JPH11146115A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control image data stored in a personal box provided to a copying machine so as to be printable even by a person other than the personal box owner. SOLUTION: A large capacity of a hard disk 304 is provided to a copying machine connected to a host computer 1000 via a network. Personal box areas 901 having pluralities of personal boxes are in existence on the hard disk 304, and the personal box areas 901 contains personal boxes to which a password is set respectively and the other personal boxes to which no password is set. A control section of the copying machine controls whether or not image data stored in a personal box to which a password is set are to be printed depending on the entered password and, image data stored in the personal box to which no password is set are controlled to be printed without entry of a password.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having storage means for storing image data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a large-capacity hard disk (HD)
There is a digital copier equipped with. A digital copying machine can receive PDL (Page Description Language) data from a host computer via a network, develop it into a bitmap image from the PDL, temporarily store it on a hard disk, read out the image from the memory and print it out. is there.

Further, it has been proposed to divide the storage area of the hard disk into individuals, temporarily store the image received from the host computer in an area (personal box) designated by the host computer, and print the image from the personal box. Have been. The image stored in the personal box is printed by inputting a password for accessing his / her area from the operation unit of the copying machine. So if only the owner of the personal box knows the password,
Since the image of the owner of the personal box is not printed out without permission from the copying machine, there is no concern that data other than the owner of the personal box can be seen by the user.

[0004]

However, since image data stored in the personal box cannot be printed out without inputting a password, a large number of people can print out the image data as in the so-called bulletin board image data. If the image data to be stored is stored in the personal box, a person who does not know the password cannot print out. Therefore, it was difficult to use the personal box like a bulletin board.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a storage means having a plurality of storage areas and storing image data output from an external device in the storage area, and an image stored in the storage means. Image forming means for forming an image on a sheet based on data, input means for inputting a password, and whether or not to form image data of the image data stored in the storage area according to the password input by the input means A first control unit for controlling the image data stored in the storage area by the image forming unit regardless of the control of the first control unit.
And an image forming apparatus having the following control means.

[0006]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a copying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein 100 is a copying apparatus main body, and 180 is an automatic document feeder (DF).

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a platen glass serving as a document mounting table, 102 denotes a scanner, and includes a document illumination lamp 103, a scanning mirror 104, and the like. The scanner is reciprocated in a predetermined direction by a motor (not shown),
The reflected light 107 from the original on the platen glass 101 passes through the scanning mirrors 104 to 106 and the lens 108,
An image is formed on a sensor (image sensor unit) 109.

Reference numeral 120 denotes an exposure control unit constituted by a laser, a polygon scanner, or the like. The exposure control unit 120 irradiates the photosensitive drum 110 with a laser beam 129 which is converted into an electric signal by the image sensor unit 109 and modulated based on an image signal on which predetermined image processing described later has been performed.

Around the photosensitive drum 110, a primary charger 112, a developing device 121, a transfer charger 118, a cleaning device 116, and a pre-exposure lamp 114 are provided. In the image forming unit 126, the photoconductor drum 110 is rotated in a direction indicated by an arrow by a motor (not shown), and is charged to a desired potential by the primary charger 112. Light 129 is irradiated to form an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 110 is developed by the developing device 121,
It is visualized as a toner image. On the other hand, the upper cassette 13
Transfer paper fed from the lower cassette 132 by the pickup rollers 133 and 134 is sent to the main body by paper feed rollers 135 and 136,
The toner image which is fed to the transfer belt 130 by the 37 and is visualized is transferred to the transfer paper by the transfer charger 118. After the transfer, the photosensitive drum 110 is cleaned of residual toner by the cleaner device 116, and the pre-exposure lamp 1
14 erases the residual charge.

The transfer paper after the transfer is separated from the transfer belt 130, the toner image is recharged by the pre-fixing chargers 139 and 140, and sent to the fixing device 141. The toner image is fixed by pressure and heat in a fixing device 141, and is discharged out of the main body 100 by a discharge roller 161.

The main body 100 is equipped with a deck 150 capable of storing, for example, 4000 transfer papers. The lifter 151 of the deck 150 rises according to the amount of transfer paper so that the transfer paper always contacts the paper feed roller 152. In addition, a multi-bypass tray 15 capable of storing 100 sheets of transfer paper
3 are equipped.

