an external device; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process of sending a print job executed by a PC; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen of a printer driver of a PC; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a process of receiving a print job, which is executed in the MFP. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a series of operations when a user's operation is received by a multifunction device; 4 is a flow chart showing login processing executed by the multi-function device; 4 is a flow chart showing processing for executing printing, which is executed in the MFP. 4 is a flowchart showing processing for canceling printing, which is executed by the MFP. A job list of password-protected print jobs. It is an example of a setting screen for validating a password input omission setting. 10 is a flowchart showing print cancellation processing according to the second embodiment; FIG. 11 is an example of a setting screen for enabling password input omission setting in the second embodiment. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a login screen displayed when logging into the MFP.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated using drawing.

First, terms that are prerequisites for describing this embodiment will be defined. In this embodiment, a job for printing print data including a password is called a "password-protected print job". A password-protected print job is a job that starts printing when the password input by the user at the time of printing matches the password included in the print data.

In this embodiment, a print job in which data to be printed and included in a password-protected print job is encrypted is called a "password-protected encrypted print job".

<First Embodiment>
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a network system comprising a Multi Function Peripheral (hereinafter simply referred to as “multifunction peripheral”) 1000 and a personal computer (hereinafter simply referred to as PC) 2000 . In the network system of FIG. 1, a multifunction machine 1000 and a PC 2000 are connected via a network 101 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the network 101 may be connected to a plurality of MFPs or other PCs via relay devices such as switching hubs and routers. 1 may be connected to the Internet via a router (not shown) connected to the network 101. The network system shown in FIG.

In the network system of FIG. 1, each of the MFP 1000 and the PC 2000 is assigned a unique IP address and host name. Furthermore, the network system of FIG. 1 is assigned a unique domain name representing its location on the Internet.

In this embodiment, a multifunction machine will be described as an example of a printing apparatus. However, an SFP (Single Function Peripheral) may be used instead of the MFP as long as it has a function of executing a password-protected print job.

Also, in this embodiment, a personal computer (PC) will be described as an example of the external device. However, devices other than personal computers, such as shared desktop computers, server computers, and mobile terminals, may also be used.

Next, the hardware configuration of the MFP 1000 will be described.

A control unit 200 connects a scanner 201 as an image input device and a printer 202 as an image output device. Further, the control unit 200 is connected to the network 101 and the public line 204 to input/output information to/from external devices.

A CPU 205 is a processor that controls the entire MFP 1000 . A RAM 206 is a system work memory for the CPU 205 to operate, and is also a memory for temporarily storing image data, user name/password, and the like. A ROM 207 is a boot ROM and stores a system boot program. An HDD 208 is a hard disk drive and stores system software, applications, and image data. The HDD 208 also stores a program for executing a flowchart described later in this embodiment. A program stored in the HDD 208 is loaded into the RAM 206 and executed by the CPU 205 .

Each step of the flowchart described in this embodiment is implemented by the CPU 205 executing a control program stored in the HDD 208 . However, a processor other than the CPU 205 may execute each step of the flowchart, or the CPU 205 and the other processor may cooperate to execute each step.

An operation unit interface 209 is an interface unit with an operation unit 210 having a liquid crystal touch panel, and outputs image data to be displayed on the operation unit 210 to the operation unit 210 . The operation unit interface 209 plays a role of transmitting to the CPU 205 information input by a user as a user of the system from a keyboard provided in the operation unit 210 . A network interface 211 connects to the network 101 and inputs and outputs data. The MODEM 212 is connected to the public line 204 and converts digital signals into analog signals. The SRAM 213 is a non-volatile recording medium capable of high speed operation. The RTC 214 is a real-time clock, and performs processing for continuing to count the current time even when the control unit 200 is not powered on. The above devices are arranged on the system bus 215 .

An ImageBus I/F 216 is a bus bridge that connects the system bus 215 and an image bus 217 that transfers image data at high speed and converts the data structure. The image bus 217 is configured with a PCI bus or IEEE1394. The following devices are arranged on the image bus 217 .

A RIP unit 218 is a raster image processor, and develops the PDL code into a bitmap image. A device I/F unit 219 connects the scanner 201 and printer 202, which are image input/output devices, to the control unit 200, and performs synchronous/asynchronous conversion of image data. A scanner image processing unit 220 corrects, processes, and edits input image data. A printer image processing unit 221 performs printer correction, resolution conversion, and the like on print output image data. The encryption processing unit 222 performs encryption processing on input data. The decryption processing unit 223 decrypts the encrypted data when the received data (including print data) is encrypted.

Next, the hardware configuration of the PC 2000 will be explained. The PC 2000 has a CPU 26 , a main memory 27 , a disk 21 , a PC operation section 23 , a PC communication section 25 and a PC display section 24 . A CPU 26 is a processor that controls the operation of the PC 2000 . The CPU 26 loads programs stored in the disk 21 into the main memory 27 and executes various processes. Although not shown, the disk 21 stores various programs such as an operating system (OS) and document creation applications. Further, the disk 21 also stores a printer driver program (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer driver) 22 corresponding to the MFP 1000 .

PC communication unit 25 transmits and receives various information to and from other devices connected to network 101 . The PC operation unit 23 is, for example, a mouse or a keyboard, and functions as an input device that receives input from the user. The PC display unit 24 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and functions as an output device for outputting data processed by the CPU 26 .

