Image processing device and method of adding management information

Abstract

To enable suppression of an unauthorized use and an information leak by overlapping a code relating to management of data subjected to imaging processing as an image, and prevent a general user from changing a content of the code and setting relating to requirement of the overlapping.SOLUTION: An image processing device comprises: an image processing part that performs image processing; an authentication part that certificates a manager; a management information collection part that collects management information in accordance with the image processing; a management information requirement determination part that determines whether or not a code in accordance with the management information is added to data subjected to the image processing as an image; a determination condition setting part that receives the setting of a determination condition used for the determination only for the manager who is authorized; a management information overlapping part which overlaps the code relating to the management information on the data as an image on the basis of the determination condition; and an output control part that controls an output of data to which the image relating to the management information is added or not.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an image processing device having a function of adding management information related to image processing to data that has been subjected to image processing, and a method of adding management information related to image processing. [Background technology]

[0002] With the significant expansion of the functions of image forming devices, image forming systems are known that add printing environment information such as a printing mode to printed matter in advance by means of a digital watermark or a barcode, and perform printing processing based on the added printing environment information. Furthermore, an image forming system has been proposed that can flexibly set or change the confidentiality of the printing environment information by adding URL information of a web server where the printing environment information is stored to a barcode (see, for example, Patent Document 2). By using a barcode, no dedicated tool is required for decoding, and the confidentiality of the printing environment information can be set or changed by managing the access authority of the web server.

[0003] There is also a system known that records history information of jobs processed by an image processing device together with images, to prevent unauthorized use of the image processing device and to facilitate tracing the route of information leakage. The system stores the job history of the image processing device and the output or transmitted images in a management server, and enables the management server to be accessed at a later date to search and view the stored information. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-187247 [Patent Document 2] JP 2007-286881 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] It is conceivable that unauthorized use and information leakage can be prevented by superimposing information on the job history or access information to the location as an image on data that has been subjected to image processing, such as print data or scan data. One example of a method of expressing such information as an image is a code such as a one-dimensional code or a two-dimensional code. A code can be visually recognized by humans, but the contents of the code cannot be directly understood. Unlike printing environment information, information on the job history or access information thereto is not information used by the sender or receiver of data, but can be said to be information used by the administrator. In other words, it can be said to be unnecessary information for the sender or receiver. However, if the user is allowed to set it so that such information is not added just because it is unnecessary, not only will it go against the intention of the administrator, but it will not be effective in preventing unauthorized use and information leakage. The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and provides a method for preventing unauthorized use and information leakage with a simple configuration of superimposing a code relating to management information or access information to its location on image-processed data as an image. It also provides a method for preventing general users from changing settings relating to the content of the code and the necessity of superimposition. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present disclosure provides an image processing device including an image processing unit that performs image processing, an authentication unit that authenticates an administrator, a management information collection unit that collects management information related to the image processing, a management information necessity determination unit that determines whether or not to add a code related to the management information as an image to the data that has been image processed, a determination condition setting unit that accepts settings of determination conditions to be used for the determination only from authenticated administrators, a management information superposition unit that superimposes the code related to the management information as an image on the data based on the determination conditions, and an output control unit that controls the output of the data with or without the image related to the management information added.

[0007] Also, from a different perspective, the present disclosure provides a method for adding management information related to image processing, comprising the steps of: a control unit of an image processing device authenticating an administrator using an authentication unit; collecting management information related to image processing; a determination step of determining whether or not to add a code related to the management information as an image to the image-processed data; accepting settings of determination conditions to be used in the determination step only from the authenticated administrator; superimposing the code related to the management information as an image on the data based on the determination conditions; and outputting the data with or without the image related to the management information added. Effect of the Invention

