Job monitoring system, control method for the same, and program

Abstract

To make it possible to prevent an increase in printing time in a more suitable manner even when information is detected from a print target.SOLUTION: A print job analysis unit 541 executes a series of detection processes to detect information on an object to be detected included in document data of a print job. A print job control unit 503 controls print output based on the print job. The print job control unit 503 controls the print job analysis unit 541 to execute at least a portion of the detection processes among the series of detection processes targeting the document data in the print job after a print output process based on the print job has started.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a job monitoring system, a control method for a job monitoring system, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] With the increasing social concern about information security, a method for preventing information leakage due to printing of confidential documents is required. Conventionally, there is a system for monitoring print jobs by a printing device. In such a system, detection of keywords preset by an administrator is performed on a document that a system user attempts to print, and when a keyword is detected, a function for restricting printing or notifying the administrator may be provided. In such a function, by performing OCR (Optical Character Recognition) on document data, text information is extracted from the document data, and keyword detection is performed on the extracted text information.

[0003] However, in the system for monitoring print jobs as described above, OCR processing on document data is executed before printing is started. Generally, since it takes time to execute OCR processing, there is a problem that the time until printing is completed increases due to the execution of the same processing before printing is started. In response to the above-described problem, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for shortening the detection processing time by directly extracting text information without performing OCR processing when the document data is data from which text information can be directly extracted without performing OCR processing.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0005] On the other hand, even if the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 is applied, it may be necessary to perform OCR processing on the target document data in order to detect keywords from the document data. In such a situation, it is difficult to achieve the effect of shortening the time until printing is completed even if the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 is applied. In particular, the greater the number of pages of the document data, the more noticeable the increase in the time until the detection processing is completed, which may be a factor in reducing user convenience.

[0006] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to prevent an increase in printing time in a more suitable manner even in a situation where information from a print target is detected. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The job monitoring system of the present invention comprises a detection means for executing a series of detection processes for detecting information to be detected that is contained in document data of a print job, and a control means for controlling print output based on the print job, and is characterized in that the control means controls the detection means to execute at least a portion of the series of detection processes targeted at the document data of the print job after print output based on the print job has been started. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent an increase in printing time in a more suitable manner even in a situation where information is detected from the printing target. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009]

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[0010] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

[0011] <First Embodiment> (Overall Configuration of the System) Referring to FIG. 1, an example of the system configuration of a print job monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The print job monitoring system according to this embodiment includes a printing device 101, an operator PC 102, a manager PC 103, and a monitoring server 107. Each of the printing device 101, the operator PC 102, and the manager PC 103 is communicably connected to a server that provides various services via a LAN (Local Area Network) 104.

[0012] The printing device 101 is realized by, for example, a multifunction device having a plurality of image processing functions such as a printing function, a reading function, and a FAX function, and corresponds to an example of an image processing device capable of generating print image data from the document data of a print job transmitted from the operator PC 102 and performing printing. Further, the printing device 101 has a function of requesting the monitoring server 107 to analyze whether the document data of the print job contains information set as a detection target such as so-called confidential information, and a function of transmitting the detection result of the detection target information and a print notification to the manager PC 103. In this embodiment, various explanations will be made focusing on the case where confidential information is set as the detection target information. The operator PC 102 schematically shows a computer or an application that serves as an interface for a user to give a print instruction. The manager PC 103 schematically shows a computer or an application that receives and displays the detection result of confidential information and a print notification transmitted from the printing device 101. The monitoring server 107 is a server that provides a function of detecting confidential information included in the document data of a print job by analyzing the document data.

[0013] Note that the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example and does not limit the system configuration of the print job monitoring system according to the present embodiment. For example, the printing device 101 may also serve as the monitoring server 107. Also, the network where the monitoring server 107 is arranged is not particularly limited. As a specific example, the monitoring server 107 may be arranged on the Internet or on a LAN. Also, an administrator PC used for managing the monitoring server 107 may be provided separately. Also, information to be protected typified by confidential information corresponds to an example of information to be detected based on analysis of document data of a print job.

[0014] (Hardware Configuration of Printing Device) With reference to FIG. 2, an example of the hardware configuration of the printing device 101 will be described. The control unit 200 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202, a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 204. The control unit 200 also includes an operation panel I / F (Interface) 207, a printer I / F 207, a scanner I / F 209, and a network I / F 211. Each component of the control unit 200 exemplified above is communicably connected to each other via a system bus 212. The control unit 200 controls the operation of the entire printing device 101.

[0015] The CPU 201 functions as means for executing each process (print control, reading control, image processing, etc.) by reading and executing a control program stored in a storage device (for example, the ROM 202, the RAM 203, and the HDD 204). The storage device stores and holds the programs exemplified above and various data (for example, image data, etc.). As the storage device, for example, a ROM 202 which is a non-volatile memory, a RAM 203 which is a volatile memory, an HDD 204 which is a large-capacity storage area, etc. can be applied. The ROM 202 is a non-volatile memory that holds control programs and the like, and the control programs are read and executed by the CPU 201. The RAM 203 is a volatile memory used as a main memory of the CPU 201, a temporary storage area such as a work area.

[0016] The operation panel I / F 205 connects the operation panel 206 and the control unit 200 via the system bus 212. The operation panel 206 is equipped with various input interfaces for receiving instructions from the user, such as a liquid crystal display unit having a touch panel function and hard buttons. The printer I / F 207 connects the printer 208 and the control unit 200 via the system bus 212. The printer 208 receives the image data generated by the CPU 201 via the printer I / F 207, and executes printing processing on the recording paper using the received image data. The scanner I / F 209 connects the scanner 210 and the control unit 200 via the system bus 212. The scanner 210 reads various originals (for example, form originals) and generates scan image data, and inputs the scan image data to the control unit 200 via the scanner I / F 209. The network I / F 211 connects the control unit 200 (printing apparatus 101) to the LAN 104, and transmits various data (for example, image data) and various information to external apparatuses on the LAN 104, or receives various information from external apparatuses on the LAN 104.

[0017] As described above, in the printing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment, an image processing function can be provided by the hardware configuration exemplified above. Note that the configuration of the printing apparatus 101 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 2, and other components may be included according to the functions provided by the printing apparatus 101. As a specific example, the printing apparatus 101 may include components for realizing a FAX function and components for realizing short-range wireless communication.

[0018] (Hardware Configuration of Operator PC and Administrator PC) Referring to FIG. 3, an example of the hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus applicable as the operator PC 102 and the administrator PC 103 will be described. Note that for the operator PC 102 and the administrator PC 103, basically the same configuration can be applied except for differences such as different storage capacities like the HDD 304. Therefore, the configuration of the administrator PC 103 will be described, and the description of the configuration of the operator PC 102 will be omitted.