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation when the PC 2000 transmits a password-protected print job to the MFP 1000. As shown in FIG. Each step of the flowchart in FIG. 2 is realized by the CPU 26 executing a program loaded from the disk 21 to the main memory 27 .

First, in step S<b>2001 (notation of steps is omitted in the following description), the PC 2000 receives an instruction from the user via the PC operation unit 23 to print with the MFP 1000 . Upon receiving this instruction, the CPU 26 activates the printer driver 22 corresponding to the MFP 1000 and displays a print setting screen 0301 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3A is an example of a screen displayed by the printer driver 22 in S2001. In the print setting screen 0301 of FIG. 3A, a check box 0302 is displayed for setting whether to enable password-protected printing. Further, on the print setting screen 0301, a check box 0303 for setting whether to encrypt data, an OK button 0303, and a cancel button 0304 are displayed.

A check box 0302 is a check box that is checked when adding a password to a print job and transmitting the print job to the MFP 1000 . When the check box 0302 is checked, the check box 0303 can also be checked. When a check box 0303 is checked, the print data (data to be printed) is encrypted and transmitted to the multifunction peripheral 1000 . As the encryption key at this time, a password received from the user on the screen of FIG. 3B, which will be described later, is used.

On the print setting screen 0301, print settings such as the paper size, the number of copies to be printed, and the presence or absence of stamps can be set, and the printer driver 22 generates a print job including these print settings. The example of FIG. 3A shows an example in which password-protected printing is enabled, the paper size for printing is A4, the number of copies to be printed is 1, and print settings are made without stamps.

Next, in S2002, the printer driver 22 accepts the user's operation on the print setting screen 0301 and writes the print settings to the RAM (not shown) of the PC 2000. FIG. When it is detected that the OK button 0303 indicating that the setting of the print job has been completed, the process advances to step S2004.

In S2004, the printer driver 22 determines whether to generate a password-protected print job based on the settings accepted in S2002.

When the printer driver 22 determines to generate a password-protected print job (YES in S2004), it displays the user name/password input screen shown in FIG. is received (S2005). On the other hand, if the printer driver 22 determines not to generate password-protected printing (that is, to generate a normal print job) (NO in S2004), it generates a print job according to the set print settings, and combines it with print data. 1000 (S2010).

FIG. 3B shows the user name/password input screen 0321 displayed in S2005. On the screen of FIG. 3B, the user enters a user name in a user name input form 0322 and a password in a password input form 0323 . The entered user name and password are added to the print job and sent to the MFP 1000 .

The user name entered in the user name input form 0322 is a user ID (user identifier) for identifying the owner of the print job. The user name is later used to match the user logged in to the MFP 1000 with the owner of the job (however, if the MFP 1000 does not require user authentication, it is not used for the above matching). Although the user name can be changed on the screen of FIG. 3B as necessary, the user name preset in the PC 2000 is entered as an initial value.

The password entered in the password entry form 0323 is information required when printing is to be started later on the MFP 1000 . That is, the password-added print job (password-added print job) waits in the password input waiting state in the MFP 1000, and the password (the password entered by the user in FIG. 3B) is entered in the operation unit 210. Printing is started based on the In this way, a password-protected print job can be output only by a person who knows the password added to the job, and it is possible to reduce the situation where a person who does not know the password can spy on the printed matter. . On the other hand, for a password-protected print job, the user inputs the password on the PC 2000 side and also inputs the password on the MFP 1000 side. Therefore, although the security is maintained, the user must input the password in the MFP 1000, which is troublesome. Therefore, in this embodiment, when logging in to the MFP 1000, if user authentication has been completed, the input of the password can be omitted. This part will be explained in detail later. In this embodiment, the password is entered by the user on the screen of FIG. 3B. can be Alternatively, the multifunction device 1000 may be requested to generate a password, and the password generated by the multifunction device 1000 may be received and notified to the user.

Returning to the description of FIG. In S2006, the printer driver 22 accepts the user name and password input by the user via the PC operation unit 23. FIG. The user name and password accepted here are the user name input form 0322 and password input form 0323 displayed on the PC display unit 24 in FIG. 3(b). Then, the PC operation unit 23 accepts pressing of the password-protected print job setting completion button 0324, and proceeds to S2007.

In S2007, the printer driver 22 determines whether or not to encrypt the data to be printed based on the encryption setting accepted in S2002. If it is determined in S2007 to encrypt, the process advances to S2009, and if it is determined not to encrypt in S2007, the process advances to S2008.

In S<b>2008 , the printer driver 22 generates a password print job including data to be printed (print data) and a user name and password, and transmits the password print job to the MFP 1000 . In addition to this, the domain name of PC 2000 and other information are included in the print job. The user name is used to match the user who logged into the MFP 1000 with the owner of the job, and the password is used when printing is started on the MFP 1000 .

In S2009, the printer driver 22 encrypts the print data using the password accepted in S2006 as an encryption key. An algorithm such as SHA-256 is used as the encryption method using the password at this time. The printer driver 22 sends a print job (encrypted print job with password) containing an encryption flag indicating that the print data is encrypted, encrypted print data, a user name, and a password to the MFP. Send to 1000.

In S<b>2010 , the printer driver 22 generates a print job including the print data and the user name/password as a password-protected print job, and transmits the password-protected print job to the MFP 1000 .

The above is the description of the process of transmitting a print job from the printer driver 22 of the PC 2000 to the MFP 1000 .

