Information management device, information management program, and information management method

Abstract

Restrict the processing of folders and files in the image forming apparatus. [Solution] When the control unit 311 of the management server 300 is connected from the PC 200 using the owner user information, it receives the restrictions on files in the owner user information, stores the restrictions corresponding to the files in the owner user information in the storage unit based on the received setting restriction information, and when the image forming apparatus 100 is connected using the owner user information, it receives a request for file information, sends the file information to the image forming apparatus 100 based on the restrictions corresponding to the files in the owner user information stored in the storage unit, and the image forming apparatus displays the file icon of the received file information on the display unit 210.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information management device, an information management program, and an information management method, and particularly to an information management device, an information management program, and an information management method for managing folders and files.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, when executing a print job on an image forming device such as an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral), there is a service in which a user refers to and selects a file managed in association with account information in a cloud storage having the account information on the operation panel of the image forming device and prints the selected file (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] In this service, a user can save files such as image files and document files in a cloud storage from, for example, a personal computer other than the image forming device.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, a user can use a file saved in a cloud storage without being restricted by an image forming device or the like.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to restrict processing for folders and files in an image forming device.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] An information management device according to one aspect of the present invention is an information management device that can be connected to an image forming apparatus and an information terminal, respectively, and comprises a storage unit that stores restriction information indicating the content of restrictions that restrict the processing of a folder or file corresponding to the owner user information, and a control unit that updates the contents of the storage unit, wherein the control unit uses the owner user information as the user information when the information terminal connects to the information management device, and when the information management device and the information terminal are connected, it receives setting restriction information from the information terminal indicating the content of restrictions that restrict the processing of the folder or file according to the owner user information. Based on the received setting restriction information, the restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the owned user information stored in the storage unit is updated, and the owned user information is used as user information when the image forming apparatus connects to the information management device. When the information management device and the image forming apparatus are connected, and the image forming apparatus receives a request from the image forming apparatus for folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file, the folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file is transmitted to the image forming apparatus based on the restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the owned user information stored in the storage unit.

[0008] An information management program according to one aspect of the present invention is an information management program that causes a computer, which is an information management device that can be connected to an image forming apparatus and an information terminal, to function as a control unit that updates the contents of a storage unit that stores restriction information indicating the content of restrictions that restrict the processing of folders or files corresponding to owner user information, wherein the control unit uses the owner user information as the user information when the information terminal connects to the information management device, and when the information management device and the information terminal are connected, the information terminal sets the content of restrictions that restrict the processing of folders or files according to the owner user information. When a fixed restriction information is received, the restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the owner user information stored in the storage unit is updated based on the received setting restriction information, and when the image forming apparatus uses the owner user information as user information when the image forming apparatus connects to the information management device, if the information management device and the image forming apparatus are connected, and the image forming apparatus receives a request from the image forming apparatus for folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file, the folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file is transmitted to the image forming apparatus based on the restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the owner user information stored in the storage unit.