[0019] The control unit 300 including the CPU 301 controls the operation of the entire administrator PC 103. Note that among the components of the control unit 300, since the CPU 301, ROM 302, RAM 303, HDD 304, and network I / F 305 are substantially the same as the corresponding components of the printing apparatus 101, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. The CPU 301 reads out the control program stored in the ROM 302 and executes various control processes. The RAM 303 is used as a temporary storage area such as the main memory and work area of the CPU 301. The HDD 304 stores various data (for example, document data, etc.) and various programs. The network I / F 305 connects the control unit 300 (administrator PC 103) to the LAN 104. The network I / F 305 transmits and receives various information to and from other devices on the LAN 104. The display / operation I / F 306 connects output devices such as a display device and input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse to the CPU 301 via the system bus 310.

[0020] (Hardware Configuration of Monitoring Server) Referring to FIG. 4, an example of the hardware configuration of the monitoring server 107 will be described. Note that for the CPU 401, ROM 402, RAM 403, HDD 404, and network I / F 405, since they are substantially the same as the corresponding components of the administrator PC 103, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. The control unit 400 including the CPU 401 controls the operation of the entire monitoring server 107. The CPU 401 reads out the control program stored in the ROM 402 and executes various control processes. The RAM 403 is used as a temporary storage area such as the main memory and work area of the CPU 401. The HDD 404 stores various data (e.g., document data) and various programs. The network I / F 405 connects the control unit 400 (monitoring server 107) to the LAN 104. The monitoring server 107 receives a processing request from another device (such as the printing device 101) via the network I / F 405 and transmits and receives various information to and from other devices.

[0021] (Software configuration of the system) With reference to FIG. 5, an example of the software configuration of the print job monitoring system according to the present embodiment will be described, particularly focusing on the configurations of the printing device 101, the operator PC 102, the administrator PC 103, and the monitoring server 107.

[0022] The printing device 101 includes a display unit 501, an operation unit 502, a print job control unit 503, and a printing unit 504. The display unit 501 displays print job information and a printer approval screen via the operation panel 206. The operation unit 502 receives input from the user via the operation panel 206. The print job control unit 503 receives a print instruction for document data from the operator PC 102 as a print job via the network I / F 211. Also, the print job control unit 503 transmits a print job analysis request to the monitoring server 107 via the network I / F 211. Further, the print job control unit 503 receives a print job analysis result from the monitoring server 107 via the network I / F 211. Also, the print job control unit 503 transmits a detection result of confidential information and a print notification to the administrator PC 103 via the network I / F 211. Furthermore, the print job control unit 503 controls the print job based on an instruction from the operation unit 502.

[0023] The operator PC 102 has a display unit 511, an operation unit 512, and a print instruction unit 513. The display unit 511 causes the display device to display an application screen and a print setting screen via the display / operation I / F 306. The operation unit 512 receives user input from an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard via the display / operation I / F 306. The print instruction unit 513 transmits a print instruction for document data as a print job to the printing device 101 based on an instruction from the operation unit 512 via the network I / F 305.

[0024] The administrator PC 103 has a display unit 521 and an operation unit 522. The display unit 521 receives a detection result of confidential information and a print notification from the printing device 101 via the network I / F 305. Also, the display unit 521 causes the display device to display the detection result of confidential information, the print notification, and a detection setting screen via the display / operation I / F 306. The operation unit 522 receives user input from an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard via the display / operation I / F 306.

[0025] The monitoring server 107 has a print job analysis unit 541, a monitoring database 542, and a setting unit 543. The print job analysis unit 541 receives a print job analysis request from the printing device 101 via the network I / F 405. Also, the print job analysis unit 541 performs detection of confidential information and calculation of job importance by analyzing the document data of the print job. Furthermore, the print job analysis unit 541 transmits the analysis result of the print job to the printing device 101 via the network I / F 405. The monitoring database 542 holds monitoring setting information in a storage area such as an HDD 404. The monitoring setting information corresponds to setting information including keywords to be detected, a personal information dictionary in which character strings indicating names and addresses are registered, a threshold value of job importance, weights for keywords and personal information character strings during job importance calculation, and the operation of the printing device 101 at the time of detection. Based on the user input received by the operation unit 522 of the administrator PC 103, the setting unit 543 updates the setting information of the monitoring database 542 via the network I / F 305 and the network I / F 405.

[0026] In the example shown in FIG. 5, an example of the configuration in which the monitoring server 107 has the print job analysis unit 541 has been described. However, the software configuration of the print job monitoring system according to the present embodiment is not limited thereto. As a specific example, the printing apparatus 101 may include a function corresponding to the print job analysis unit 541. Note that a component corresponding to the print job analysis unit 541 corresponds to an example of a detection unit that executes detection processing of information to be detected included in the document data of the print job. Further, the print job control unit 503 corresponds to an example of a control unit that controls the print output by the printing unit 504 or causes the print job analysis unit 541 to execute the above-described detection processing on the document data of the print job.

[0027] (Processing Sequence) With reference to FIG. 6, an example of the processing sequence of the print job monitoring system according to the present embodiment will be described. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the print instruction of the document data received by the operator PC 102 is transmitted to the printing apparatus 101 as a print job, and the processing of each apparatus when the analysis request of the print job is transmitted to the monitoring server 107 before and after the execution of the print output by the printing apparatus 101 will be described. Further, in the example shown in FIG. 6, the configuration in which the printing apparatus 101 communicates with the administrator PC 103 is shown, but the monitoring server 107 may communicate with the administrator PC 103 instead of the printing apparatus 101.

[0028] In S601, the operation unit 512 of the operator PC 102 receives a print instruction of document data from the user via the display / operation I / F 306. The print instruction may include setting values such as the paper size and color mode applied during printing. In S602, the print instruction unit 513 of the operator PC 102 transmits the print instruction of the document data to the printing apparatus 101 as a print job. For example, FIG. 7 shows an example of document data to be processed by the print job monitoring system according to this embodiment. A print job may include information such as, for example, the document data illustrated in FIG. 7, job name, user name, execution date and time of the print instruction, job type, paper size, color mode, and number of printed copies. Examples of job types include copy, scan, print, and FAX. In S602, the print instruction unit 513 stores various information in the print job. When a print instruction for the document data shown in FIG. 7 is received, information such as job name "Sample-5.pdf", user name "aaa123456", execution date and time "2023-05-23 11:20:57" will be stored in the print job. Also, information such as job type "print", paper size "A4", color mode "color", and number of printed copies "1" will be stored in the print job. Note that the above is merely an example, and the information included in the print job is not necessarily limited to the examples described above.