Further, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 154 denotes a paper discharge flapper, which switches between a double-side recording side or a multiple recording side and a paper discharge side. The transfer paper fed from the paper discharge roller 142 is switched by the paper discharge flapper 154 to either the paper discharge side or the double-sided recording / multiple recording side. Also,
The lower transport path 158 guides the transfer paper sent from the paper discharge roller 142 to the paper discharge tray 156. 159 is route 16
0 is a paper feed roller for feeding the transfer paper to the photosensitive drum 126 side. A discharge roller 161 is disposed near the paper discharge flapper 154 and discharges the transfer paper switched to the discharge side by the paper discharge flapper 154 to the outside of the main body 100. At the time of double-sided recording (double-sided copying), the discharge flapper 154 is raised upward, and the copied transfer paper is turned upside down via the transport paths 155 and 158 and the re-feed tray 1 is turned over.
56.

When the transfer sheet is inverted and discharged from the main body, the discharge flapper 154 is raised upward, and the multiple flapper 1
57 to the right and transport the copied transfer paper to transport path 15
5 and the rear end of the transfer paper is
Is transferred to the second feed roller 162 a side by the reversing roller 163, and the transfer paper is turned over and discharged out of the main body 100 by the discharge roller 161. Further, the paper discharge processing device 190 aligns and staples the transfer paper discharged from the copier 100 on the processing tray 193. Then, the stapled transfer paper is transferred to the discharge tray 19.
1, 192. Output tray 1
The motors 91 and 192 are moved up and down by a motor (not shown).

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the copying apparatus 100. The CPU 171 that performs basic control of the copying apparatus 100 has a ROM 174 in which a control program is written, a work RAM 175 for performing processing, and an input / output port (I / O port).
O) 173, an operation unit 172 of the copying apparatus, and the like are connected. The input / output port 173 is connected to various loads (not shown) such as a motor and a clutch for controlling the copying apparatus 100, and a sensor (not shown) for detecting the position of paper. C
The PU 171 is connected to the image processing unit 1 that processes the signal converted into the electric signal by the image sensor unit 109 and the image memory unit 3 that stores the processed image data.
Further, the external I / F processing unit 4 develops the PDL output from the external host computer 1000 into a bitmap image, and outputs it to the image memory unit 3 as image data.

The printer unit 2 includes a smoothing unit 506 and an exposure control unit 120 such as a laser as described with reference to the sectional view of FIG.
In step 06, the data is interpolated so that the line ends of the binarized image are smoothed, and image data is output to the exposure control unit 120. The exposure control unit 120 converts the image on the transfer paper based on the input image signal. Record.

Next, the details of the image processing section 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The original image formed on the CCD sensor 109 via the lens 108 is converted by the CCD sensor 109 into an analog electric signal. The converted image information is A / D
After being input to the converter 501 and subjected to sample & hold, dark level correction, etc., it is subjected to analog / digital conversion (A / D conversion). The digitized signal is subjected to shooting correction (correction of variations in a sensor for reading a document and light distribution characteristics of a document illumination lamp).

The log conversion unit 502 stores an LUT (look-up table) for converting input luminance data into density data, and outputs a table value corresponding to the input data. The luminance data is converted into density data. After that, the image data scaled to the desired magnification by the scaling unit 503 is input to the γ correction unit 504. When outputting the density data, the γ correction unit 504 performs conversion using an LUT in consideration of the characteristics of the printer unit 2 and adjusts the output according to the density value set by the operation unit 172.

Thereafter, the density data is sent to the binarizing unit 505. In the binarization unit 505, the multi-value density data is “0”
Alternatively, it is converted to "255", and the 8-bit density data is further converted to 1-bit binary data of "0" or "1". This reduces the amount of image data stored in the memory.

The binarized image data is sent to the image memory unit 3. Also, the PDL output from the host computer 1000 input from the external I / F processing unit 4
Is processed as binary image data by the external I / F processing unit 4 and is thus output to the image memory unit 3 as it is.

The image data output from the image memory unit 3 is sent to a smoothing unit 506 in the printer unit 2. The smoothing unit 506 interpolates the data so that the line ends of the binarized image are smooth, and the exposure control unit 1
20 to output image data. The exposure control unit 120 records an image on a transfer sheet according to the input image signal.