[0009] An information management method according to one aspect of the present invention is an information management method performed by an information management device, comprising a control step of updating a storage unit that stores restriction information indicating the content of restrictions that restrict the processing of folders or files corresponding to owner user information, respectively, and in the control step, by using the owner user information as user information when the information terminal connects to the information management device, when the information management device and the information terminal are connected, the information management device receives setting restriction information from the information terminal indicating the content of restrictions that restrict the processing of folders or files according to the owner user information, Based on the aforementioned setting restriction information, the restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the owner user information stored in the storage unit is updated, and the owner user information is used as user information when the image forming apparatus connects to the information management device. When the information management device and the image forming apparatus are connected, and the image forming apparatus receives a request from the image forming apparatus for folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file, the folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file is transmitted to the image forming apparatus based on the restriction information indicated by the restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the owner user information stored in the storage unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, the owner user can use an information terminal to set restriction information indicating the content of the restrictions on processing of folders or files, and by managing the set restriction information for folders or files with an information management device, the owner user can restrict the processing of folders or files when using the image forming apparatus. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a system configuration diagram showing an information management system including an information management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a perspective view showing the appearance of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] It is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] It is a perspective view showing the appearance of the personal computer (PC) in FIG. 1. [Figure 5] It is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the personal computer (PC) in FIG. 1. [Figure 6] It is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the management server in FIG. 1. [Figure 7] It is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the cloud storage in FIG. 1. [Figure 8] It is a diagram showing an example of a setting limit management table for folders. [Figure 9] It is a diagram showing an example of a setting limit management table for files. [Figure 10] It is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of information management processing by the personal computer in FIG. 1. [Figure 11] It is a flowchart showing the subsequent processing procedure of the processing procedure of information management processing in FIG. 10. [Figure 12] It is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of information management processing by the management server in FIG. 1. [Figure 13] It is a flowchart showing the subsequent processing procedure of the processing procedure of information management processing in FIG. 16. [Figure 14] It is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of information management processing by the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1. [Figure 15] It is a diagram for explaining Specific Example 1. [Figure 16] It is a diagram for explaining Specific Example 2. [Figure 17] It is a diagram for explaining Specific Example 2. [Figure 18] It is a diagram for explaining Specific Example 3. [Figure 19] It is a diagram for explaining Specific Example 3.

Embodiment for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, an information management apparatus, an information management program, and an information management method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] First, the system configuration of an information management system 1 including an information management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing the information management system 1 including the information management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the information management system 1 includes an image forming apparatus 100, a personal computer (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as "PC") 200 as an information terminal, a management server 300 as an information management apparatus, and a cloud storage 400, and they are connected to a network N.

[0015] Note that, for example, a folder setting limit management table and a file setting limit management table described later and stored in a storage unit 320 in the management server 300 may be stored in a storage unit 420 in the cloud storage 400 described later.

[0016] Subsequently, the image forming apparatus 100 in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the image forming apparatus 100 in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 in FIG. 1. The image forming apparatus 100 is a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions such as a facsimile function, a copy function, a printer function, and a scanner function. Note that the image forming apparatus 100 is not limited to a multifunction machine, and may be a printer or the like.

[0017] The housing 101 of the image forming apparatus 100 houses multiple devices for realizing the various functions of the image forming apparatus 100. For example, the housing 101 houses the image reading unit 102, the image forming unit 103 (see Figure 2), the fixing unit 104 (see Figure 2), and the paper feeding unit 105, etc.

[0018] The image reading unit 102 is an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) that includes a document transport unit 106 for transporting documents and a scanner that optically reads documents transported by the document transport unit 106 or documents placed on a contact glass (not shown). The image reading unit 102 reads an image from the document and acquires image data by illuminating the document with a light irradiation unit and receiving the reflected light with a CCD sensor.

[0019] The image forming unit 103 includes a photosensitive drum, a charging device, an exposure device, a developing device, and a transfer device. The image forming unit 103 forms a toner image on the recording paper supplied from the paper feeding unit 105 based on image data acquired by the image reading unit 102, or image data sent from a personal computer and other facsimile devices connected via a network line.

[0020] The fuser unit 104 heats the recording paper on which a toner image has been formed by the image forming process of the image forming unit 103, and performs a fixing process to fix the toner image to the recording paper by thermal compression. After the fixing process by the fuser unit 104, the image-formed recording paper is discharged to the paper discharge unit 107. The paper discharge unit 107 includes a paper discharge tray 108 on which the discharged image-formed recording paper is placed. The paper feed unit 105 pulls out recording paper one sheet at a time from the paper feed cassette or from the manual feed tray and sends it to the image forming unit 103.

[0021] The image forming apparatus 100 includes an operation unit 109 located near the image reading unit 102 and on the front side of the image forming apparatus 105. The operation unit 109 receives instructions input by the user via the operation unit 109 regarding processing related to various functions that the image forming apparatus 100 can perform.