[0029] In S603, after receiving the print instruction as a print job, the print job control unit 503 of the printing apparatus 101 transmits a text analysis request for the print job to the monitoring server 107. In the present disclosure, a text analysis request means a request to execute analysis of confidential information based on text information directly extracted from the print job (document data) without performing OCR processing on the document data of the print job. When transmitting a text analysis request for the print job to the monitoring server 107, the print job control unit 503 of the printing apparatus 101 transmits the print job to the monitoring server 107. In S604, the print job analysis unit 541 of the monitoring server 107 transmits the detection result of confidential information and the job importance to the printing apparatus 101 as the text analysis result of the print job. Examples of the confidential information to be detected may include keywords registered in the monitoring database 542, and character strings indicating personal information such as names, addresses, and telephone numbers. Also, in the present disclosure, the job importance indicates a numerical value calculated from information such as the number of keywords and personal information included in the document data (in other words, the number of information items to be detected such as confidential information). The details of the processing of the print job analysis unit 541 including the processing of S604 will be described separately later with reference to FIG. 9(A).

[0030] In S605, after receiving the text analysis result of the print job, the print job control unit 503 of the printing apparatus 101 transmits the detection result of the confidential information to the administrator PC 103 according to the detection result of the confidential information and the job importance. In S606, after receiving the detection result of the confidential information, the display unit 521 of the administrator PC 103 causes an administrator confirmation screen to be displayed in a predetermined display area via the display / operation I / F 306.

[0031] With reference to FIG. 8(A), an example of the administrator confirmation screen displayed in the process of S606 will be described. The administrator confirmation screen 801 includes a document data display area 802, a job information display area 803, and a job analysis result display area 804. The document data display area 802 is a display area in which the document data of the print job is displayed. When the document data is displayed in the document data display area 802, the character string of the detected confidential information is highlighted. FIG. 8(A) shows an example in which "Confidential" is detected as a keyword, "Yamada Takashi" is detected as the name of personal information, "1123 XYZ City, Japan" is detected as the address, and "ABCD University" is detected as the organization name.

[0032] In S607, the printing unit 504 of the printing apparatus 101 prints and outputs the document data of the print job. After the print output is executed, the print job control unit 503 of the printing apparatus 101 holds the print job that was the target of the print output. The print job control unit 503 of the printing apparatus 101 maintains the state of holding this print job until the processing timing of S614 described later, and deletes the print job in the processing of S614. In S608, the print job control unit 503 of the printing apparatus 101 determines that the print output has been executed, and sends a print notification to the administrator PC 103. In S609, after receiving the print notification, the display unit 521 of the administrator PC 103 causes an administrator confirmation screen to be displayed in a predetermined display area via the display / operation I / F 306. FIG. 8(B) shows an example of the administrator confirmation screen displayed in the processing of S609, specifically an example of the screen when no confidential information is detected in the text analysis of the print job. The display unit 521 displays in the job analysis result display area 805 that the print output has been executed before the OCR analysis of the print job.

[0033] In S610, the print job control unit 503 of the printing apparatus 101 sends a request for OCR analysis of the print job to the monitoring server 107. In the present disclosure, the OCR analysis request means a request to execute analysis of confidential information based on the text extracted by performing OCR processing on the document data of the print job. When the print job control unit 503 of the printing apparatus 101 sends a request for OCR analysis of the print job to the monitoring server 107, it also sends the print job to the monitoring server 107. In S611, the print job analysis unit 541 of the monitoring server 107 sends the detection result of confidential information and the job importance to the printing apparatus 101 as the OCR analysis result of the print job. For details of the processing of the print job analysis unit 541 including the processing of S611, refer to FIG. 9(B) and will be described separately later.

[0034] In S612, after the print job control unit 503 of the printing apparatus 101 receives the OCR analysis result of the print job, it transmits the detection result of the confidential information to the administrator PC 103 according to the detection result of the confidential information and the job importance. For details of the processing of the printing apparatus 101 including the processing of S603, S605, S607, S608, S610, and S612, refer to FIG. 10 for separate description later. In S613, after the display unit 521 of the administrator PC 103 receives the detection result of the confidential information, it causes a administrator confirmation screen to be displayed in a predetermined display area via the display / operation I / F 306. FIG. 8(C) shows an example of the administrator confirmation screen displayed in the process of S613, showing an example of the screen when confidential information is detected by OCR analysis of the print job. In the administrator confirmation screen, a printed warning display area 806 is displayed, which presents information indicating that the printing output of the target print job has already been executed. Then, in S614, the print job control unit 503 of the printing apparatus 101 deletes the print job.

[0035] As described above, in the print job monitoring system according to the present embodiment, a print instruction of document data received by the operator PC 102 is transmitted to the printing apparatus 101 as a print job. Moreover, as described above, as a series of processing sequences, the printing apparatus 101 transmits an analysis request for the received print job to the monitoring server 107 before and after executing the print output based on the received print job.

[0036] (Processing flow of the monitoring server 107) Referring to FIG. 9(A), an example of the processing of the monitoring server 107 according to the present embodiment will be described focusing on the text analysis processing of the print job. The processing flow shown in FIG. 9(A) includes the processing of S604 shown in FIG. 6.

[0037] In S901, the print job analysis unit 541 receives a text analysis request and a print job of the print job from the printing apparatus 101. In S902, the print job analysis unit 541 extracts text information from the document data of the print job. Specifically, the print job analysis unit 541 directly extracts the character code in the document data and uses it as the character string to be processed. In S903, the print job analysis unit 541 determines whether text information could be extracted from the document data of the print job in S902. If the print job analysis unit 541 determines in S903 that text information has been extracted, the process proceeds to S904. On the other hand, if the print job analysis unit 541 determines in S903 that text information could not be extracted, the process proceeds to S604.

[0038] In S904, the print job analysis unit 541 detects confidential information for the character string extracted in S902. Specifically, the document print job analysis unit 541 detects keywords specified as detection targets (for example, information to be protected such as confidential information, or information suggesting that the information to be protected is included) from the character string extracted from the document data. The print job analysis unit 541 searches the character string extracted from the document data with the keywords registered in the monitoring database 542, and determines that a keyword has been detected when it matches the character string extracted from the document data. For example, if the keyword "Confidential" is registered in the monitoring database 542, the keyword will be detected from the document data shown in FIG. 8. On the other hand, if the keyword "Print Prohibited" is registered, the keyword will not be detected from the document data shown in FIG. 8. Next, the print job analysis unit 541 detects personal information from the extracted character strings. Specifically, the print job analysis unit 541 searches for the character strings extracted from the document data using the character strings registered in the personal information dictionary of the monitoring database 542, and determines that personal information has been detected when the character strings extracted from the document data match. For example, when "Yamada Takashi" is registered as a name and "ABCD University" is registered as an organization name in the personal information dictionary, the name and the organization name will be detected from the document data shown in FIG. 8. In addition, if it is possible to detect information to be detected such as confidential information from the target character strings, the method is not limited to the above-described examples. For example, as a method for detecting personal information, detection may be performed not by matching with the character strings registered in the dictionary but by pattern matching using a regular expression. Further, the character strings extracted from the document data are searched using the attribute character strings indicating attributes such as "name" and "Name", and the character strings whose coordinate positions are close to the found attribute character strings may be detected as names.