Next, the details of the image memory unit 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The image memory unit 3 is a page memory unit 3
01, a memory controller 302, a compression unit 303,
The hard disk (HD) 304 has a large capacity. In the image memory unit 3, the external I / F processing unit 4 or the image processing unit 1 is stored in the page memory unit 301 via the memory controller unit 302 according to the instruction of the CPU 171.
For example, writing of a binarized image from the printer unit 2, reading of an image to the printer unit 2, access to the hard disk 304 for image input / output, and the like are performed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the operation unit 172 of the copying apparatus. A power lamp 621 indicates whether or not the power of the copying apparatus is turned on. When the power switch 613 is pressed to turn on the power, the power lamp 621 is turned on. A numeric keypad 622 is used to set the number of images to be formed and to input numerical values for mode setting. On the facsimile setting screen, it is used to input a telephone number. The clear key 623 is used to invalidate the settings entered with the ten keys 622. The reset key 616 is used to return the set image forming number, operation mode, selected paper feed stage, and other modes to default values.

A start key 614 is a key that is pressed to start image formation. In the center of the start key 614, red and green LEs indicating whether image formation can be started are displayed.
D (not shown), and if image formation cannot be started,
The red LED is turned on, and when image formation can be started, the green LED is turned on. To stop the copying operation, a stop key 615 is used. The guide key 617 is a key that is pressed when a certain key function is unknown, and displays a description of the key whose function is unknown on the display panel 620. A user setting key 618 is used to change the setting of the copying apparatus. The interrupt key 619 is a key pressed when the user wants to perform another operation during the image forming operation.

The display panel 620 is composed of a liquid crystal or the like, and the display content changes according to the setting mode to facilitate detailed mode setting. The surface of the display panel 620 is a touch sensor, and the function is executed by touching the inside of the frame of the function displayed in the panel. The paper selection key 627 is a key used to select a copy paper. Keys 628 to 630 are used to set the copy magnification.

The two-sided operation setting key 624 is, for example, a "one-sided mode" for outputting two single-sided originals as a two-sided original, a "two-sided mode" for outputting a two-sided original as a two-sided original, and a two-sided original for two single-sided originals. Are used to make settings such as "two-sided mode" output by. The sort key 625 is a key used to set the operation mode of the sheet discharge processing device 190 and set the output paper sorting mode.

Keys that cannot be used among the keys displayed on the display panel 620 are indicated by dotted lines (shaded) to indicate that the keys cannot be operated. In the upper part of the display panel 620, the contents of the set copy operation and the current operation state are displayed. The operation states of the other function modes are displayed below the display panel 620 within a range that can be displayed in one line.

An application mode key 626 is a key used to set an application function mode such as a multiplex operation, a reduced layout mode, and a cover / interleaf mode.
By pressing 26, a screen for setting each applied function mode as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the display panel 620, for example. The user sets the application function mode on this screen. Further, a frequently used application function mode can be registered in a favorite function key a 650 and a favorite function key b 651 on the left side of the application mode key 626. Thereby, the setting of the application function mode can be performed more easily. A setting method of the favorite function key will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 7 shows a screen for setting the favorite function key a. This screen is displayed by selecting an item of setting of a favorite function key a on a screen (not shown) displayed by pressing a user setting key 618.
Then, by specifying an application function mode to be registered in the favorite function key a on the screen of FIG. 7 and pressing an OK key 801, the selected application function mode is registered on the display panel 620 as shown in FIG. The easily selected application function mode can be used. The same applies to the case where the favorite function key b is set.

In FIG. 5, a copy A function key 601, a copy B function key 604, a fax function key 607, a printer function key 610, and a personal box function key 6
Reference numeral 34 denotes a function key used when switching the display contents of the display panel 620 of the operation unit to set each function of the copying operation and the system operation. The personal box function key 634 is a personal box key according to the present invention described later, and is a button pressed when printing out image data stored in the hard disk 304 in the image memory unit 3. These function keys are composed of translucent key buttons, and inside the keys there are display lamps (not shown) such as LEDs. And
Only the lamp inside the key corresponding to the selected operation screen is controlled to be turned on. Also, green LEDs 603, 606, 609, located on the right side of these function keys,
Lighting control is performed on 612 and 633 so as to represent the operation status of each function. For example, the user presses a copy B function key 604 to display a copy B operation screen on the display panel 620. While copy B is in standby, copy B LED 60
6 is turned off. When the copy B is in the output operation as in the example of FIG. 5, the LED 606 of the copy B is controlled to blink. Further, the image of the copy B is stored in the hard disk 304 of the image memory unit 3, and the lighting is controlled when the print operation of the copy B is not performed.