[0022] The image forming apparatus 100 includes a display unit 110. In this embodiment, the portion of the operation unit 109 configured as a pointing device and the display device 110 are combined into a touch panel (touchscreen). The display unit 110, under the control of the control unit 121, displays various GUI (Graphical User Interface) screens for the user to perform various operations on the various functions of the image forming apparatus 100, such as a home screen, login screen, copy screen, transmission screen, and job history screen.

[0023] The image processing unit 111 includes an image processing circuit and performs image processing on the image data acquired by the image reading unit 102 as needed. The image memory 112 includes an area for temporarily storing the image data acquired by the image reading unit 102. For example, the image memory 112 temporarily stores the image data that is the target of image formation by the image forming unit 103.

[0024] The storage unit 113 is a high-capacity storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), and is a high-capacity storage device that stores various data, including image data read by the storage unit 113. The storage unit 113 also stores various computer programs, such as control programs, for realizing the operation of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0025] The facsimile communication unit 114 is a facsimile communication mechanism that connects to a public network and transmits and receives image data via the public network. The network interface unit 115 is the interface to the network. The control unit 121 transmits and receives signals with external devices such as a personal computer 200 and a management server 300 on the network via this network interface unit 115.

[0026] Each part of the image forming apparatus 100 is connected to a power supply (not shown), and the power supplied from this power supply enables the operation of each part of the image forming apparatus 100. In this embodiment, the control unit 120 controls the power supply to each part of the image forming apparatus 100. When predetermined conditions are met, such as no image forming process being performed for a predetermined period of time, the control unit 120 stops or limits the power supply to each part of the image forming apparatus 100, thereby transitioning the image forming apparatus 100 to a low-power consumption, energy-saving state (hereinafter referred to as "energy-saving mode"). Furthermore, when predetermined conditions are met, such as an operation being performed on the operation unit 109, the control unit 120 performs a recovery process from the energy-saving mode, bringing the image forming apparatus 100 to a state where various functions of the image forming apparatus 100 can be quickly executed.

[0027] The image forming apparatus 100 includes a control unit 120. The control unit 120 includes a processor, RAM (Random Access Memory), and ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0028] The control unit 120 includes a control unit 121. The control unit 120 functions as a control unit 121 through the operation of the processor according to the control program stored in the memory unit 113. However, the control unit 121 and other components can also be configured by hardware circuits, rather than by operation according to the control program of the control unit 120. The same applies to each embodiment below unless otherwise specified.

[0029] The control unit 120 is electrically connected to the document transport unit 106, image reading unit 102, image forming unit 103, fixing unit 104, paper feeding unit 105, operation unit 109, image processing unit 111, image memory 112, storage unit 113, facsimile communication unit 114, and network interface unit 115, etc. The control unit 121 is responsible for the overall control of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0030] Next, the personal computer (PC) 200 shown in Figure 1 will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the PC 200 in Figure 1. Figure 5 is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the PC 200 in Figure 1.

[0031] The PC200 comprises a control unit 210 housed in the main unit 201, an operation unit 202, a display unit 203, a communication unit 204 housed in the main unit 201, and a storage unit 205 housed in the main unit 201. Each of these components is capable of sending and receiving signals from one another via a communication bus.

[0032] The control unit 202 consists of a keyboard, mouse, etc., and accepts user input based on user operations. The display unit 203 consists of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), etc., and its operation is controlled by the control unit 211 of the control unit 210.

[0033] The communication unit 204 is a communication interface that transmits and receives various signals with external devices such as the image forming apparatus 100, management server 300, and cloud storage 400 on the network.

[0034] The memory unit 205 is a large-capacity storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores various computer programs, such as control programs, necessary for the operation of the PC 200.