[0008] The image processing device according to the present disclosure includes a management information necessity determination unit that determines whether or not to add a code related to management information as an image to image-processed data, and a determination condition setting unit that accepts settings of the determination conditions used for the determination only from an authenticated administrator, so that unauthorized use and information leakage can be prevented with a simple configuration in which the code related to management is superimposed as an image on the image-processed data. The superimposed code can be seen by anyone who views the data, so that it can be recognized as data that is being managed. However, the confidentiality of the management information is maintained because the content of the management information cannot be directly grasped from the code. In addition, the determination condition setting unit does not accept settings of the determination conditions from general users, but only accepts settings from the administrator, so that it is possible to prevent general users involved in unauthorized use and information leakage from changing the settings related to the content of the code and the necessity of superimposition. The method of adding management information according to the present disclosure also achieves the same advantageous effects. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of connection between an image processing device according to the present disclosure and external devices related thereto in an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the image processing device shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3]3 is a first flowchart showing the flow of a process executed by the control unit shown in FIG. 2 regarding addition of management information. [Figure 4] 10 is a second flowchart showing the flow of the process executed by the control unit shown in FIG. 2 regarding addition of management information. [Diagram 5] 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of setting items related to addition of management information accepted by a judgment condition setting unit shown in FIG. 2; FIG. [Figure 6] 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a code superimposed on document data by the management information superimposing unit shown in FIG. 2; [Figure 7] 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a code that is superimposed on document data by the management information superimposing unit shown in FIG. 2, which is different from that shown in FIG. 6; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The present disclosure will be described in further detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following description is illustrative in all respects and should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure. In the present disclosure, the management information is information for an administrator to manage information related to image processing. The management information is information used by an administrator of information to prevent the image processing device from being used by an unauthorized outsider, or to prevent information managed by a business or organization where the image processing device is installed from being intentionally sent to the outside using the image processing device, or to enable tracking in the event of such unauthorized use or information leakage. Examples of the management information include the date and time when the image processing was performed, identification information for identifying the device that performed the image processing, and information related to the output destination of data related to the job. Specific examples of information related to the output destination include, for example, the destination telephone number in the case of a fax job, and the destination email address or IP address in the case of a scan job. The management information may include information other than the above-mentioned date and time, identification information, and output destination related to the history of jobs executed by the image processing device. According to this aspect, unauthorized use and information leakage can be prevented by adding information related to the content and location of management information such as the date and time when the image processing was performed, the device, and the output destination of the data to the output image as a code image.

[0011] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a connection between an image processing device according to the present disclosure and external devices related thereto in an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of the image processing device shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing device 10 is connected to an information processing device 11 via a network, receives a print job from the information processing device 11, executes the print job, and outputs a print output 13 on which a code 14 related to management information is superimposed as an image. The image processing device 10 also executes a scan job to read an original 16, and transmits scan data 18 on which a code related to management information is superimposed on an image of the original 16 to an information processing device 12 connected via a network. The information processing device that receives the scan data of the original 16 stores the received scan data in a storage device 12M. In addition, when a copy job is executed, the original 16 is read, an image of the code 14 related to management information of the copy job is generated, and a print output 13 on which the image is superimposed is output.

[0012] The image processing device 10 may be connected to a management information storage server 15 via a network. The management information storage server 15 is a server that stores management information sent from the image processing device 10 so that an administrator can refer to it. However, there may also be an embodiment in which the image processing device 10 stores the management information in an internal storage device and there is no management information storage server 15. Although only one image processing device 10 is shown in Fig. 1, if the management information storage server 15 is present, the management information storage server 15 can store management information relating to one or more image processing devices connected via communication.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 2, the image processing device 10 includes a control unit 20, an image processing unit 21, a communication unit 23, an operation unit 24, and a storage device 25. The control unit 20 includes an authentication unit 26, a management information superimposing unit 27A, a judgment condition setting unit 27C, a management information collecting unit 27G, a management information necessity judgment unit 27J, and an output control unit 28. The image processing unit 21 includes a printing unit 21P and a scanner unit 21S. The storage device 25 may also include a management information storage unit 22. Alternatively or in addition to this, the management information storage server 15 may also include the management information storage unit 22. As a preferred embodiment, the management information storage unit stores images related to a job (e.g., images related to a job, such as an image of the document 16 read by the scanner unit 21S and an image used for printing by the printing unit 21P) together with management information. In a preferred embodiment, the storage device 25 or the management information storage server 15 stores images related to a job (for example, images related to a job, such as an image of the document 16 read by the scanner unit 21S or an image used for printing by the printing unit 21P) linked to the management information. According to this embodiment, the user can refer to the images linked to the management information when referring to the management information. The control unit 20 controls each unit of the image processing device, and is mainly composed of a processor and memory as hardware resources. The functions of the control unit 20 are realized by the processor executing a program stored in the memory. In other words, the functions of the control unit 20 are realized by organically combining hardware and software.

[0014] The image processing unit 21 includes mechanisms and circuits for performing image-related processing. The printing unit 21P forms an image on a sheet, and includes, for example, a circuit for generating image data based on a print job received from the information processing device 11, a printing mechanism for forming a visible image based on the image data by an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method, and a processor for controlling the operation of the circuits and the printing mechanism. The scanner unit 21S reads an original, and includes, for example, a mechanism for transporting the original, a mechanism for scanning the original, an image sensor, an image processing circuit for processing a signal from the image sensor, and a processor for controlling image processing.