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation when the MFP 1000 receives a print job. Each step shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 is implemented by the CPU 205 executing a program loaded from the HDD 208 to the RAM 206 . The processing of the flowchart in FIG. 4 starts upon receipt of a print job from the PC 2000 (or other external device).

In S<b>4001 , the CPU 205 receives a print job transmitted from the PC 2000 or the like via the network interface 211 . The CPU 205 then extracts print data and print settings from the received print job.

In S4002, the CPU 205 determines whether the received print job is a password-protected print job based on the print settings extracted in S4001. Specifically, it is checked whether or not the job password is included in the password-protected print job, and if it is included, it is determined to be a password-protected print job. If it is determined that the received print job is a password-protected print job, the process advances to step S4003. If it is determined in S4002 that the job is not a password-protected print job, the process advances to S4004.

In S<b>4003 , the CPU 205 outputs the received print data to the RIP unit 218 . Then, the CPU 205 stores the bitmap image data developed by the RIP unit 218 in the HDD 208 in association with the password input waiting state (S4003). Note that the bitmap image data stored in step S4003 is not output to the printer 202 until the job password is collated with the input password in response to password input on the operation unit 210 . In other words, the received password-protected print job is held here without being printed. Furthermore, in S4003, the domain name, user name, and job password included in the print settings are managed in association with the bitmap image data.

If it is determined in step S<b>4002 that the print job is not a password-protected print job (that is, if it is a normal print job), the CPU 205 outputs the received print data to the RIP unit 218 . The CPU 205 then outputs the bitmap image developed by the RIP unit 218 to the printer 202 . In response, the printer 202 prints an image on printing paper based on the output bitmap image data (S4004).

The above is a series of operations when the MFP 1000 receives a print job.

Note that in the present embodiment, an example has been described in which a print job to which a password is not attached (a normal print job) is printed without being held. However, for example, when the MFP 1000 is set to the forced hold mode, print data may be held as in the processing of S4003 even if the print job is not password-added.

Although not shown in FIG. 4, in step S4003, the CPU 205 actually checks whether the received print job includes an encryption flag, and encrypts the print data included in the print job. is encrypted. If it is determined that the encryption flag is included, it means that the print data included in the print job is encrypted with a password. Therefore, the print data cannot be developed into a bitmap image unless it is decrypted with a password. Therefore, the CPU 205 stores the encrypted print data in the HDD 208 as it is.

On the other hand, if the print job does not include the encryption flag, it means that the print data included in the print job is in plain text. Therefore, the plaintext print data is transferred to the RIP unit 218 , the print data is developed into a bitmap image, and then stored in the HDD 208 . In this way, if the print data is not encrypted, by developing the print data into a bitmap image when a password-protected print job is received, the user can go to the MFP 1000 and issue a print instruction before the printed material is printed. It is possible to shorten the time until the paper is discharged.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the operation when printing or canceling a password-protected print job. Each step shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 is implemented by the CPU 205 executing a program loaded from the HDD 208 to the RAM 206, as in FIG.

In step S<b>5001 , the CPU 205 acquires setting values of the MFP 1000 stored in the SRAM 213 and determines whether or not to perform user authentication based on the acquired setting values. It is assumed that the setting as to whether or not to enable user authentication is registered in the MFP 1000 in advance by the system administrator. The authentication information (user ID/password) of each user used when user authentication is set to be enabled is registered in advance by the system administrator in the MFP 1000 or in an authentication server (not shown) on the network. shall be kept.

If it is determined in S5001 that user authentication is to be performed, the process advances to S5002 to shift to login processing. The login process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6. When the user logs in to the MFP 1000 through this login process, the logged-in user information is written in the RAM 206, and the process proceeds to S5004. On the other hand, if it is determined in S5001 that the user is not to be authenticated, the login processing in S5002 is omitted and the process proceeds to S5004.

In step S<b>5004 , the CPU 205 acquires the setting values of the MFP 1000 stored in the SRAM 213 and determines whether user authentication has been completed on the MFP 1000 . This determination is made by referring to the set value used in the processing in S5001. That is, if the setting value obtained from the SRAM 213 indicates that user authentication is to be performed, it is determined YES in S5004 because user authentication has already been performed in S5002. On the other hand, if the set value acquired from the SRAM 213 does not indicate that user authentication is to be performed, the determination in S5004 is NO.

In S5005, the CPU 205 confirms the job list display conditions. For example, the CPU 205 acquires job list filtering settings from the SRAM 213, and based on the filtering settings, determines whether to display all print jobs or only print jobs owned by the logged-in user. Filtering settings are settings for determining the range of instructions for printing or canceling a job in the print job list 9002 . If the filtering setting is valid, only print jobs of the logged-in user are displayed in the print job list 9002 . Therefore, when the filtering setting is valid, the logged-in user can start printing only his own password-protected print job. On the other hand, if the filtering setting is disabled, all print jobs held in the HDD 208 waiting for password input are displayed in the print job list 9002 . Therefore, the logged-in user can start printing not only his/her own print job but also the print job input to the MFP 1000 by another person. That is, in the present embodiment, a user other than the user who submitted the job can log in to the MFP 1000 and receive the printed matter related to the job. (However, since print jobs are password-protected, the user who receives the print job must, of course, know this password.)

In step S5005, the authority of the authenticated user is confirmed. If the user has administrator authority, the print jobs of all users are displayed. If the user does not have administrator authority, only the login user's jobs are displayed. You may make it display.