[0035] The control unit 210 includes a processor, RAM (Random Access Memory), and ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0036] The control unit 210 includes a control unit 211. The control unit 210 functions as a control unit 211 through the operation of the processor according to the control program stored in the memory unit 205. However, the control unit 211 and other components can also be configured by hardware circuits, rather than by operation according to the control program of the control unit 210. The same applies to each embodiment below unless otherwise specified.

[0037] The control unit 211 is responsible for the overall operation control of the PC200. The control unit 211 is connected to the operation unit 202, the display unit 203, the communication unit 204, and the storage unit 205, and performs drive control and other functions for each of these units.

[0038] The control unit 211 can upload folders and files (for example, the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" and the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf" described later) to the cloud storage 400 via the management server 300 or directly, and can also download folders and files from the cloud storage 400 via the management server 300 or directly. When uploading a folder to the cloud storage 400 via the management server 300, the control unit 311 of the management server 300, described later, sets the folder information in the "Folder Information" field and the default value of the restriction content "View" described later in the "Restriction Content" field in the part of the folder settings management table described later that corresponds to the user information (owner information) indicating the uploading user. Furthermore, when uploading a file to the cloud storage 400 via the management server 300, the control unit 311 of the management server 300, described later, sets the file information in the "File Information" field and the default value of the restriction content "View," described later, in the "Restriction Content" field of the file settings management table, described later, which corresponds to the user information (owner user information) indicating the uploading user. Folder information is, for example, folder path information (information indicating the location where the folder is located and the folder name). File information is, for example, file path information (information indicating the location where the folder is located and the folder name).Furthermore, when a folder is uploaded directly to the cloud storage 400, the control unit 411 of the cloud storage 400 stores the folder information in the storage unit 420, associating it with user information (owner user information) that indicates the user who uploaded the folder. The control unit 311 of the management server 300 periodically retrieves pairs of owner user information and folder information from the cloud storage 400. In the part of the folder settings management table corresponding to the owner user information, if there is any folder information among the retrieved folder information that is not set in the "Folder Information" column, the control unit 311 sets the unset folder information in the "Folder Information" column and the restriction content "View," which is defined as a default value and will be described later, in the "Restriction Content" column. Furthermore, when a file is uploaded directly to the cloud storage 400, the control unit 411 of the cloud storage 400 stores the file information in the storage unit 420, associating it with user information (owner user information) that indicates the user who uploaded the file. The control unit 311 of the management server 300 periodically retrieves pairs of owner user information and file information from the cloud storage 400. In the file settings management table corresponding to the owner user information, if there is any file information among the retrieved file information that is not set in the "file information" column, the control unit 311 sets the unset file information in the "file information" column and the default value of the restriction content "View," which will be described later, in the "restriction content" column.

[0039] Next, the management server 300 in Figure 1 will be explained with reference to Figure 6. Figure 6 is a block diagram that schematically shows the internal configuration of the management server 300 in Figure 1.

[0040] The management server 300 comprises a control unit 310, a storage unit 320, and a communication unit 330. These components are capable of sending and receiving signals from each other via a communication bus.

[0041] The communication unit 330 is a communication interface that transmits and receives various signals with external devices such as the image forming apparatus 100, PC 200, and cloud storage 400 on the network.

[0042] The storage unit 320 is a large-capacity storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores various computer programs, such as control programs, for realizing the operation of the server 300. The storage unit 320 has an information management program 320A installed as one of the control programs.

[0043] The storage unit 320 stores a login information management table that associates information (for example, user ID information, hereinafter referred to as "user information") and password information for each user registered with the folder and file management service provided by the management server 300 (hereinafter referred to as "folder and file management service" as appropriate).

[0044] The storage unit 320 stores information indicating the user who uploaded folders and files to cloud storage (for example, the ID information of the uploading user, hereinafter referred to as "owner user information" as appropriate) in association with folder information indicating folders and file information indicating files.