Further, 601, 604, 607, 610,
Red LED 60 located to the left of the 634 key
2, 605, 608, 611, and 632 are controlled to be turned on to indicate when an abnormality occurs in each function. For example, when an abnormality such as a paper-out interruption or JAM occurs in copy B, the LED 605 of copy B is controlled to blink. At this time, by pressing the copy B function key 604 to switch to the copy B function, the display panel 620 displays the copy B function.
Is displayed, and the details can be known.
These function keys 601, 604, 607, 6
The buttons 10 and 634 can be pressed irrespective of the operation status, and the operation unit is switched by changing the content displayed on the display panel 620. The keys not in the display panel 620, such as the stop key 615, the start key 614, the reset key 616, etc.
01, copy B function key 604, fax function key 6
07, a printer function key 610, and a personal box function key 634. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the operation screen of the copy A is displayed on the display panel 620, to stop the copy operation of the copy B, the user presses the copy B function key 604 and switches the operation screen. Later, by pressing the stop key 615, the copying operation of copy B is stopped. Further, since the content changed by the user setting key 618 is reflected on the function selected at the time of the change, it is possible to set each function independently.

The personal box according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The hard disk 304 in the image memory unit 3 includes a temporary area 900 and a personal box area 901. The temporary area 900 is an area for temporarily storing image data in order to perform electronic sorting, and the image data is deleted after the job is completed.

The personal box area 901 is an area for storing image data in which a PDL image from the host computer 1000 is expanded, in a personal box in the personal box area 901 corresponding to the personal box number received from the host computer 1000. .

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, in the case of a 1 GB hard disk, 300 MB is allocated to the temporary area 90.
0 and 700 MB are used in the personal box area 901 separately. When the number of personal boxes is 10, the area of each personal box is 70 MB. Each personal box is numbered, for example, boxes 902, 903, 904, 905
Are the personal box numbers 0, 1, 2, and 3, respectively. In this embodiment, a personal box in which a password is set in the personal box area 901 and a personal box in which no password is set are included.

Then, the user selects a personal box storing image data to be printed from the personal box area 901 on the operation unit 172. At this time, if a password is set in the selected personal box, image data stored in the personal box can be printed by inputting a password corresponding to the selected personal box.

The password is different for each personal box. Therefore, if only the person to whom the personal box is assigned knows the password, the image data stored in the personal box owned by the user will not be printed unless the password is entered, so that other people can view the image data. Don't worry about it.

If no password is set in the selected personal box, the image data stored in the selected personal box can be printed without inputting a password. Therefore, the image data stored in the personal box can be printed even by a person who does not know the password.

As described above, since the image data stored in the personal box with no password set can be printed out by many people, the personal box without the password set can be used like a bulletin board. . In this embodiment, this personal box is called a common box.

FIG. 10 shows a basic screen 901a of the personal box of the operation unit. Reference numeral 901a denotes an operation unit 1 of the copying apparatus
This is the main screen of the personal box displayed at 72, and is displayed by pressing the personal box key 634 of the operation unit 172. For example, as shown in the figure, the number of personal boxes is 10 in a range of 00 to 09, and each personal box is a screen displaying that the image data input from the host computer 1000 is stored in each personal box. .

For example, in the case of the personal box number 1, the name "box of Tanaka" is given, which clearly indicates that Mr. Tanaka is registered as a personal box to be used. Then, only Tanaka himself who knows the password associated with the personal box can print the image data stored in the personal box.

Then, the personal box to which no password is set is given the name "common box" as shown in FIG. In the figure, it corresponds to the personal box of personal box number 3. Since there is no need to enter a password when using this personal box, many people can print image data stored in this personal box.

The percentage displayed at the right end of the column of each personal box indicates the ratio used by the personal box with respect to the hard disk capacity of the entire personal box area. For example, if the hard disk capacity of the personal box area 901 is 700 MB, 2% of the personal box with the personal box number 1 uses about 14 MB.

902a, 903a, 904a, 905a
Is a button for entering a mode for displaying the job contents stored in the personal boxes of personal box numbers 0, 1, 2, and 3. Reference numerals 906 and 907 denote up and down scroll keys. By pressing these keys, the screen can be scrolled, and the name and used capacity of the personal box storing image data not displayed on the screen can be viewed. Reference numeral 909 denotes a fax status key. By pressing this key, the status of fax transmission / reception can be confirmed.