[0015] The communication unit 23 is a communication circuit that communicates with external devices connected via a network under the control of the control unit 20. The operation unit 24 includes a display device that provides a user with information related to a job or the state of the image processing device 10, and an operation detection device such as a touch panel that accepts user operations. The storage device 25 is composed of a storage device such as a hard disk device or an SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores data. The storage device 25 may store management information, in which case the storage device 25 includes the management information storage unit 22. This is defined as embodiment 1 in the present disclosure. However, there may also be a mode in which the storage device 25 does not include the management information storage unit 22, and the management information storage server 15 includes the management information storage unit 22. This is defined as embodiment 2 in the present disclosure. There may also be a mode in which both the storage device 25 and the management information storage server 15 include the management information storage unit 22. This is defined as embodiment 3 in the present disclosure.

[0016] The authentication unit 26 performs processing related to user authentication. The user authentication is performed for an administrator, and general users may also be the subject of authentication. The authentication method is, for example, an ID and a password, but is not limited thereto, and may be, for example, biometric authentication. The management information collection unit 27G performs processing to collect management information when performing image processing. The collected management information is converted into a code by the management information superimposition unit 27A described later and superimposed on the output data, or stored in the management information storage unit 22. The management information superimposition unit 27A converts management information or information for accessing management information into a code and performs processing to superimpose it as an image on the output data. According to this aspect, the management information related to the data can be accessed by using an image related to the management information added to the data. The management information necessity determination unit 27J determines whether or not to superimpose a code on the output data. The determination condition setting unit 27C accepts the setting of a determination condition when the management information necessity determination unit 27J performs a determination. However, the judgment conditions are only accepted when set by an administrator who has been registered and authenticated in advance in the authentication unit 26, and settings by other people are not accepted.

[0017] 3 and 4 are flowcharts showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the control unit 20 with respect to the addition of management information. As shown in FIG. 3, when the control unit 20 receives an instruction to execute any type of job (for example, a print job from the information processing device 11) (Yes in step S11), it refers to the management information storage unit 22 and confirms the settings related to the addition of management information (step S13). FIG. 5 shows an administrator menu screen 50 for accepting settings related to the addition of management information according to this embodiment. The administrator menu is a setting menu related to the control of the image processing device 10, the settings of which are accepted only by an authenticated administrator. Among these setting items, an example of an item related to the addition of management information is shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, the administrator menu screen accepts settings for the following items by an authenticated administrator.

[0018] The forced code addition setting 51 shown in FIG. 5 is a setting for whether or not to superimpose a code related to management information as an image on output data of all jobs executed by the image processing device 10. The judgment condition setting unit 27C accepts a setting of either enabled or disabled for this item. When the forced code addition setting 51 is set to enabled, the judgment condition setting unit 27C does not accept settings for the items of the added target phrase setting 54, the added target time period setting 55, and the added target destination setting 56, which will be described later. The management information necessity determination unit 27J determines to add a code related to management information regardless of the conditions of those items. Therefore, when the forced code addition setting 51 is set to enabled, the judgment condition setting unit 27C may gray out the items of the added target phrase setting 54, the added target time period setting 55, and the added target destination setting 56 to indicate that the settings are not accepted.

[0019] The code addition position setting 52 accepts a setting as to which position on the output data the management information superimposing unit 27A superimposes the code. In one example, the options that can be accepted are the top, the center, and the bottom. FIG. 6 shows an example of the position where the code is superimposed when the top is set. In the printout 60 shown in FIG. 6, the code 61 related to the management information is a two-dimensional code printed on the right side of the upper end of the printout 60. When the top is set as the code addition position setting 52, the management information superimposing unit 27A prints the code not in the margin area at the top of the document, but in a free area inside the rectangular area where the document is printed that does not overlap with the document. This is because if the code is printed in the margin area, there is a risk that the part of the code, which is unnecessary information for the user, will be cut off. However, when the top is set as the code addition position setting 52 as shown in FIG. 6, there is a risk that the code will be cut off even if it is not in the margin area. As a more preferable aspect of the document, the center can be set. An example of the position where the code is superimposed when the central portion is set is shown in FIG. 7. In the printout 70 shown in FIG. 7, the code 71 related to the management information is printed in a blank area in the middle of the printout 70, toward the right, that does not overlap with the document. By printing the code in the central portion, there is less risk of the code portion being cut off compared to when the code is set at the top or bottom. This is because there is more damage to the document if an attempt is made to cut off that portion. According to this embodiment, the code related to the management information is superimposed as an image in an area within the document, not around the periphery of the document, thereby eliminating the margins of the output data and preventing the management information from being separated from the document.