In step S5006, the CPU 205 acquires the user name of the logged-in user from the RAM 206, and acquires the user name (user ID) of the print job managed in the password input waiting state. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 6, when the login process is completed, the login context including the user name that identifies the login user is written to the RAM 206 . The CPU 205 identifies the login user based on the login context written in the RAM 206 . In step S<b>5006 , the CPU 205 displays on the operation unit 210 a job list of password-protected print jobs including a user name that matches the login user name.

In step S<b>5007 , the CPU 205 displays on the operation unit 210 a list of all password-protected print jobs stored in the HDD 208 of the MFP 1000 waiting for password input.

FIG. 9 is a screen example of the job list displayed in S5006 or S5007. A print job list 9002 is a list of password-protected print jobs stored in the MFP 1000 . However, when displaying a list of print jobs in S5006, only print jobs owned by the logged-in user are displayed.

A print button 9003 is a button for instructing the start of printing of the selected print job. A cancel button 9004 is a button for canceling printing of the selected print job.

The print job list 9002 displays whether or not a print job is selected, the acceptance number, the print job reception time, the print job name, the name of the user who submitted the print job (that is, the owner of the print job), and the job status.

In the example of FIG. 9, five password-protected print jobs are displayed in the print job list 9002, and the password-protected print job with reception number 0001 is selected. FIG. 9 shows an example of a state in which four unencrypted password-attached print jobs are displayed as reception numbers 0001 to 0004 in the print job list 9002 . Also, a state in which reception number 0005 in print job list 9002 in FIG.

Only password-protected print jobs are displayed in the print job list 9002, but normal print jobs can also be displayed on this screen.

In S5010, the CPU 205 receives from the user a selection of a print job to be operated from the print job list 9002 displayed in S5006 or S5007. When a print job to be operated is selected, a check is put in the selection presence/absence check box 9005 corresponding to the selected job to enter a selected state. When at least one of the jobs displayed in the print job list 9002 is selected, a cancel button 9004 and a print button 9003 become operable. In step S<b>5010 , the CPU 205 further receives operation of the cancel button 9004 or print button 9003 from the operation unit 210 . For example, when the user wants to print the selected print job, the user presses the print button 9003 to instruct printing. On the other hand, if the user wishes to cancel execution of the print job, the user presses a cancel button 9004 . In S5010, it is determined whether the received instruction is to print or to cancel, and if it is determined to be printing, the process proceeds to print processing in FIG. 7 (S5011). On the other hand, if it is determined to be canceled, the process proceeds to the cancellation process in FIG. 8 (S5012).

The overall operation when the user logs into the MFP 1000 and uses the reserve print function has been described above.

Next, detailed descriptions of the processing (S5002) when logging in to the MFP 1000, the detailed description of the password-protected print job print processing (S5010), and the detailed description of the print cancellation processing (S5012) will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and FIG. 8 are used for explanation.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the details of the login process executed in S5002 of FIG.

In S<b>6001 , the CPU 205 displays a login screen on the operation unit 210 .

FIG. 13 is an example of a login screen displayed in S6001. This example is for logging in using the keyboard authentication method. The login screen displays a user name input form 1301, a password input form 1302, a login button 1303, and a guest login button 1304 together with the above message.

When logging in after performing user authentication, the user enters the user name and password in the user name input form 1301 and the password input form 1302, respectively, and presses the login button. On the other hand, when logging in as a guest user, the guest user presses the guest login button without entering a user name and password. However, when logging in as a guest, a simple character string such as "Guest" may be entered as authentication information.

In S6002, the CPU 205 checks whether the login button 1303 or the guest login button 1304 has been pressed, and determines whether the login user logs in as a guest user. If it is determined to log in as a guest user, the process proceeds to S6006; otherwise, the process proceeds to S6002.

Next, the CPU 205 acquires the authentication information received via the login screen in S6002. The entered authentication information is written to the RAM 206 via the operation unit interface 209 .

In S6004, the CPU 205 performs user authentication based on the authentication information acquired in S6002. User authentication may be performed by the MFP 1000 itself, or may be performed using an external authentication server on the network such as an active directory or LDAP server. When the multi-function device 1000 itself performs user authentication, the HDD 208 has an authentication database, and the input user name and password are compared with the authentication database to perform user authentication. When an external authentication server performs user authentication, an authentication request including the acquired authentication information is issued to the authentication server, and a result of authentication success or authentication failure is received.

User authentication may be user authentication using an IC card. An authentication method such as fingerprint authentication or face authentication may be used.

If it is determined that the user authentication has succeeded (YES in S6004), the CPU 205 permits the user to log in, stores the login context including the user name obtained in S6002 in the RAM 206 (S6006), and ends the processing of FIG. do. The login context includes information such as login time and expiration date in addition to the user name. Also, when the user logs in with the authority of a guest user, information indicating that the user is a guest user is stored in the RAM 206 .

If it is determined in S6004 that the user authentication has failed, the CPU 205 displays an error message on the operation unit 210 and prohibits the user from using the MFP 1000, and returns to S6002.

The details of the login process have been described above.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the main operation of this embodiment, which corresponds to the print processing of S5011 in FIG.