Next, a method for registering a personal box will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 is a basic screen for registering a personal box. This screen is a screen (not shown) displayed by pressing a user setting key 618, which is displayed by selecting an item of personal box registration. is there.

In FIG. 11, reference numerals 1101, 1102, 1
103 and 1104 are personal box selection keys. For example, as shown in FIG.
The personal boxes corresponding to 101, 1102, and 1103 indicate that the personal boxes are already used by individuals, and these are set with passwords.

Reference numerals 1106 and 1107 denote up and down scroll keys, which are used to scroll the screen when displaying a large number of job contents that cannot be displayed on one screen.
To close the screen, a close key 1109 is pressed. A delete key 1105 is a button used to delete a personal box already registered. When deleting a personal box used by an individual, the user is required to input a password associated with the personal box. . When the correct password is input, the image data stored in the personal box is deleted from the hard disk 304 and displayed on the screen as an unregistered personal box.

When registering a personal box,
Select an unregistered personal box and click the register button 11
Pressing 08 shifts to the personal box registration screen of FIG. For example, in this figure, when the personal box selection key 1104 corresponding to the unregistered personal box is pressed and the registration button 1108 is pressed, the screen shifts to the screen of FIG.

When a registered personal box is selected and a registration button 1108 is pressed, it is determined that the registered personal box is to be deleted and newly registered, and a password input is required.

On the registration screen shown in FIG. 12, a name is entered using the alphabet key 1206, and a name is given to the personal box. The input name is displayed in 1201. When inputting here, the user switches between the hiragana display mode and the romaji display mode using the kana-kanji key 1205. The keys 1202 and 1203 move the cursor, the space key 1208 inserts a space, and the backspace key 1204 is used to delete an input character. When the non-conversion key 1207 is used during the display of hiragana, the data is converted into katakana or the like. When the conversion key 1209 is used during the hiragana display, the kanji is converted.

Then, when the name of the personal box is determined and the OK key 1210 is pressed, the screen shifts to a password setting screen shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 shows a password setting screen. Here, a password corresponding to the personal box selected on the screen of FIG. 11 is set. Numeric keypad 62 of operation unit
Enter, for example, a 6-digit numerical value with 2 and press the OK key 1302
By pressing, the password corresponding to the selected personal box is set in the selected personal box. Thus, when printing the image data stored in the personal box, a password input is required.

Therefore, when printing image data stored in a personal box to which a password is set, a password input is required, so that only the owner of each personal box corresponds to his / her own personal box. If the user knows the password, the image data stored in his / her personal box will not be printed out unless the password is input, and there is no concern that the data can be viewed by another person.

When a password is not set in the personal box selected on the screen shown in FIG. 11, it is sufficient to just press the OK key 1302 without inputting a numerical value. By doing so, no password is set for the selected personal box. This personal box is registered as a common box. As a result, a large number of people can print out the image data stored in the personal box to which no password is set, so that the personal box to which no password is set can be used like a bulletin board.

In this screen, a cancel button 1
When the user presses 301, the screen returns to the basic screen for personal box registration shown in FIG.

Next, a case where image data stored in the personal box is printed will be described. FIG. 14 shows a password input screen 910 displayed on the operation unit 172 of the copying apparatus. In the screen shown in FIG.
This screen is displayed when the personal box number corresponding to the personal box from a to 904a is pressed.

On the screen shown in FIG. 10, when the button 905a of the personal box number 3 corresponding to the common box which is a personal box for which no password is set is pressed, the password input screen 9 is displayed.
10 is not displayed.

The password entered on the screen shown in FIG. 14 differs for each personal box, and is a password that can be known only by the owner of the personal box. As a result, the image data stored in the user's personal box is not printed out unless the password is input, so that there is no worry that the data can be viewed by another person.

The password can be entered using the numeric keypad 622 of the operation unit.
Do with. In 911, the input digit is indicated by an asterisk (*) and the unentered digit is indicated by a. An OK key 912 is pressed to start collation of the entered password. Cancel key 9
A button 13 is pressed to cancel the input of the password and return to the basic screen 901a of the personal box.