[0039] In S905, the print job analysis unit 541 determines whether confidential information has been detected in S904. If the print job analysis unit 541 determines in S905 that confidential information has been detected, the process proceeds to S906. On the other hand, if the print job analysis unit 541 determines in S905 that confidential information has not been detected, the process proceeds to S604.

[0040] In S906, the print job analysis unit 541 calculates the importance of a print job (hereinafter also referred to as job importance). The job importance is calculated by adding values obtained by multiplying the number of detected keywords and personal information strings by the weight for each attribute. For example, assume that the weights corresponding to the attributes "name" and "organization name" of personal information are "5" and "1", respectively, and the weight corresponding to the keyword "Confidential" is "8". In the case of the example shown in FIG. 8, the job importance is calculated as 1×5 + 1×1 + 1×8 = 14. Note that when no confidential information is detected in S904, the job importance is set to 0. Also, the method for calculating the job importance is not limited to the method described above.

[0041] In S604, the print job analysis unit 541 transmits the detection result of the confidential information detected in S904 and the job importance calculated in S906 to the printing apparatus 101 as the text analysis result of the print job. Note that, similar to the text analysis process of the print job described with reference to FIG. 9(A), a process of directly extracting a series of text information included in document data and detecting confidential information for the series of text information corresponds to an example of the first detection process.

[0042] With reference to FIG. 9(B), an example of the processing of the monitoring server 107 according to the present embodiment will be described, particularly focusing on the OCR analysis process. The processing flow shown in FIG. 9(B) includes the processing of S611 shown in FIG. 6. Note that since the processing of S904, S905, and S906 is substantially the same as that in FIG. 9(A), detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0043] In S911, the print job analysis unit 541 receives an OCR analysis request and a print job of the print job transmitted from the printing apparatus 101. In S912, the print job analysis unit 541 performs an imaging process on the document data of the print job. Specifically, the print job analysis unit 541 generates OCR image data by performing rendering on the document data of the print job. In S913, the print job analysis unit 541 extracts a character string by applying OCR to the OCR image data generated in S912. In S611, the print job analysis unit 541 transmits the detection result of the confidential information detected in S904 and the job importance calculated in S906 to the printing apparatus 101 as the OCR analysis result of the print job. Note that a process of extracting a series of text information by performing analysis processing such as image analysis on document data and detecting confidential information for the series of text information, as in the OCR analysis process of the print job described with reference to FIG. 9(B), corresponds to an example of the second detection process.

[0044] (Processing flow of the printing apparatus 101) With reference to FIG. 10, an example of the processing of the printing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment will be described. The processing flow shown in FIG. 10 includes the processing of S603, S605, S610, and S614 shown in FIG. 6. In S1001, the print job control unit 503 receives a print instruction from the operator PC 102 as a print job. In S603, the print job control unit 503 transmits a text analysis request for the print job and the print job to the monitoring server 107. In S1002, the print job control unit 503 receives the text analysis result of the print job from the monitoring server 107.

[0045] In S1003, the print job control unit 503 determines whether or not confidential information has been detected in the text analysis based on the text analysis result of the print job. If the print job control unit 503 determines in S1003 that confidential information has been detected, the process proceeds to S1004. On the other hand, if the print job control unit 503 determines in S1003 that confidential information has not been detected, the process proceeds to S1009.

[0046] In S1004, the print job control unit 503 determines whether the job importance of the text analysis result of the print job is less than or equal to threshold value 1. If the print job control unit 503 determines in S1004 that the job importance is less than or equal to threshold value 1, the process proceeds to S1009. On the other hand, if the print job control unit 503 determines in S1004 that the job importance exceeds threshold value 1, the process proceeds to S605. Threshold value 1 of the job importance means a threshold value related to the determination of whether printing output can be executed without notifying the detection result to the administrator PC 103 or displaying a warning on the printing device 101. Threshold value 1 of the job importance is, for example, held as a set value in the monitoring database 542 of the monitoring server 107. The print job control unit 503 may, for example, acquire threshold value 1 from the monitoring database 542 of the monitoring server 107. As another example, the print job control unit 503 may acquire the value of threshold value 1 of the job importance that is set in advance. As another example, when the value of threshold value 1 of the job importance is set based on the user input received by the operation unit 522 of the administrator PC 103, the print job control unit 503 may acquire the value of threshold value 1 based on the user input. In S605, the print job control unit 503 transmits the detection result of the confidential information to the administrator PC 103.

[0047] In S1005, the print job control unit 503 determines whether the job importance of the text analysis result of the print job is less than or equal to threshold value 2. If the print job control unit 503 determines in S1005 that the job importance is less than or equal to threshold value 2, the process proceeds to S1006. On the other hand, if the print job control unit 503 determines in S1005 that the job importance exceeds threshold value 2, the process proceeds to S614. The threshold value 2 of job importance means a threshold value related to determining whether to display a warning on the printing apparatus 101 or whether to restrict (e.g., prohibit) printing. The print job control unit 503 may, for example, acquire the threshold value 2 of job importance from the monitoring database 542 of the monitoring server 107. As another example, the print job control unit 503 may acquire the value of the threshold value 2 of job importance that is set in advance. As another example, when the value of the threshold value 2 of job importance is set based on user input received by the operation unit 522 of the administrator PC 103, the print job control unit 503 may acquire the value of the threshold value 2 based on the user input.