[0020] The addition target job setting 53 accepts the type of job to which the code related to the management information is to be added. In the example shown in Fig. 5, the judgment condition setting unit 27C accepts settings individually for four jobs: copy job, print job, scan job, and fax job. If there is a job with a checked check box, the management information necessity judgment unit 27J superimposes the code related to the management information as an image on the image related to the output of that job.

[0021] The addition target phrase setting 54 accepts a setting to add a code related to management information to a job when an image related to the output of the job contains a specific character or phrase. Specifically, the judgment condition setting unit 27C stores the character or phrase entered in the keyword field as a registered character or phrase. Although not shown in FIG. 5, in addition to or instead of the character or phrase, the registration of an image (pixel pattern) may be accepted. Even if the registered object is different between a character and an image, the judgment of whether or not it matches the registered content and the processing based on the judgment are similar in the case of an image. When the management information necessity judgment unit 27J judges that the registered character or phrase is included in the image of the job, it superimposes a code related to management information as an image on the image related to the output of the job. Also, the addition target time zone setting 55 accepts a setting to add a code related to management information to the job when image processing is executed in a specific time zone. Specifically, the judgment condition setting unit 27C accepts and stores the registration of the start time and the end time. When the management information necessity determination unit 27J determines that a job has been executed during the time period of the registered start time and end time, the management information necessity determination unit 27J superimposes a code related to the management information as an image on an image related to the output of the job. Furthermore, the attachment target destination setting 56 accepts a setting for adding a code related to the management information to the job when the output data of the job is transmitted to a specific destination. Specifically, the determination condition setting unit 27C stores the file of the destination list inputted in the destination list reference destination as registered. When the management information necessity determination unit 27J determines that the destination of the output data of the job corresponds to the destination of the registered file list, the management information necessity determination unit 27J superimposes a code related to the management information as an image on an image related to the output of the job. The destination server setting 57 accepts a setting of a destination to send management information to the management information storage server 15 when the management information storage server 15 is provided. The determination condition setting unit 27C stores the destination in the destination server field. The management information collection unit 27G transmits the collected management information to the destination registered in the destination server field, so that the management information is stored in the management information storage unit 22 included in the management information storage server 15.

[0022] Returning to the description of the flowchart, after confirming the setting related to the addition of management information by referring to the management information storage unit 22, the control unit 20 as the management information necessity determination unit 27J confirms whether the code compulsory addition setting 51 is set to "enabled" or not (step S15). If the code compulsory addition setting 51 is set to "enabled" (Yes in step S15), the control unit 20 as the management information necessity determination unit 27J determines that the code related to the management information is to be superimposed. In accordance with the determination result, the management information superimposition unit 27A superimposes an image of the code related to the management information on the output data of the job to be executed at a position according to the setting of the code addition position setting 52 (step S17). Then, the output control unit 28 outputs the image to an output destination according to the job setting (step S19), and ends the execution of the job.

[0023] On the other hand, if the forced code addition setting 51 is set to "disabled" in the judgment of step S15 described above (No in step S15), it is also possible to consider a mode in which no code related to management information is added to any job. This mode is the basic mode (embodiment 1). In the case of embodiment 1, the control unit 20 as the management information necessity judgment unit 27J prevents an image of the code related to management information from being added to the output data of the job to be executed (step S21). Then, the process proceeds to step S19 described above, and the output control unit 28 outputs the image to an output destination according to the job settings, and ends the execution of the job.

[0024] However, a mode using more detailed judgment conditions is also conceivable. The mode (fourth embodiment) will be described below. When the forced code addition setting 51 is set to "disabled" (No in step S15), the control unit 20 as the management information necessity judgment unit 27J checks whether or not a code is set to be added to any job in the addition target job setting 53 (step S23). When a code is set to be added to any job (Yes in step S23), the control unit 20 subsequently checks whether or not the job to be executed is a type of job to which a code is set to be added (step S25). When the job to be executed is a job to which a code is set to be added (Yes in step S25), the control unit 20 as the management information necessity judgment unit 27J judges that a code related to the management information is to be superimposed. The mode in which it is determined whether or not a code related to the management information is to be added based on the addition target job setting 53 is set to be the fourth embodiment. According to this aspect, whether or not to add a code related to management information can be set according to the type of job related to image processing, such as adding management information only to jobs for which data is transmitted, and jobs that should be managed by the image processing device against unauthorized use or information leakage can be handled differently from jobs that should be managed by other devices or means, so that unnecessary management codes are not superimposed on output data of jobs that do not require management. According to the determination result of step S25, the management information superimposing unit 27A advances the process to the above-mentioned step S17, and superimposes an image of the code related to management information on the output data of the job to be executed at a position according to the setting of the code addition position setting 52. The subsequent process is as described above.