FIG. 15 is a screen for displaying information stored in the personal box designated on the screen 901a (the stored date, time, document name, and whether or not it has been printed). A screen 930 displays information stored in the personal box. This screen is screen 910
Displayed when the password entered in is correct.

For example, Mr. Tanaka, the owner of the personal box number 1, inputs a password known only to him / herself, and can collate the password to view the screen 930. The password matching process is executed by the CPU 171 of the copying machine. Reference numerals 923 and 924 indicate information stored by designating the personal box number from the host computer 1000.

At 923, at 11:30 on March 8,
The document “A plan” is transferred to the host computer 100
0 indicates that the data is stored in the personal box. Here, “printed” at the right end indicates that printing has been performed at least once since this document was stored in the personal box. "NG" is displayed in the rightmost area
Or the like may indicate that the hard disk or personal box is full and the document could not be stored correctly.

At 924, at 21:14 on March 11, a document called “B meeting material” is sent to the host computer 1.
000 indicates that the data is stored in this box.
Here, the rightmost “unprinted” indicates that the document has not been printed since this document was stored in the personal box.

By touching this line 924, the line 924 of this job is reversed as shown in the figure. A detail key 916 is a key for displaying details of the job of the reversed line. This is a key for displaying information such as "copy three copies on both sides of A4 paper" set in the host computer 1000 in detail. Further, it is possible to change job information such as changing the number of print copies from three to five on the displayed screen.

Reference numeral 917 denotes a print key. Pressing this button starts printing of the print data of the job on the reversed line in accordance with the content of the print job setting. An erase key 918 is pressed to erase image data corresponding to the reversed line from the hard disk 304. 919 and 920 are up and down scroll keys,
This key is used to scroll the screen when displaying a large number of job contents that cannot be displayed on one screen. 922 can check the status of fax transmission and reception. 92
A close key 1 is pressed to return to the personal box screen 901a in FIG.

The information on the image data stored in the personal box to which the password is set cannot be seen unless the password is entered, and only the owner of the personal box who knows the password can read the information. The user can select and print desired image data.

FIG. 16 shows a button 9 of a personal box number 3 corresponding to a common box which is a personal box for which a password is not set on the screen of FIG.
It is a screen 1030 displayed when 05a is pressed.
This screen 1030 is a screen displayed when the button 905a of the personal box number 3 corresponding to the common box is pressed, and is displayed without displaying the password input screen 910.

Reference numerals 1023 and 1024 indicate information stored by designating the personal box number from the host computer 1000. At 1023, 11:03 on March 8
At 0 minute, it is shown that a document "E-plan" was stored in the personal box from the host computer 1000. Here, “printed” at the right end indicates that printing has been performed at least once since this document was stored in the personal box. By displaying "NG" or the like in the right end area, it may be indicated that the hard disk or the personal box is full and the document could not be stored correctly.

At 1024, at 21:14 on March 11, a document called “C meeting material” is sent to the host computer 1.
000 indicates that the data is stored in the personal box. Here, the rightmost “unprinted” indicates that the document has not been printed since this document was stored in the personal box.

Then, by touching this line 1024, as shown in FIG.
Is inverted. Reference numeral 1016 denotes a detail key, which is a key for displaying details of the job of the reversed line. This is set in the host computer 1000, “A4
This key is used to display information such as "copy three copies on both sides of paper". Further, it is possible to change job information such as changing the number of print copies from three to five on the displayed screen.

Reference numeral 1017 denotes a print key. Pressing this button starts printing of the print data of the job on the reversed line in accordance with the contents of the print job setting. An erase key 1018 is pressed to erase image data corresponding to the reversed line from the hard disk 304. Up and down scroll keys 1019 and 1020 are used to scroll the screen when displaying a large number of job contents that cannot be displayed on one screen. 1
022 can check the status of fax transmission and reception. A close key 1021 is pressed to return to the personal box screen 901a in FIG.

Anyone can see the information about the image data stored in the personal box to which the password is not set, and can select and print the desired image data from the information.

The operation when printing the image data stored in the personal box will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The personal box designated by the user is selected on the personal box basic screen 901a displayed on the operation unit 172 of the copying machine (step S).
1). Next, it is determined whether a password has been set for the selected personal box (step S2).

If the password has not been set, a screen 1030 for displaying information about the image data stored in the common box is displayed on the operation unit 172 (step S3). Then, the user selects and prints the image data to be printed specified by the user from the information on the displayed image data (step S4).