[0045] The storage unit 320 stores restriction information for each folder and file (folders and files uploaded by the user of the said user information) that corresponds to the owner user information uploaded to the cloud storage 400. This restriction information indicates the content of the restrictions that limit the processing of the folder or file by the said user information (when the owner user logs in to the folder / file management service of the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus using the said user information). For folders, this is stored in the folder setting restriction management table described later, and for files, it is stored in the file setting restriction management table described later.

[0046] The storage unit 320 stores, for folders and files corresponding to the owner user information, information indicating the user information that shares the folder and file (for example, the ID information of the user who shares it, hereinafter referred to as "shared user information" as appropriate), and sharing restriction information indicating the content of the sharing restrictions that restrict the processing of the folder or file by the shared user information (when the image forming apparatus logs in to the folder / file management service of the management server 300 using the shared user information), in the case of folders, using the folder setting restriction management table described later, and in the case of files, using the file setting restriction management table described later.

[0047] The restrictions indicated in the owner user information include "View," "Modify," and "Deny" for folders, and "View," "Modify," and "Deny" for files. Similarly, the restrictions indicated in the shared user information include "Share," and the sharing restrictions indicated under "Share" include "View" and "Modify" for folders, and "View" and "Modify" for files. These are just examples and are not exhaustive; for instance, there may be a restriction such as "Job Allowed" that limits the jobs allowed for files. Note that in the following explanations of restrictions and sharing restrictions, "folder display" and "file display" refer to, for example, the display of folder icons and file icons, respectively.

[0048] The "View" restriction for folders means that when a user logs into the folder / file management service of the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus using the owner user information, the following actions regarding the folder are permitted: display of the folder itself, and the folders and files within it (folders and files in lower hierarchical levels). However, changing the folder name is not permitted under the "View" restriction. The default value for folder restrictions is "View".

[0049] The "Modify" restriction for folders allows users to change the folder name of a folder when logging into the folder / file management service of the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus using the owner user information. Note that folders will still be displayed under the "Modify" restriction and the "Modify" sharing restriction, while files will still be displayed under the "Modify" restriction and the "Modify" sharing restriction.

[0050] The "Deny" restriction on folders means that when a user logs into the folder / file management service of the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus using the owner's information, the display and access to the folder in question will be denied.

[0051] The "View" restriction for files means that when a user logs into the folder / file management service of the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus using the owner's information, the file can only be displayed. The default value for file restrictions is "View".

[0052] The "Modify" restriction on files means that when logging into the folder / file management service of the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus using the owner user information, it allows the following actions on a file: changing the file name of the file in question and overwriting the file during scanning.

[0053] The "Deny" restriction on files means that when a user logs in to the folder / file management service of the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus using the owner's information, the display and access to the file in question will not be permitted.

[0054] The "Share" restriction for folders allows users to share folders with limited access when logging into the folder / file management service on the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus. The "View" restriction for "Share" allows users to view the folder and its contents when logging into the folder / file management service on the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus using shared user information. The default value for the "Share" restriction is "View". The "Modify" restriction for "Share" allows users to change the folder name when logging into the folder / file management service on the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus using shared user information.

[0055] The "Share" restriction for files allows users to share files with restrictions when logging into the folder / file management service of the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus. The "View" restriction for "Share" allows users to view the file when logging into the folder / file management service of the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus using shared user information. The default value for the "Share" restriction is "View". The "Modify" restriction for "Share" allows users to change the file name and overwrite the file during scanning when logging into the folder / file management service of the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus using shared user information.

[0056] The "Share" restrictions for each folder and file can be set for each shared user, with "View" and "Modify" options available. For example, you could set "View" for shared user A and "Modify" for shared user B.

[0057] The folder setting restriction management table, as shown in Figure 8 as an example, associates folder information (for example, folder path information showing the location and name of the folder) for each owning user information, and stores restriction information indicating the restriction content "View," "Modify," and "Deny" when the image forming apparatus logs into the folder / file management service of the management server 300 using the owning user information. It also stores shared user information for the restriction content "Share" and shared restriction information indicating the sharing restriction content "View" and "Modify" when the shared user logs into the folder / file management service of the management server 300 using the image forming apparatus information. There is a number of shared user information and shared restriction information indicating the sharing restriction content "View" and "Modify" for each shared user information.