First, in step S<b>7001 , the CPU 205 acquires the password input omission setting (see FIG. 10 ) of the MFP 1000 from the SRAM 213 and determines the operation mode of the MFP 1000 . Specifically, if the password input omission setting obtained from the SRAM 213 is valid, the multifunction device 1000 operates in a mode in which the password input by the user can be omitted (hereinafter referred to as "password input omission mode"). determine that it is in On the other hand, if the setting value obtained from the SRAM 213 is invalid, the multifunction device 1000 determines that it is operating in a mode requiring the user to enter a password (hereinafter referred to as "password entry required mode"). . If it is determined in S7001 that the password entry omission mode is in operation, the process advances to S7002, and if it is determined that the password entry required mode is in operation, the process advances to S7009.

FIG. 10 shows a setting screen for setting password input omission. This setting screen 10001 is displayed on the operation unit 210 by the CPU 205 . When the valid button 10002 or invalid button 10003 of the setting screen 10001 is selected by the system administrator and the OK button 10004 is selected, the CPU 205 indicates whether to validate or invalidate the password input and writes the setting value to the SRAM 213 .

In S7002, the CPU 205 acquires from the HDD 208 the encryption flag of the password-protected print job for which printing has been instructed. Then, the CPU 205 determines whether the encryption flag of the password-protected print job instructed to be printed is valid (that is, whether the print data is encrypted) (S7003).

If it is determined in S7003 that the print data is encrypted, the print data cannot be decrypted unless the password is received from the user even if the password entry omission mode is being used. Therefore, the process advances to S7009, and the CPU 205 displays a password input screen and accepts input of a password from the user. On the other hand, if it is determined that the print data is not encrypted, the process advances to S7004.

In S7004, the CPU 205 acquires the setting values of the MFP 1000 stored in the SRAM 213, and determines whether user authentication has been completed. This determination is made by referring to the setting values used in the processing in S5001 of FIG. That is, if the setting value obtained from the SRAM 213 indicates that user authentication is to be performed, since user authentication has already been performed in S5002, YES is determined in S7004 and the process proceeds to S7005. On the other hand, if the setting value acquired from the SRAM 213 does not indicate that user authentication is to be performed, the determination in S7004 is NO, and the process advances to S7009.

In S7005, the CPU 205 acquires the login context stored in the RAM 206 and confirms the authority of the authenticated user.

In this embodiment, as the authority of the logged-in user, three types of authority are set: administrator, general user, and guest user. However, this is only an example. These authorities are registered in advance by the user authentication management application of the MFP 1000 .

A user with administrator authority has the authority to operate the management settings of the MFP 1000, and only users with administrator authority can set password input omission and set whether or not to perform user authentication in this embodiment. do. A user having general user authority can operate items other than management settings and various functions of the multi-function peripheral 1000 . Among the functions and settings provided by the MFP 1000, the items that the guest user can operate are limited to general users and below, and have the following characteristics. That is, when a user logs into the MFP 1000 as a guest user, the user is treated as a mere guest within the MFP 1000 regardless of who logs in. FIG. Therefore, even if a user with guest user authority logs into the MFP 1000, the MFP 1000 cannot identify the individual.

Returning to the description of FIG. If the CPU 205 determines that the authenticated user's authority is guest user authority (YES in S7005), the process advances to S7009. If it is determined that the authenticated user's authority is another authority (that is, administrator authority or general user authority) (NO in S7005), the process proceeds to S7007.

In S7007, the CPU 205 checks whether the user name of the print job selected in S5010 matches the user name of the logged-in user, thereby determining whether the print job instructed to be printed is the authenticated user's job. do. If the user name of the print job and the user name of the logged-in user do not match (NO in S7007), the CPU 205 displays a password input screen (not shown) on the operation unit 210 and accepts password input from the user (S7009). ).

If the CPU 205 determines in step S7007 that the password-attached print job and the user name of the logged-in user match, the job is printed without receiving the input of the password (S7008). That is, when the setting for omitting password entry is valid, a password-protected print job (that is, a print job owned by an authenticated user) can be printed without accepting password entry. This saves the user from having to input a password when printing his own password-protected print job.

In the above-described processing, when the password entry omission setting is enabled and the login user is a guest user, the multifunction peripheral 1000 always requires password entry at the time of printing. Since the guest user cannot identify himself/herself, the MFP cannot determine which password-protected print job is his/her job. Therefore, even if the password input omission setting is enabled, the password input is always requested when the guest user issues a print instruction for a password-protected print job.

In step S7012, the CPU 205 compares the password received from the user via the operation unit 210 with the password of the password-protected print job, and if it determines that the passwords match, the process advances to step S7013.

If it is determined in step S7012 that the passwords do not match, an error screen indicating that the passwords do not match is displayed on the operation unit 210 (S7014).

In step S7013, the CPU 205 acquires the encryption flag of the password-protected print job, and determines whether the print-instructed job is a password-protected encrypted print job. If it is determined that the print-instructed job is not a password-encrypted print job (NO in S7013), the password-protected print job is printed (S7008).

If it is determined to be a password-encrypted print job (YES in S7013), in S7015 the CPU 205 decrypts the encrypted print data using the password accepted in S7009, and outputs the decrypted print data to the RIP unit 218. do. The RIP unit 218 develops the output print data into a bitmap image. After that, the printer 202 prints an image on printing paper based on the bitmap image data output from the RIP unit 218 .