If a password has been set, the password corresponding to the selected personal box is read (step S5). Then, a password input screen 910 is displayed on the operation unit 172 (step S6). The read password is compared with the password input on the password input screen 910 displayed on the operation unit 172 (step S7).

If the input password and the read password are not the same, the user is notified that they do not match (step S8). If the input password and the read password are the same, a screen 930 displaying information on image data stored in the selected personal box is displayed on the operation unit 172 (step S9).

Then, image data to be printed specified by the user is selected and printed out of the information on the displayed image data (step S4). These processes are executed by the CPU 171 of the copying apparatus.

The image data stored in the personal box may be printed by the processing described below.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The personal box designated by the user is selected on the personal box basic screen 901a displayed on the operation unit 172 of the copying apparatus (step S1).
1). Next, it is determined whether or not the selected personal box is a common box (step S12).

If the selected personal box is a common box, a screen 1030 for displaying information on image data stored in the common box is displayed on the operation unit 17.
2 (step S13). Then, the user selects and prints the image data to be printed specified by the user from the information on the displayed image data (step S14).

If the selected personal box is not a common box, the password corresponding to the selected personal box is read (step S15). Then, a password input screen 910 is displayed on the operation unit 172 (step S16). The read password is compared with the password input on the password input screen 910 displayed on the operation unit 172 (step S1).
7).

If the input password and the read password are not the same, the user is notified that they do not match (step S18). If the input password and the read password are the same, a screen 930 for displaying information on the image data stored in the selected personal box is displayed on the operation unit 172 (step S19).

Then, image data to be printed specified by the user is selected and printed from the information on the displayed image data (step S14). These processes are executed by the CPU 171 of the copying apparatus.

The image data stored in the personal box may be printed by the processing described below.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, a password input screen 910 is displayed on the operation unit 172 (step S21). It is checked whether the OK button 912 has been pressed without inputting the password on the screen 910 (step S22). If the OK button is pressed without inputting, information on the image data stored in the common box is displayed (step S23). Then, image data to be printed specified by the user is selected from the information on the displayed image data and printed (step S24).

When the password is entered and the OK button is pressed, the password corresponding to each personal box is read (step S25). It is checked whether there is a password that matches the input password among the read passwords (step S26). If there is no matching password, the user is notified of the mismatch (step S27).

If there is a password that matches the entered password, a screen 930 for displaying information on image data stored in the personal box corresponding to the password is displayed on the operation unit 172 (step S2).
8). Then, image data to be printed specified by the user is selected from the information on the displayed image data and printed (step S24). These processes are executed by the CPU 171 of the copying apparatus.

[0086]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A first control unit that has a plurality of storage areas, stores image data output from an external device in the storage area, and forms an image of the image data stored in the storage area in accordance with the input password; Means for controlling the image data stored in the storage area to form an image by the second control means irrespective of the control of the first control means, thereby controlling the storage by the first control means. Since the image data stored in the area is not printed unless a password is entered, if only the person who has been assigned the storage area controlled by the first control means knows the password, the image data stored in the area can be printed without permission. The image data stored in the storage area owned by is not printed, and there is no worry that other people can see the image data. Also,
The image data stored in the storage area controlled by the second control means can be printed without inputting a password, so that a person who does not know the password can also print. Therefore, the storage area controlled by the second control means can be used like a bulletin board.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a copying apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a copying apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of an image processing unit.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of an image memory unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an operation unit of the copying apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a screen of an operation unit.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a screen of an operation unit.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen of an operation unit.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a personal box.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a screen of an operation unit.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a screen of an operation unit.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a screen of an operation unit.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a screen of an operation unit.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a screen of an operation unit.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a screen of an operation unit.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a screen of an operation unit.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of an image data output process.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a flowchart of image data output processing.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of an image data output process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image processing part 2 Printer part 3 Image memory part 304 Hard disk 171 CPU 172 Operation part 1000 Host computer

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued from the front page (72) Inventor Yoshito Nagatoshi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc.