[0058] If the user information used to log in to the folder / file management service provided by the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus 100 is owner user information, the control unit 311 of the management server 300 responds to a request for folder information or file information, for example, by referring to the restriction details in the "Restriction Information" column. Also, if the user information used to log in to the folder / file management service provided by the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus 100 is shared user information, the control unit 311 of the management server 300 responds to a request for folder information or file information, for example, by referring to the sharing restriction details in the "Share" column.

[0059] The file setting restriction management table, as shown in Figure 9 as an example, associates file information (for example, file path information showing the location and file name of the file) for each owning user information, and stores restriction information indicating the restriction content "View," "Modify," and "Deny" when the image forming apparatus logs into the folder / file management service of the management server 300 using the owning user information. It also stores shared user information for restriction content "Share" and shared restriction information indicating the sharing restriction content "View" and "Modify" when the image forming apparatus logs into the folder / file management service of the management server 300 using the shared user information. There is a number of shared user information and shared restriction information indicating the sharing restriction content "View" and "Modify" for each shared user information.

[0060] If the user information used to log in to the folder / file management service provided by the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus 100 is owner user information, the control unit 311 of the management server 300 responds to a request for folder information or file information, for example, by referring to the restriction details in the "Restriction Information" column. Also, if the user information used to log in to the folder / file management service provided by the management server 300 from the image forming apparatus 100 is shared user information, the control unit 311 of the management server 300 responds to a request for folder information or file information, for example, by referring to the sharing restriction details in the "Share" column.

[0061] The control unit 310 includes a processor, RAM (Random Access Memory), and ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The control unit 310 includes a control unit 311. The control unit 310 functions as a control unit 311 through the operation of the processor in accordance with the information management program 320A, which is one of the control programs stored in the memory unit 320. However, the control unit 311, etc., can also be configured by hardware circuits, rather than by the operation of the control unit 310 in accordance with the information management program 320A, etc. The same applies to each embodiment below unless otherwise specified.

[0062] The control unit 311 is responsible for the overall operation control of the management server 300. The control unit 311 is connected to the communication unit 330 and the storage unit 320, and performs drive control and other functions for these units.

[0063] The storage unit 320 stores restriction information that indicates the content of the restrictions that limit the processing of folders or files corresponding to the owner user information.

[0064] The control unit 311 updates the contents stored in the memory unit 320.

[0065] The control unit 311 uses the owner user information as the user information when the information terminal connects to the information management device. When the information management device and the information terminal are connected, the control unit 311 receives setting restriction information from the information terminal that indicates the restriction content to be set as a restriction content to restrict the processing of the folder or file in the owner user information. Based on the received setting restriction information, the control unit 311 updates the restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the owner user information stored in the storage unit 320.

[0066] The control unit 311 uses the owner user information as user information when the image forming apparatus connects to the information management device. When the information management device and the image forming apparatus are connected, the control unit 311 receives a request from the image forming apparatus for folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file, and transmits the folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file to the image forming apparatus based on the restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the owner user information stored in the storage unit.

[0067] The control unit 311 transmits the folder information indicating the folder or the file information indicating the file to the image forming apparatus if the restriction content indicated by the restriction information of the folder or file stored in the storage unit 320 is a predetermined restriction content that does not restrict transmission to the image forming apparatus.

[0068] The control unit 311 sets one of the following restrictions for the folder that the image forming apparatus performs when the image forming apparatus is connected to the information management device by using the owner user information: a first restriction that allows the display of the folder and the folders and files within it; a second restriction that allows the change of the folder name indicating the folder; and a third restriction that does not allow the display of the folder or access to it. The restrictions are set for the folder stored in the storage unit as the restrictions indicated by the restriction information, and the predetermined restrictions are the first and second restrictions. Note that the display of a folder is, for example, the display of a folder icon, and the display of a file is, for example, the display of a file icon.