[0048] In S1006, the display unit 501 displays a printer approval screen. Here, with reference to FIG. 11, an example of the printer approval screen will be described. The printer approval screen 1101 has a document data display area 1102, a job information display area 1103, a job analysis result display area 1104, and a print approval area 1105. In the document data display area 1102, the document data of the print job is displayed. Further, in the document data displayed in the document data display area 1102, the character string of the confidential information detected in the process of S904 is highlighted. FIG. 11 shows an example in the case where "Confidential" is detected as a keyword, "Yamada Takashi" is detected as the name of personal information, "1123 XYZ City, Japan" is detected as the address, and "ABCD University" is detected as the organization name. In the job analysis result display area 1104, the detection result of the confidential information exemplified above is displayed as the analysis result of the print job. In the job information display area 1103, information related to the target print job is displayed. In the example shown in FIG. 11, in the job information display area 1103, information such as the job name, the user name, the execution date and time, and the color mode is displayed as information related to the print job. In the print approval area 1105, a button 1106 for receiving an instruction related to print approval and a button 1107 for receiving an instruction related to disapproval of printing are displayed. In S1007, the operation unit 502 receives a printer approval instruction. As the printer approval instruction, an instruction for print approval or print disapproval is received. In FIG. 11, when the button 1106 is pressed, an instruction for print approval is received, and when the button 1107 is pressed, an instruction for print disapproval is received.

[0049] In S1008, the print job control unit 503 determines whether an instruction for print approval has been received in S1007. If the print job control unit 503 determines in S1007 that an instruction for print approval has been received, the process proceeds to S1009. On the other hand, if the print job control unit 503 determines in S1007 that an instruction for print approval has not been received (an instruction for print disapproval has been received), the process proceeds to S614.

[0050] In S1009, the printing unit 504 prints and outputs the document data of the print job. Specifically, the printing unit 504 generates print image data by performing rendering on the document data of the print job. Then, the printing unit 504 prints the generated print image data on the recording paper. In S608, the print job control unit 503 sends a print notification to the administrator PC 103.

[0051] In S610, the print job control unit 503 sends an OCR analysis request for the print job and the print job to the monitoring server 107. In S1010, the print job control unit 503 receives the OCR analysis result of the print job from the monitoring server 107.

[0052] In S1011, the print job control unit 503 determines whether confidential information has been detected in the OCR analysis result of the print job. If the print job control unit 503 determines in S1011 that confidential information has been detected, the process proceeds to S1012. On the other hand, when it is determined in S1011 that no confidential information has been detected, the print job control unit 503 proceeds with the process to S614.

[0053] In S1012, the print job control unit 503 determines whether the job importance of the OCR analysis result of the print job is equal to or less than threshold value 1. When the print job control unit 503 determines in S1012 that the job importance of the OCR analysis result is equal to or less than threshold value 1, the process proceeds to S614. On the other hand, when the print job control unit 503 determines in S1012 that the job importance of the OCR analysis result exceeds threshold value 1, the process proceeds to S605. In S605, the print job control unit 503 transmits the detection result of the confidential information to the administrator PC 103.

[0054] In S614, the print job control unit 503 deletes the print job that was the target of the above series of processes (that is, the print job received in S1001).

[0055] As described above, according to the present embodiment, text analysis of the print job is performed before the execution of the print output to detect confidential information, and OCR analysis of the print job is performed after the execution of the print output to separately detect confidential information. By applying such control, for document data that takes a long time for the detection process (the time of the detection process exceeds the threshold value), printing is enabled without waiting for the completion of the detection process, so that the administrator can monitor information leakage without impairing the convenience of the operator. In the example shown in FIG. 6, an example is shown where, after the execution of the print output shown as S607, an OCR analysis request shown as S610 is made. However, as long as the processing of the print output has started, the timing of the OCR analysis request is not necessarily limited. As a specific example, after the start of the print output shown as S607, without waiting for the completion of the print output, an OCR analysis request shown as S610 is made, and control may be applied such that the print output and the OCR analysis of the print job are executed in parallel. This is not limited to the example described in this embodiment, and the same can be applied to processing that is requested to another device (for example, the monitoring server 107, etc.) after the execution of the print output described in other embodiments separately.

[0056] <Second Embodiment> In the first embodiment described above, an example is described where confidential information is detected by performing text analysis of a print job before the execution of the print output, and separate confidential information is detected by performing OCR analysis of the print job after the execution of the print output. As a result, for document data that takes a long time for the detection process, by enabling printing without waiting for the completion of the detection process, the administrator can monitor information leakage without impairing the convenience of the operator. On the other hand, if confidential information is detected either before or after the execution of the print output, the detection results will be sent to the administrator repeatedly, increasing the administrator's confirmation burden and potentially reducing convenience. Therefore, in the second embodiment of the present disclosure, an example is described where confidential information is detected by performing text analysis of a print job before the execution of the print output, and when confidential information is not detected by the text analysis, confidential information is detected by performing OCR analysis of the print job after the execution of the print output. In this embodiment, the description focuses on the parts that are particularly different from the first embodiment described above, and detailed descriptions of the parts that are substantially the same as the first embodiment are omitted.

[0057] (Processing Flow of the Printing Device 101) Referring to FIG. 12, an example of the processing of the printing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment will be described, focusing particularly on the parts different from the example shown in FIG. 10. Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 12, it is different from the example shown in FIG. 10 in that the process of S1201 is added.

[0058] In S1201, the print job control unit 503 determines whether the detection result of the confidential information of the print job has been transmitted to the administrator PC 103 by the process of S605 (in other words, whether the confidential information has been detected by text analysis). If the print job control unit 503 determines in S1201 that the detection result of the confidential information of the print job has been transmitted to the administrator PC 103, the process proceeds to S610. On the other hand, if the print job control unit 503 determines in S1201 that the detection result of the confidential information of the print job has not been transmitted to the administrator PC 103, the process proceeds to S614.

[0059] As described above, according to the present embodiment, text analysis of the print job is performed before the execution of the print output to detect confidential information, and when no confidential information is detected by the text analysis, OCR analysis of the print job is performed after the execution of the print output to detect confidential information. Thereby, since the occurrence of a situation where the detection results are repeatedly transmitted to the administrator is prevented, the confirmation load on the administrator is reduced and an improvement in convenience can be expected.

[0060] <Third Embodiment> In the first embodiment described above, an example has been described in which confidential information is detected by performing text analysis of the print job before the execution of the print output, and separate confidential information is detected by performing OCR analysis of the print job after the execution of the print output. Thereby, regarding document data that takes a long time for the detection process, by enabling printing without waiting for the completion of the detection process, it is possible for the administrator to monitor information leakage without impairing the convenience of the operator. On the other hand, when the amount of document data in a print job is large, it may take a long time to detect confidential information by text analysis. In such a situation, since printing is not started until the detection process is completed, the processing time until printing is completed also increases, and convenience may decrease. In view of such a situation, in the third embodiment of the present disclosure, when the amount of document data in a print job is small (for example, when it is equal to or less than a threshold value), detection of confidential information is performed by performing text analysis and OCR analysis of the print job before executing print output. Further, an example in which detection of confidential information is performed by performing text analysis and OCR analysis of the print job after executing print output will be described when the amount of document data is large (for example, when it exceeds the threshold value). In other words, when the amount of document data in a print job is small and the processing time related to detection of confidential information is equal to or less than the threshold value, detection of confidential information based on both text analysis and OCR analysis is performed before executing print output. Further, when the amount of document data in a print job is large and the processing time related to detection of confidential information exceeds the threshold value, detection of confidential information based on both text analysis and OCR analysis is performed after executing print output. In this embodiment, the description will focus on the parts that are particularly different from the first embodiment described above, and detailed description of the parts that are substantially the same as the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0061] (Processing flow of printing apparatus 101) With reference to FIG. 13, an example of the processing of the printing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment will be described, focusing on the parts that are particularly different from the example shown in FIG. 10. Specifically, the example shown in FIG. 13 is different from the example shown in FIG. 10 in that the processes of S1301 and S1302 are added.