The operation of the printing process in FIG. 7 has been described above. According to this embodiment, even if the user cannot omit entering a password for a password-protected print job, it is possible to execute the password-protected print job by prompting the user to enter the password as before. With this processing, in a multifunction machine in which the password input omission function is enabled and the filtering setting of the job list is disabled, it is possible to print a password print job of someone other than the user by inputting a password, thereby improving convenience.

Next, the process of canceling a password-protected print job will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the canceling process of S5012 in FIG.

In S8001, the CPU 205 acquires the settings of the MFP 1000 stored in the SRAM 213, and determines whether the MFP 1000 has completed user authentication. If it is determined that the user has not been authenticated (NO in S8001), the CPU 205 deletes the password-protected print job data for which the cancellation instruction has been issued from the HDD 208 (S8004). If it is determined that the user has been authenticated, the CPU 205 acquires the user name of the print job with password and the user name of the logged-in user (S8002).

Next, the CPU 205 determines whether the user name of the password-protected print job instructed to be canceled matches the user name of the logged-in user (S8003). If it is determined that the password-protected print job and the user name of the login user match (YES in S8003), the CPU 205 deletes the data of the password-protected print job whose cancellation has been instructed from the HDD 208 (S8004), and proceeds to S8005.

In step S<b>8005 , the CPU 205 deletes the password-protected print job for which cancellation is selected from the print job list 09002 displayed on the operation unit 210 . Then, the print job canceling process of FIG. 8 ends.

If it is determined that the password-protected print job and the user name of the logged-in user do not match (NO in S8003), the CPU 205 displays an error screen on the operation unit 210 indicating that execution of the selected print job cannot be canceled. The print job canceling process of FIG. 8 ends.

The first embodiment has been described above. According to the first embodiment, when an authenticated user instructs execution of a password-protected print job, control is performed so that printing can be started without entering a password included in the print job.

Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, control is performed so that even an unauthenticated user can instruct printing of the held print job. (However, when the unauthenticated user instructs to execute a job, control is performed so that printing can be started after requesting the input of a password). This control reduces the burden of inputting a password for an authenticated user, and enables printing with one-time authentication by user authentication at the time of login. Further, for unauthenticated users, printing can be started on the condition that a password is entered, so convenience can be improved.

Further, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to maintain security by requesting input of a password whenever a print instruction is accepted without user authentication.

Further, according to the first embodiment, since a user who has logged in to the MFP can execute another person's password-protected print job (as long as the password for the job is known), the convenience of the MFP is improved. can be improved.

<Second embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, with regard to the password-protected print job cancellation process (see FIG. 8), the multifunction peripheral can cancel only the password-protected print job of the logged-in user. In the second embodiment, in order to further improve convenience, even a password-attached print job for a user other than the logged-in user can be canceled if the correct password is entered. In the second embodiment, this function is referred to as a "password input function at the time of cancellation".

In the second embodiment, in a multifunction device having a function of entering a password when canceling, an instruction to cancel a password-protected print job of oneself or another person is given according to the presence or absence of user authentication management and the role conditions of the user who has logged in to the multifunction device. A description will be given of the control in the case of

Control of password-protected print job cancellation processing executed by the MFP 1000 according to the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. In the embodiment, parts that are not described, such as the configuration of the MFP, password-protected print job transmission processing of the printer driver, login processing of the MFP, password-protected print job print processing, and print job reception processing, are described in the first is the same as the embodiment of

The process of FIG. 11 according to the second embodiment includes steps S11006 to S11015 added to the process of FIG. 8 of the first embodiment. This added processing relates to control in which the setting of the password for cancellation is effective, and will be described later in detail. The processing of steps S11001 to S11005 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 11 in this embodiment is the same as the processing of steps S8001 to S8005 described in the flowchart of FIG. 8 of the first embodiment. 5, 6, and 7 are the same as those of the first embodiment.

The portions of the first embodiment that are different from the second embodiment will be described below.

In step S<b>11006 , the CPU 205 acquires the password entry setting for the MFP 1000 from the SRAM 213 and determines whether the password entry setting for the MFP 1000 is valid.

FIG. 12 shows a password-protected hold print function setting screen 12001 according to the second embodiment, which is displayed on the operation unit 210 . A password-protected reserved print function setting screen 12001 has a password input omission setting and a password input setting when aborting. The password input omission setting is the same as in FIG. 10 of the first embodiment, and in FIG. 12, the setting of the password input function at the time of cancellation is added in addition to FIG. In the present embodiment, this is referred to as "password input setting for cancellation". The password input setting at the time of cancellation in FIG. 12 will be described.

The password input setting at the time of cancellation is set by a password input setting valid button 12006 at the time of cancellation and a password input setting invalidation at the time of cancellation button 12007 in the password reserved print function setting screen 12001 . The user selects either a password input setting enable button 12006 for cancellation or a password input setting disable button 12007 for cancellation via the operation unit 210 . The password input setting at the time of cancellation includes the setting of the password input setting at the time of cancellation valid button 12006 and the password input setting at the time of cancellation invalid button 12007 . The changed password input setting for cancellation is saved in the SRAM 213 by the CPU 205 by selecting the password-protected reserved print function setting button 12004 .

Returning to the description of the processing in FIG. If the CPU 205 determines in step S11006 that the password input setting for cancellation is invalid, the process proceeds to step S11001. If the CPU 205 determines in step S11006 that the password input setting for cancellation is valid, the process proceeds to step S11007.