[0069] The control unit 311 sets one of the following restrictions for the file stored in the storage unit as the restriction content indicated by the restriction information: a first restriction content that allows the display of the file, a second restriction content that allows the renaming of the file and overwriting of the file during scanning, and a third restriction content that does not allow the display of the file or access to the file. The predetermined restriction content is the first restriction content and the second restriction content. Note that the display of the file is, for example, the display of the file icon.

[0070] The storage unit stores, for each folder or file corresponding to the owner user information, shared user information indicating the user information that shares the folder or file, and shared restriction information indicating the content of the shared restrictions that restrict the processing of the folder or file by the shared user information.

[0071] The control unit 311 uses the owner user information as user information when the information terminal connects to the information management device. When the information management device and the information terminal are connected, the control unit 311 receives from the information terminal, with respect to the folder or file corresponding to the owner user information, setting shared user information indicating that shared user information is set as shared user information to share the folder or file, and setting sharing restriction information indicating that sharing restriction content is set as sharing restriction content to restrict processing of the folder or file by the shared user information. Based on the received setting shared user information and setting sharing restriction information, the control unit 311 updates the shared user information and sharing restriction information corresponding to the folder or file stored in the storage unit.

[0072] The control unit 311 uses the shared user information as user information when the image forming apparatus connects to the information management device. When the information management device and the image forming apparatus are connected, the control unit 311 receives a request from the image forming apparatus for folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file. Based on the shared user information corresponding to the folder or file stored in the storage unit, and the sharing restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the shared user information, the control unit 311 transmits the folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file to the image forming apparatus.

[0073] Next, the cloud storage 400 in Figure 1 will be described with reference to Figure 7. Figure 7 is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the cloud storage 400 in Figure 1. In this embodiment, the cloud storage 400 is a service provided by a third party.

[0074] The cloud storage 400 comprises a control unit 410, a memory unit 420, and a communication unit 430. Each of these components is capable of sending and receiving signals from one another via a communication bus.

[0075] The communication unit 430 is a communication interface that transmits and receives various signals with external devices such as the PC 200 and the management server 300 on the network.

[0076] The storage unit 420 is a high-capacity storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores various computer programs, such as control programs, for realizing the operation of the cloud storage 400.

[0077] The storage unit 420 stores the contents of folders and files. Folders and files are managed in a hierarchical structure.

[0078] The control unit 410 includes a processor, RAM (Random Access Memory), and ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The control unit 410 includes a control unit 411. The control unit 410 functions as a control unit 411 through the operation of the processor according to the control program stored in the memory unit 420. However, the control unit 411, etc., can also be configured by hardware circuits, rather than by operation according to the control program of the control unit 410. The same applies to each embodiment below unless otherwise specified.

[0079] Next, the information management processing performed by PC200 in Figure 1 will be explained with reference to Figures 10 and 11. Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the processing steps of the information management processing performed by PC200 in Figure 1. Figure 11 is a flowchart showing the processing steps following the information management processing steps in Figure 10.

[0080] The control unit 211 of PC200 determines whether a user has performed a login operation (inputting user information (user ID) and password information) to log in to a service (folder / file management service) provided by the management server 300 (step S101). If the control unit 211 determines in the determination process of step S101 that a user has not performed a login operation (S101: NO), the process of step S101 is repeated.

[0081] If the control unit 211 determines in the determination process of step S101 that a user has performed a login operation (S101: YES), the control unit 211 sends a signal containing login information (user information (user ID) and password information) to the management server 300 via the communication unit 204 (step S102). If the login information from PC200 is correct, the control unit 311 of the management server 300 sends a signal containing display information, etc., for displaying the top page of the folder / file management service on the display unit to PC200 via the communication unit 330. The explanation for cases where the login information is incorrect is omitted.