[0062] In S1301, the print job control unit 503 determines whether the amount of document data in the print job is small (the amount of document data is equal to or less than the threshold value). When the print job control unit 503 determines in S1301 that the amount of document data in the print job is small, the process proceeds to S603. On the other hand, when the print job control unit 503 determines in S1301 that the document data amount of the print job is not small (that is, when it determines that the document data amount exceeds the threshold value), the process proceeds to S1009. As a specific example, the print job control unit 503 may determine that the document data amount is small when the number of pages of the document data is 1 page, and may determine that the document data amount is not small when the number of pages exceeds 1 page. Of course, the above is merely an example, and the criteria (for example, the threshold value) for determining whether the document data amount is small may be appropriately changed. As a specific example, it may be determined that the document data amount is small if the number of pages of the document data is within 2 pages, or it may be determined that the document data amount is small when the data capacity of the document data is below the threshold value.

[0063] In S1003, the print job control unit 503 determines whether confidential information is detected in at least one of the analyses based on the text analysis result and the OCR analysis result of the print job. When the print job control unit 503 determines in S1003 that confidential information is detected, the process proceeds to S1004. On the other hand, when the print job control unit 503 determines in S1003 that no confidential information is detected, the process proceeds to S1009.

[0064] In S1004, the print job control unit 503 determines whether the job importance of both the text analysis result and the OCR analysis result of the print job is 1 or less than the threshold value. When the print job control unit 503 determines in S1004 that the job importance of both the text analysis result and the OCR analysis result of the print job is 1 or less than the threshold value, the process proceeds to S1009. On the other hand, when the print job control unit 503 determines in S1004 that the job importance of at least one of the text analysis result and the OCR analysis result of the print job exceeds the threshold value of 1, the process proceeds to S605.

[0065] In S1005, the print job control unit 503 determines whether the job importance of either the text analysis result or the OCR analysis result of the print job is 2 or less. If the print job control unit 503 determines in S1005 that the job importance of both the text analysis result and the OCR analysis result of the print job is 2 or less, the process proceeds to S1006. On the other hand, if the print job control unit 503 determines in S1005 that the job importance of at least one of the text analysis result and the OCR analysis result of the print job exceeds the threshold value of 2, the process proceeds to S614.

[0066] In S1302, the print job control unit 503 determines whether the document data volume of the print job is large (the document data volume exceeds the threshold value). If the print job control unit 503 determines in S1302 that the document data volume of the print job is large, the process proceeds to subsequent S603. On the other hand, if the print job control unit 503 determines in S1302 that the document data volume of the print job is not large (that is, it determines that the document data volume is equal to or less than the threshold value), the process proceeds to S614. Regarding the determination of whether the document data volume is large, the criteria may be set based on the same concept as the determination of whether the document data volume is small described above.

[0067] In S1011, the print job control unit 503 determines whether confidential information has been detected in at least one of the analyses based on the text analysis result and the OCR analysis result of the print job. If the print job control unit 503 determines in S1011 that confidential information has been detected, the process proceeds to S1012. On the other hand, if the print job control unit 503 determines in S1011 that confidential information has not been detected, the process proceeds to S614.

[0068] In S1012, the print job control unit 503 determines whether the job importance of either the text analysis result or the OCR analysis result of the print job is less than or equal to threshold value 1. If the print job control unit 503 determines in S1012 that the job importance of both the text analysis result and the OCR analysis result of the print job is less than or equal to threshold value 1, the process proceeds to S614. On the other hand, if the print job control unit 503 determines in S1012 that the job importance of at least one of the text analysis result and the OCR analysis result of the print job exceeds threshold value 1, the process proceeds to S605.

[0069] As described above, according to this embodiment, when the document data volume of the print job is small, text analysis and OCR analysis of the print job are performed before the execution of print output, so that detection of confidential information is performed. Also, when the document data volume of the print job is large, text analysis and OCR analysis of the print job are performed after the execution of print output, so that detection of confidential information is performed. By applying such control, for document data that requires time for the detection process of confidential information, printing is started without waiting for the completion of the detection process, so that the administrator can monitor information leakage without impairing the convenience of the operator.

[0070] <Fourth Embodiment> In the above-described third embodiment, when the document data volume of the print job is small, text analysis and OCR analysis of the print job are performed before the execution of print output to detect confidential information. Also, when the document data volume is large, text analysis and OCR analysis of the print job are performed after the execution of print output to detect confidential information. Thereby, for document data that requires time for the detection process of confidential information, printing is started without waiting for the completion of the detection process, so that the administrator can monitor information leakage without impairing the convenience of the operator. On the other hand, when the document data volume of a print job is large, detection of confidential information is not performed before execution of print output, and detection of confidential information is performed after execution of print output. Therefore, it becomes difficult to prevent printing of printed matter including confidential information, and the convenience for the administrator may decrease. Therefore, in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, when the document data volume of a print job is small, detection of confidential information is performed by performing text analysis and OCR analysis of the print job before execution of print output. Further, when the document data volume is large, detection of confidential information is performed by performing text analysis and OCR analysis of the print job on a part of the document data before execution of print output. Then, an example in a case where detection of confidential information is performed on the entire document data (at least another part where detection of confidential information has not been performed) after execution of print output will be described. In the present embodiment, the description will focus on parts particularly different from the third embodiment described above, and detailed description of parts substantially the same as the third embodiment will be omitted.

[0071] (Processing flow of printing apparatus 101) With reference to FIG. 14, an example of the processing of the printing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment will be described, focusing particularly on parts different from the example shown in FIG. 13. Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 14, it is different from the example shown in FIG. 13 in that the processing of S1401 is added.