In step S11007, the CPU 205 acquires the settings of the MFP 1000 held in the SRAM 213 and determines whether the MFP 1000 is managing user authentication. If the CPU 205 determines in step S11007 that the multifunction peripheral 1000 does not manage user authentication, the CPU 205 displays a password input screen on the operation unit 210 and accepts password input from the user (S11011). Then, the process moves to step S11012.

In step S11012, the CPU 205 acquires the password from the password-attached print job for which the cancellation instruction has been given. Next, the process moves to step S11013.

In step S11013, the CPU 205 compares the password input by the user via the operation unit 210 with the password of the acquired password-attached print job. Next, the process proceeds to step S11014.

In step S11014, if the CPU 205 determines that the password entered by the user matches the password of the password-protected print job, the CPU 205 cancels the password-protected print job for which cancellation has been instructed (S11004). Then, the process moves to step S11005.

In step S11014, if the CPU 205 determines that the password entered by the user does not match the password of the acquired password-protected print job, it displays a password mismatch information screen (not shown here) on the operation unit 210 (S11015). . Then, the CPU 205 ends the password-attached print job cancellation process.

If the CPU 205 determines in step S11007 that the multifunction peripheral 1000 is managing user authentication, the process proceeds to step S11008.

In step S11008, the CPU 205 acquires the role of the user who has logged in to the MFP 1000, and determines which role the user has. If it is determined in step S11008 that the logged-in user is a general user, the CPU 205 acquires the user information of the password-protected print job for which cancellation was instructed and the user information of the logged-in user (S11009).

Then, the CPU 205 determines whether or not the user information of the password-protected print job whose cancellation has been instructed matches the user information of the logged-in user (S11010). In step S11010, if the CPU 205 determines that the user information of the password-protected print job instructed to be canceled matches the user information of the logged-in user, the CPU 205 cancels the password-protected print job instructed to be canceled (S11004). Next, the process moves to step S11005.

With the above-described processing, when a user performs user authentication on a multifunction device for which the setting for entering a password when canceling is valid, it is possible for the user to cancel a print job with a password without entering a password. . As a result, the user can reduce the trouble of performing authentication when canceling his or her own password-protected print job for a multifunction device for which the password input setting for cancellation is valid.

If it is determined in step S11008 that the logged-in user is the administrator user, the CPU 205 cancels the password-protected print job for which cancellation has been instructed (S11004). Then, the process moves to step S11005.

In the above process, if the logged-in user has an administrator role for a multifunction device with the password entry setting enabled when canceling, the multifunction device does not require the password to be entered even if it is not a password-protected print job for the logged-in user. Aborting printing is in progress. In the present embodiment, since it is assumed that the administrator deletes the job of another person's MFP that is no longer needed for management of the MFP, it is possible to cancel any password-protected print job.

If it is determined in step S11008 that the logged-in user is a guest user, the CPU 205 displays a password input screen on the operation unit 210 and accepts password input from the user (S11011).

In the above-described process, if the login user is a guest user, the multi-function device always requires the password input at the time of cancellation for the multi-function device for which the setting for entering a password at the time of cancellation is valid. Since the guest user cannot identify himself/herself, the MFP cannot determine which password-protected print job is his/her job. Therefore, even if the password input setting for cancellation is valid, when the guest user issues a cancellation instruction for a password-protected print job, the password is always requested.

The second embodiment has been described above. According to the second embodiment, authentication work by password input is reduced for multifunction peripherals for which the password input setting for cancellation is valid, thereby reducing the user's trouble when printing a password-protected print job. becomes feasible.

(Other examples)
In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the password input omission setting is performed by the system administrator through the screen of FIG. 10 . However, the setting for omitting password entry may be automatically determined according to the setting for user authentication. For example, if the user authentication setting is disabled, the enable button 10002 on the setting screen 10001 in FIG. It may operate in essential mode. In this case, the CPU 205 refers to the setting values stored in the SRAM 213 to determine whether or not to perform user authentication. When the CPU 205 determines that the user is not to be authenticated, the password entry omission setting is automatically disabled. By doing so, the load of setting work on the system administrator can be reduced.

Note that the timing at which user authentication is performed is not limited to login. For example, when a multifunction device is a device that provides functions such as copying, scanning, and printing, it is conceivable to switch whether or not user authentication is required for each function (this is called function-based authentication). In the case of a device that performs authentication by function in this way, user authentication is performed when trying to use the print function, and if this user authentication is performed, the password entry omission setting is automatically enabled. can be

Note that in the present embodiment, whether or not password input can be omitted is determined depending on whether or not the password-protected print job to be operated is the job of the logged-in user. However, it is also possible to determine whether or not the password input can be omitted by other methods. For example, whether or not to omit the password entry may be determined depending on whether or not the logged-in user has administrator authority. In this case, password entry is omitted for users with administrator authority, and password entry is required for general users and guest users.

Further, password entry may be omitted for users belonging to a group (or department) to which the logged-in user belongs. For example, the group ID (or department ID) of the logged-in user and the group ID specified from the user name included in the print job to be operated are acquired, and if they match, the password input may be omitted. good.

Note that in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the user enters the password at the time of printing after selecting the job. However, it can also be done before job selection. In this case, a password input by the user can be received, and a print job including the received password can be identified and printed. In other words, one or more print jobs that match the entered password are automatically identified and printed, eliminating the need for the user to select a job. Note that it is also possible to automatically specify and print only print jobs with a matching password and those of authenticated users.