[0025] If it is determined in the above-mentioned step S23 that the code is not set to be added to any job in the addition target job setting 53 (No in step S23), the control unit 20 may not add the code related to the management information as the management information necessity determination unit 27J. In this case, the process proceeds to the above-mentioned step S21, and an image of the code related to the management information is not added to the output data of the job to be executed (step S21). Then, the process proceeds to step S19, and the output control unit 28 outputs the image to the output destination according to the job settings, and ends the execution of the job. However, a mode using more detailed determination conditions may also be considered. This is called embodiment 5.

[0026] In the fifth embodiment, the control unit 20 executes the following process as the management information necessity determination unit 27J. Note that in the fifth embodiment, the control unit 20 executes the following process in the case where the job to be executed is not the type of job set to add a code in the determination of step S25 described above (No in step S25). As the management information necessity determination unit 27J, the control unit 20 checks whether the addition target phrase setting 54 is set (step S31 shown in FIG. 4). If the addition target phrase setting 54 is set (Yes in step S31), it subsequently checks whether any character or phrase is registered and whether the character or phrase is included in the image related to the job (step S33). If the registered character or phrase is included in the image related to the job (Yes in step S33), the control unit 20 as the management information necessity determination unit 27J determines that the code related to the management information is to be superimposed. For example, if words such as Confidential and confidential are registered and the image related to the job includes the registered word, the code related to the management information is superimposed. According to this aspect, when the data that has been image-processed contains at least any of specific characters, phrases, and images, a code related to the management information is added to prevent unauthorized use and information leakage, and when this is not the case, an unnecessary management code is not superimposed on the output data. According to the determination result of step S33, the management information superimposing unit 27A advances the process to step S17 shown in Fig. 3, and superimposes an image of the code related to the management information on the output data of the job to be executed at a position according to the setting of the code addition position setting 52. Then, the output control unit 28 outputs the image to an output destination according to the job settings (step S19), and ends the execution of the job.

[0027] If the determination in step S31 above indicates that the addition target phrase setting 54 is not set (No in step S31), the control unit 20 as the management information necessity determination unit 27J executes the following process. The same applies if the determination in step S33 above indicates that the character or phrase is not registered or the registered character or phrase is not included in the image related to the job (No in step S33). The control unit 20 as the management information necessity determination unit 27J checks whether the addition target time period setting 55 is set (step S35). If the addition target time period setting 55 is set (Yes in step S35), it then checks whether any time period has been registered and whether the execution of the job is included in that time period (step S37). If the execution of the job is included in the registered time period (Yes in step S37), the control unit 20 as the management information necessity determination unit 27J determines that the code related to the management information is to be superimposed. According to this aspect, if the image processing is performed on at least any of the registered year, month, day of the week, date, and time period, a code related to the management information is added to prevent unauthorized use and information leakage, and if not, an unnecessary management code is not superimposed on the output data. According to the determination result of step S37, the management information superimposing unit 27A advances the process to step S17 shown in Fig. 3, and superimposes an image of the code related to the management information on the output data of the job to be executed at a position according to the setting of the code addition position setting 52. Then, the output control unit 28 outputs the image to an output destination according to the job settings (step S19), and ends the execution of the job.

[0028] If the determination in step S35 above indicates that the addition target time period setting 55 is not set (No in step S35), the control unit 20 as the management information necessity determination unit 27J executes the following process. The same applies if the determination in step S37 above indicates that the time period is not registered or the execution of the job is not included in the registered time period (No in step S37). As the management information necessity determination unit 27J, the control unit 20 checks whether the addition target destination setting 56 is set (step S39). If the addition target destination setting 56 is set (Yes in step S39), it then checks whether any destination is registered and whether the destination of the output data related to the job to be executed matches the destination (step S41). If the destination of the output data related to the job to be executed matches the registered destination (Yes in step S41), the control unit 20 as the management information necessity determination unit 27J determines that the code related to the management information is to be superimposed. According to this aspect, when data is sent to a registered destination, a code related to the management information is added to prevent unauthorized use and information leakage, and an unnecessary management code is not superimposed on output data when data is not sent to the registered destination. According to the determination result of step S41, the management information superimposing unit 27A advances the process to step S17 shown in Fig. 3, and superimposes an image of the code related to the management information on the output data of the job to be executed at a position according to the setting of the code addition position setting 52. Then, the output control unit 28 outputs the image to an output destination according to the job settings (step S19), and ends the execution of the job.