[0072] In S1301, the print job control unit 503 determines whether the document data volume of the print job is small (the document data volume is equal to or less than the threshold). If the print job control unit 503 determines in S1301 that the document data volume of the print job is small, the process proceeds to S603. On the other hand, if the print job control unit 503 determines in S1301 that the document data volume of the print job is not small (that is, determines that the document data volume exceeds the threshold), the process proceeds to S1401.

[0073] In S1401, the print job control unit 503 extracts a part of the document data of the print job. As a specific example, the print job control unit 503 extracts the first page of the document data and sets the document data of this first page as the document data of the print job to be analyzed. Note that the above is merely an example, and the method for extracting a part of the document data is not particularly limited. Also, a part of the document data extracted in S1401 becomes the target of the text analysis request in the immediately following S603 and the OCR analysis request in S610. After that, after the execution of the print output in S1009, text analysis requests and OCR analysis requests are made for the entire document data of the print job. At this time, among the document data of the print job, a part of the document data that has already been the target of text analysis or OCR analysis before the execution of the print output may be excluded from the targets of these analysis processes after the print output.

[0074] As described above, according to this embodiment, when the amount of document data of the print job is small, text analysis and OCR analysis of the print job are performed before the execution of the print output, so that detection of confidential information is performed. Also, when the amount of document data of the print job is large, text analysis and OCR analysis of the print job are performed on a part of the document data before the execution of the print output to detect confidential information, and detection of confidential information is performed on the entire document data after the execution of the print output. By applying such control, for document data that takes a long time for the detection process, since a part of the detection process is performed before the execution of the print output, it is possible for the administrator to prevent printing without impairing the convenience of the operator.

[0075] <Fifth Embodiment> In the above-described first embodiment, detection of confidential information is performed by text analysis of a print job before execution of print output, and detection of separate confidential information is performed by OCR analysis of the print job after execution of print output. As a result, for document data that takes a long time for the detection process, printing can be performed without waiting for the completion of the detection process, and the administrator can monitor information leakage without impairing the convenience of the operator. On the other hand, it is difficult for the administrator to determine the execution timing of the detection process, such as whether to execute the detection process before or after the execution of the print output. Therefore, for example, the convenience may decrease for an administrator who wants to prioritize preventing printing. Therefore, in this embodiment, an example will be described in which the administrator sets whether to perform confidential information detection by text analysis and confidential information detection by OCR analysis before or after print output, and the detection process performed before and after print output is switched according to the setting. In this embodiment, the description will focus on the parts that are particularly different from the above-described first embodiment, and detailed description of the parts that are substantially the same as the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0076] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a detection setting screen according to this embodiment. The detection setting screen illustrated in FIG. 15 is displayed on the display unit 521 of the administrator PC 103. Further, the setting unit 543 of the monitoring server 107 updates the detection setting of the monitoring database 542 based on the user input received by the operation unit 522 of the administrator PC 103. The detection setting screen 1501 includes a setting item 1502 related to the detection process by text analysis and a setting item 1503 related to the detection process by OCR analysis. In the example shown in FIG. 15, for the detection process by text analysis, the setting is made to be performed before the execution of the print output. Further, for the detection process by OCR analysis, the setting is made to be performed on the first page of the document data before the execution of the print output and on the entire document data after the execution of the print output. In addition, the detection setting screen may be provided with setting items regarding the application destination of the detection settings. For example, the detection settings may be applied individually for each department or each user. In the example shown in FIG. 15, the application destination is specified so that the detection settings are applied to the users in the Personnel Department and the Sales Department respectively. In addition, the detection setting screen may be provided with setting items regarding the operations at the time of detecting confidential information. As a specific example, setting items for restricting (for example, prohibiting) printing, setting items for the threshold value of the job priority when restricting (for example, prohibiting) printing, and setting items regarding the notification of the detection result may be provided. In addition, it may be allowed to set a plurality of destinations as the notification destinations, or it may be allowed to set a plurality of means such as e-mail and chat as the notification methods.

[0077] (Processing flow of the printing apparatus 101) Referring to FIG. 16, an example of the processing of the printing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment will be described, paying particular attention to the parts different from the example shown in FIG. 10. Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 16, the processing of S1401, S1601 to S1608 is added, which is different from the example shown in FIG. 10.

[0078] In S1601, the print job control unit 503 transmits a request for obtaining detection settings to the monitoring server 107. In S1602, the print job control unit 503 receives the detection settings from the monitoring server 107.

[0079] In S1603, the print job control unit 503 determines whether detection settings for executing a detection process by text analysis before executing the print output are made. If the print job control unit 503 determines in S1603 that detection settings for executing a detection process by text analysis before executing the print output are made, the process proceeds to S1604. On the other hand, if the print job control unit 503 determines in S1603 that no detection setting for performing detection processing by text analysis is made before the execution of print output, the process proceeds to S1605. In S1604, the print job control unit 503 determines whether a detection setting for analyzing all pages is made for the detection processing by text analysis. If the print job control unit 503 determines in S1604 that a detection setting for analyzing all pages is made for the detection processing by text analysis, the process proceeds to S603. On the other hand, if the print job control unit 503 determines in S1604 that a detection setting for analyzing all pages is not made for the detection processing by text analysis, the process proceeds to S1401. In S1401, the print job control unit 503 extracts a part of the document data of the print job based on the detection setting, and sets this part of the document data as the document data of the print job to be analyzed in the detection processing by text analysis.

[0080] In S1605, the print job control unit 503 determines whether a detection setting for performing detection processing by OCR analysis is made before the execution of print output. If the print job control unit 503 determines in S1605 that a detection setting for performing detection processing by OCR analysis is made before the execution of print output, the process proceeds to S1606. On the other hand, if the print job control unit 503 determines in S1605 that a detection setting for performing detection processing by OCR analysis is not made before the execution of print output, the process proceeds to S1003. In S1606, the print job control unit 503 determines whether a detection setting for analyzing all pages is made for the detection processing by OCR analysis. If the print job control unit 503 determines in S1606 that a detection setting for analyzing all pages is made for the detection processing by OCR analysis, the process proceeds to S610. On the other hand, when the print job control unit 503 determines in S1606 that no detection setting for analyzing all pages is made for the detection process by OCR analysis, the process proceeds to S1401. In S1401, the print job control unit 503 extracts a part of the document data of the print job based on the detection setting, and sets this part of the document data as the document data of the print job to be analyzed in the detection process by OCR analysis.

[0081] In S1607, the print job control unit 503 determines whether a detection setting for executing a detection process by text analysis after the execution of print output is made. When the print job control unit 503 determines in S1607 that a detection setting for executing a detection process by text analysis after the execution of print output is made, the process proceeds to S603. On the other hand, when the print job control unit 503 determines in S1607 that no detection setting for executing a detection process by text analysis after the execution of print output is made, the process proceeds to S1608.