It should be noted that it is also possible to selectively (exclusively) set whether or not to perform user authentication and whether or not to enable password omission. For example, when user authentication is set, password abbreviation is automatically disabled, and when user authentication is not set, password abbreviation is automatically enabled. good too. Further, switching between password omission setting and user authentication setting may be performed according to an instruction from the system administrator.

In this embodiment, the password is accepted from the user both when the authenticated user is different from the owner of the print job and when the print instruction is accepted without user authentication. (If NO at step 7004 in FIG. 7 and NO at step S7007). However, this embodiment also includes a mode in which the password is accepted from the user only in one of these cases. That is, the present embodiment includes a form in which a password is accepted from a user only when a print instruction is accepted without user authentication, and a form in which a password is accepted only when the authenticated user and the owner of the print job are different. be

The object of the present invention is also achieved by executing the following processing. That is, a storage medium recording software program code for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device, and the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device executes the program stored in the storage medium. This is the process of reading the code. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

1000 MFP 2000 Personal Computer 205 CPU
206 RAMs
207 ROMs
208 HDDs
210 operation unit 201 scanner 202 printer

Claims (20)

A printing device having execution means capable of executing a password print job with and without personal authentication performed by an authentication means,
The execution means
In the state where the personal authentication is performed, the password print job can be executed without accepting password information for the password print job corresponding to the individual who has performed the personal authentication,
The password print job can be executed by accepting the same password information as the password information of the password print job in a state where the personal authentication has not been performed .
A printing device characterized by: It is possible to set password entry omission settings when executing a password print job,
The execution means
In a state where the omission setting is set and the individual is authenticated, the password print job can be executed without accepting password information for the password print job corresponding to the individual who has undergone the personal authentication.
2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The execution means
The password print job can be executed by accepting the same password information as the password information of the password print job in a state where the omission setting is not set and the personal authentication is not performed. 3. A printing device according to claim 2 . 4. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the personal authentication is authentication based on a user name. Receiving authentication information including the user name;
5. The printing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the personal authentication is authentication based on the authentication information and previously stored authentication information. It is possible to authenticate as a guest user without personal authentication,
6. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the state in which the personal authentication has not been performed is the state in which the user has been authenticated as the guest user. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the state in which the personal authentication has not been performed is a state in which the user has not logged in to the printing apparatus. When receiving an encrypted password print job in which data is encrypted, the execution means
By accepting the same password information as the password information of the encrypted password print job regardless of whether or not the personal authentication has been performed, the data of the encrypted password print job is decrypted, and the password obtained by decrypting the data. 8. A printing device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, for executing print jobs. The execution means
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein when a print job to which a user ID is assigned and a password is not assigned is received, the print job is executed without accepting password information regardless of whether or not the personal authentication has been performed. 9. The printing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 8 . The execution means
executing the password print job when an execution instruction of the password print job is accepted without accepting password information of the password print job corresponding to the individual who has undergone the personal authentication, and
3. The password print job is executed by accepting password information identical to password information of the password print job and accepting an execution instruction of the password print job in a state where the personal authentication has not been performed. 10. The printing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 9 . A control method for a printing device having execution means capable of executing a password print job in a state where personal authentication is performed by an authentication means and in a state where personal authentication is not performed,
In the state where the personal authentication has been performed, the execution means executes the password print job without accepting password information for the password print job when executing the password print job corresponding to the person who has undergone the personal authentication. run,
When executing the password print job in a state in which the personal authentication has not been performed, the execution means executes the password print job by accepting password information identical to password information of the password print job .
A control method for a printing apparatus, characterized by: It is possible to set password entry omission settings when executing a password print job,
The executing means executes the password print job without accepting password information for the password print job corresponding to the person who has undergone the personal authentication in a state where the omission setting is set and the individual is authenticated. 12. The method of controlling a printing apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein: The execution means
The password print job is executed by accepting the same password information as the password information of the password print job in a state where the omission setting is not set and the personal authentication is not performed.
13. The method of controlling a printing apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein: 14. The printing apparatus control method according to claim 11 , wherein the personal authentication is authentication based on a user name. Receiving authentication information including the user name;
15. The method of controlling a printing apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the personal authentication is authentication based on the authentication information and previously stored authentication information. It is possible to authenticate as a guest user without personal authentication,
16. The printing apparatus control method according to claim 11 , wherein the state in which the personal authentication has not been performed is the state in which the user has been authenticated as the guest user. 16. The method of controlling a printing apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the state in which the personal authentication has not been performed is a state in which the user has not logged in to the printing apparatus. When receiving an encrypted password print job in which data is encrypted, the execution means accepts the same password information as the password information of the encrypted password print job regardless of whether or not the personal authentication is performed. 18. The method of controlling a printing apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 17 , further comprising decrypting the encrypted password print job and executing the decrypted password print job. The execution means
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein when a print job to which a user ID is assigned and a password is not assigned is received, the print job is executed without accepting password information regardless of whether or not the personal authentication has been performed. 19. The method of controlling a printing apparatus according to any one of items 11 to 18 . The execution means
executing the password print job when an execution instruction of the password print job is accepted without accepting password information of the password print job corresponding to the individual who has undergone the personal authentication, and
3. The password print job is executed by accepting password information identical to password information of the password print job and accepting an execution instruction of the password print job in a state where the personal authentication has not been performed. 20. The method of controlling a printing apparatus according to any one of 11 to 19 .

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