[0029] If it is determined in the above-mentioned step S39 that the destination setting 56 to be added has not been set (No in step S39), the control unit 20 performs the following process as the management information necessity determination unit 27J. The same applies if it is determined in the above-mentioned step S41 that the destination of the output data related to the job to be executed is not registered or does not match the registered destination (No in step S41). The control unit 20 as the management information necessity determination unit 27J advances the process to step S21 shown in Fig. 3 so as not to add an image of the code related to the management information to the output data of the job to be executed. The output control unit 28 outputs the image to the output destination according to the job settings (step S19), and ends the execution of the job. The above is the flow of the process executed by the control unit 20 regarding the addition of management information.

[0030] It should be understood that the present disclosure also includes any combination of the above-described aspects. In addition to the above-described embodiment, various modifications of the present disclosure are possible. These modifications should not be interpreted as not belonging to the scope of the present disclosure. The invention according to the present disclosure should include all modifications that are equivalent to the scope of the claims and that belong to the scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 10: image processing device, 11, 12: information processing device, 12M: storage device, 13, 60, 70: print output, 14, 61, 71: code, 15: management information storage server, 16: manuscript, 18: scan data, 20: control unit, 21: image processing unit, 21P: printing unit, 21S: scanner unit, 22: management information storage unit, 23: communication unit, 24: operation unit, 25: storage device, 26: authentication unit, 27A: management information superimposition unit, 27C: judgment condition setting unit, 27G: management information collection unit, 27J: management information necessity judgment unit, 28: output control unit, 50: administrator menu screen, 51: forced code addition setting, 52: code addition position setting, 53: addition target job setting, 54: addition target phrase setting, 55: addition target time zone setting, 56: Addition destination setting, 57: Destination server setting

Claims

1. an image processing unit that performs image processing; an authentication unit for authenticating an administrator; a management information collection unit that collects management information related to the image processing; a management information necessity determination unit that determines whether or not a code related to the management information is to be added as an image to the image-processed data; a judgment condition setting unit that accepts settings of judgment conditions used in the judgment only from an authenticated administrator; a management information superimposing unit that superimposes a code related to the management information on the data as an image based on the determination condition; an output control unit that controls output of the data with or without an image related to the management information added thereto; An image processing device comprising:

2. the management information includes a date and time when the image processing was performed, information for identifying an apparatus that performed the image processing, and information related to an output destination of the data; The image processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the management information superimposing section superimposes a code relating to the management information onto the data as an image.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the management information necessity determining unit receives a selection of some or all of the types of jobs related to the image processing, and determines that the management information should be added to the selected jobs.

4. The image processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the management information necessity determination unit accepts registration of at least one of a specific character, phrase, and image, and determines that the management information should be added if the data contains the registered keyword, phrase, or image.

5. 2. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the management information necessity determination unit accepts registration of at least one of a year, month, day of the week, date, and time period, and determines that the management information should be added if the image processing is performed on at least one of the registered year, month, day of the week, date, and time period.

6. the output of the data controlled by the output control unit includes transmission of the data; The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the management information necessity determining unit receives registration of a destination of the data, and determines to add the management information when the output destination of the data is transmission to the registered destination.

7. a management information storage unit for storing data in which the management information is linked to the data; 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image related to the management information indicates a reference to data stored in the management information storage unit.

8. the image-processed data is document data, The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the management information overlay section overlays, as an image, the code related to the management information in an area other than the margins around the document.

9. A control unit of the image processing device authenticating an administrator using an authentication unit; collecting management information relating to image processing; a determination step of determining whether or not to add a code related to the management information as an image to the data that has been subjected to the image processing; a step of accepting settings of judgment conditions used in the judgment in the judgment step only from an authenticated administrator; superimposing a code related to the management information on the data as an image based on the determination condition; outputting the data with or without an image related to the management information; A method for adding management information relating to image processing, comprising:

Images