[0082] In S1608, the print job control unit 503 determines whether a detection setting for executing a detection process by OCR analysis after the execution of print output is made. When the print job control unit 503 determines in S1608 that a detection setting for executing a detection process by OCR analysis after the execution of print output is made, the process proceeds to S610. On the other hand, when the print job control unit 503 determines in S1608 that no detection setting for executing a detection process by OCR analysis after the execution of print output is made, the process proceeds to S1011.

[0083] As described above, according to this embodiment, the administrator sets whether to perform confidential information detection by text analysis and confidential information detection by OCR analysis before or after printing output, and the detection process to be performed before and after printing output is switched according to the setting. By applying such control, the administrator can determine the execution timing of the detection process, such as whether to execute the detection process before or after the execution of the printing output, so that the convenience of the administrator can be expected to be improved.

[0084] <Other Embodiments> The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0085] Further, the disclosure of this embodiment includes the following systems, methods, and programs. (System 1) A detection means for executing a series of detection processes for detecting information to be detected included in document data of a print job, and a control means for controlling print output based on the print job, wherein the control means is at least for at least a part of the series of detection processes for the document data of the print job. A job monitoring system characterized in that it controls to cause the detection means to execute after the print output based on the print job is started. (System 2) The series of detection processes includes a first detection process of directly extracting a series of text information included in the document data of the print job and detecting the information to be detected from the series of text information, and performing OCR analysis on the document data of the print job. The job monitoring system according to System 1, characterized by including a second detection process of extracting a series of text information included in the document data and detecting the information to be detected from the series of text information. (System 3) The control means controls to cause the detection means to execute the first detection process before the print output based on the print job is started, and controls to cause the detection means to execute the second detection process after the print output based on the print job is started. The job monitoring system according to System 2, characterized in that. (System 4) The control means controls to cause the detection means to execute the second detection process after the print output based on the print job is started when the information of the detection target is not detected by the first detection process. The job monitoring system according to System 3, characterized in that. (System 5) When the data amount of the document data of the print job exceeds a threshold value, the control means controls to cause the detection means to execute at least a part of the series of detection processes after the print output based on the print job is started. On the other hand, when the data amount is equal to or less than the threshold value, the control means controls to cause the detection means to execute the series of detection processes before the print output based on the print job is started. The job monitoring system according to System 1 or 2, characterized in that. (System 6) When the data amount of the document data of the print job exceeds a threshold value, the control means causes the detection means to execute the series of detection processes on a part of the document data of the print job before the print output based on the print job is started, and after the print output based on the print job is started, the control means causes the detection means to execute the series of detection processes on at least other parts of the document data of the print job other than the part. The job monitoring system according to System 1 or 2, characterized in that. (System 7) A receiving means for receiving a designation of a setting related to the timing of the detection process of the information to be detected for the document data of the print job by the detection means, and when the setting designated by the receiving means is a predetermined setting, the control means controls at least a part of the series of detection processes to be executed by the detection means after the print output based on the print job is started. The job monitoring system according to System 1, characterized by the above. (System 8) The job monitoring system according to any one of Systems 1 to 7, further comprising a transmitting means for transmitting the detection result to an administrator when the information to be detected is detected by the detection means. (Method 1) A control method of a job monitoring system, comprising a detection step of executing a series of detection processes for detecting information to be detected included in document data of a print job, and a control step of controlling print output based on the print job. The control step controls at least a part of the series of detection processes for the document data of the print job to be executed in the detection step after the print output based on the print job is started. The control method of the job monitoring system, characterized by the above. (Program 1) A program for causing a computer to function as a job monitoring system having a detection means for executing a series of detection processes for detecting information to be detected included in document data of a print job, and a control means for controlling print output based on the print job. The control means controls at least a part of the series of detection processes for the document data of the print job to be executed by the detection means after the print output based on the print job is started.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0086] 101 Printing device 107 Monitoring server 503 Print job control unit 541 Print job analysis unit

Claims

1. Detection means for executing a series of detection processes for detecting information to be detected included in document data of a print job; Control means for controlling print output based on the print job; comprising; Among the series of detection processes for the document data of the print job, for at least some of the detection processes, the control means controls to cause the detection means to execute after the print output based on the print job has started. A job monitoring system characterized by the above.

2. The series of detection processes are: A first detection process of directly extracting a series of text information included in the document data of the print job and detecting the information to be detected from the series of text information; A second detection process of extracting a series of text information included in the document data by performing OCR analysis on the document data of the print job and detecting the information to be detected from the series of text information. The job monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized by including the above.

3. The control means: Controls to cause the detection means to execute the first detection process before the print output based on the print job starts; Controls to cause the detection means to execute the second detection process after the print output based on the print job has started. The job monitoring system according to claim 2, characterized by the above.

4. The control means: When the information to be detected is not detected by the first detection process, Controls to cause the detection means to execute the second detection process after the print output based on the print job has started. The job monitoring system according to claim 3, characterized by the above.

5. The control means: When the data volume of the document data of the print job exceeds a threshold, for at least some of the series of detection processes, controls to cause the detection means to execute after the print output based on the print job has started, while When the data volume is below the threshold, controls to cause the detection means to execute the series of detection processes before the print output based on the print job starts. The job monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

6. When the data volume of the document data of the print job exceeds a threshold value, before the print output based on the print job is started, the control means causes the detection means to execute the series of detection processes for a part of the document data of the print job, and after the print output based on the print job is started, the control means causes the detection means to execute the series of detection processes for at least other parts of the document data of the print job other than the part. The job monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that.

7. It has a reception means for receiving a designation of a setting related to the timing of the detection process of the detection target information for the document data of the print job by the detection means, When the setting received by the reception means is a predetermined setting, the control means controls at least a part of the series of detection processes to be executed by the detection means after the print output based on the print job is started. The job monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that.

8. The job monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission means for transmitting the detection result to an administrator when the detection means detects the information of the detection target.

9. A control method for a job monitoring system, A detection step of executing a series of detection processes for detecting information of a detection target included in document data of a print job, A control step of controlling print output based on the print job, Including, The control step controls at least a part of the series of detection processes for the document data of the print job to be executed in the detection step after the print output based on the print job is started. The control method of the job monitoring system, characterized in that.

10. A detection means for executing a series of detection processes for detecting information of a detection target included in document data of a print job, A control means for controlling print output based on the print job, Having, The control means controls at least a part of the series of detection processes for the document data of the print job to be executed by the detection means after the print output based on the print job is started. A program for causing a computer to function as a job monitoring system, characterized in that.

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