Claims (15)

[Claims] A storage unit that has a plurality of storage areas and stores image data output from an external device in the storage area; and an image that forms an image on a sheet based on the image data stored in the storage means. Forming means; input means for inputting a password; first control means for controlling whether or not to form an image of the image data stored in the storage area in accordance with the password input by the input means; An image forming apparatus comprising: a second control unit that causes the image forming unit to form an image of image data stored in the storage area regardless of control by a first control unit. 2. A storage device comprising: first selection means for selecting a storage area from among the plurality of storage areas; and password setting means for setting a password in association with the storage area selected by the first selection means. The first control means controls whether to form an image of the image data stored in the storage area based on the password input by the input means and the password set by the password setting means, 2. An image according to claim 1, wherein said second control means controls said image forming means to form image data stored in said storage area irrespective of control by said first control means. Forming equipment. 3. The storage area in which a password is set by the password setting means, wherein the plurality of storage areas are:
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a storage area in which a password is not set by the password setting unit. 4. When an image is formed from image data stored in a storage area in which a password is set by the password setting unit, the image data is controlled by the first control unit, and a password is set by the password setting unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when forming image data of image data stored in a storage area that is not stored, the image data is controlled by the second control unit. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the password is inputted by the input means, the control is performed by the first control means, and when the password is not inputted by the input means, the control is performed by the second control means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 6. The first control means performs image formation of image data stored in the storage area if a password input by the input means matches a password set by the password setting means. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein image forming of the image data stored in the storage area is not permitted if the image data is not matched. 7. A storage area selected from among the plurality of storage areas in which image data to be subjected to image formation is stored, the storage area being selected by the second selection means. When a password is set in the storage area, the first control means controls the password, and the first control means corresponds to the storage area selected by the second selection means when the password input by the input means is selected. If it is the same as the password, information about one or more image data stored in the storage area selected by the second selection means is displayed, and the image stored in the storage area selected by the second selection means is displayed. Control is performed so that image data to be subjected to image formation can be selected from among information on data, and a password is set in a storage area selected by the second selecting means. If not, control is performed by the second control means. The second control means displays information on one or a plurality of image data stored in the storage area selected by the second selection means, 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein control is performed so that image data to be image-formed can be selected from information on image data stored in the storage area selected by the second selection unit. 8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the first control means controls to display a password input screen, and the second control means controls so as not to display the password input screen. Image forming device. 9. The first control means, if the password input by the input means is the same as the password corresponding to the storage area, the first control means stores the password stored in the storage area corresponding to the password input by the input means. Displaying information on a plurality of image data, controlling to select image data to be image-formed from information on the image data stored in the storage area selected by the second selecting means, The control means displays information relating to one or a plurality of image data stored in a storage area which is not controlled by the first control means unless a password is input by the input means, and a storage which is not controlled by the first control means. The image data to be formed can be selected from the information on the image data stored in the area. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the input unit is an operation unit of the image forming apparatus. 11. A first step of storing image data output from an external device in a storage area, and controlling whether to form an image of the image data stored in the storage area according to an input password. Second
And a third step of forming an image of the image data stored in the storage area regardless of the second step;
An image data processing method comprising: 12. A first step of selecting a storage area from among a plurality of storage areas, a second step of setting a password in association with the selected storage area, and image data output from an external device. A third step of storing image data in the storage area, a fourth step of controlling whether to form an image of the image data stored in the storage area based on the input password and the set password, A fifth step of forming an image of the image data stored in the storage area regardless of the step of 4;
An image data processing method comprising: 13. The storage area in which a password is set in the second step, wherein the plurality of storage areas are:
13. The image data processing method according to claim 12, comprising a storage area in which a password is not set. 14. When forming an image of image data stored in a storage area in which a password has been set in the second step, the fourth step is executed, and the password is set in the second step. 14. The image data processing method according to claim 13, wherein the fifth step is performed when forming an image of image data stored in a storage area that has not been processed. 15. A sixth step of selecting a storage area in which image data to be subjected to image formation is stored from among the plurality of storage areas, and a password is set in the storage area selected in the sixth step. If the password has been entered, the fourth step is executed.
If the password is the same as the password corresponding to the storage area selected in the step, information relating to one or a plurality of image data stored in the storage area selected in the sixth step is displayed. Control is performed so that image data to be image-formed can be selected from the information on the image data stored in the stored storage area. If the password is not set in the storage area selected in the sixth step, the fifth The fifth step displays information relating to one or more image data stored in the storage area selected in the sixth step, and the storage area selected in the sixth step The image data to be formed can be selected from the information on the image data stored in the Image data processing method according to claim 14, wherein the control.