[0082] Following the processing in step S102, the control unit 211 displays the top page of the folder / file management service on the display unit 203 based on the display information and other data contained in the signal received from the management server 300 via the communication unit 204 (step S103).

[0083] Following the processing in step S103, the control unit 211 sends a signal including a request for folder information or file information to the management server 300 via the communication unit 204 (step S104). For example, when a user uses the operation unit 202 to instruct a request for folder information or file information, the operation unit 202 outputs a signal to the control unit 211 corresponding to the key pressed by the user in that operation, and the control unit 211, based on the signal input from the operation unit 202, sends a signal including a request for folder information or file information to the management server 300 via the communication unit 204. When the control unit 311 of the management server 300 receives a signal including the request from the PC 200 via the communication unit 330, it retrieves folder information indicating each folder and file information indicating each file uploaded by the logged-in user (the logged-in user information is the owning user information, and each folder information and each file information stored in the storage unit 320 in association with the owning user information: hereinafter, each will be referred to as "owning folder / file information" as appropriate) from the storage unit 320, and sends a signal including the retrieved folder information and each file information (each owning folder / file information) to the PC 200 via the communication unit 330.

[0084] Following the processing in step S104, the control unit 211 receives a signal from the management server 300 via the communication unit 204 containing information on each owned folder and file. Based on the information on each owned folder and file contained in the received signal, the control unit 211 displays icons (folder icons, file icons) corresponding to each owned folder and file information on the display unit 203 on a screen (hereinafter referred to as the "folder and file display screen") as shown in example Figures 15(A) and 16(A) (step S105). Not all owned folder and file information is displayed simultaneously on the folder and file display screen. The folder and file display screen shown in example Figures 15(A) and 16(A) is a folder and file display screen where the currently displayed hierarchy has the logged-in user information as the owned user information, and there are two files associated with the owned user information stored in the storage unit 320: a file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" and a file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf".

[0085] Following the processing in step S105, the control unit 211 identifies the folder or file (hereinafter referred to as "restriction target folder / file") that the user has specified as the target for setting restrictions using the operation unit 202 (step S106).

[0086] For example, when a user moves the cursor on the folder / file display screen of the display unit 203 using the mouse of the operation unit 202, the operation unit 202 outputs signals to the control unit 211 corresponding to the amount of mouse movement in the x and y axes by the user's operation. Based on these signals input from the operation unit 202, the control unit 211 displays the cursor on the screen of the display unit 203 while moving it to the display unit 203. When a user places the cursor over the icon of a folder or file designated as a restricted folder / file (for example, the icon of the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf") and then right-clicks the mouse of the operation unit 202, the operation unit 202 outputs a signal corresponding to the right-click to the control unit 211. When the control unit 211 receives the signal corresponding to the right-click from the operation unit 202, it identifies the restricted folder / file (for example, the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf") based on the cursor position.

[0087] Following the processing in step S106, the control unit 211 displays a pop-up window (hereinafter referred to as the "restriction setting pop-up window") on the display unit 203 for the user to specify the restrictions to be set for the folders and files to be restricted (step S107). An example of this pop-up window is shown in Figures 15(B) and 16(B). An example of this restriction setting pop-up window includes the string "Set Permissions to:" prompting the user to set restrictions, and the restriction options "View", "Modify", "Deny", and "Share".

[0088] Following the processing in step S107, the control unit 211 identifies the restriction content specified by the user to be set as the restriction content to be set for the target folder / file from among the restriction content options "View", "Modify", "Deny", and "Share" (step S108).

[0089] This section describes the case where the user specifies the restriction "Deny" in the restriction setting popup window. For example, when the user moves the cursor on the display screen of the display unit 203 using the mouse of the operation unit 202, the operation unit 202 outputs signals to the control unit 211 corresponding to the amount of mouse movement in the x and y axes by the user's operation. Based on these signals input from the operation unit 202, the control unit 211 displays the cursor on the screen of the display unit 203. After the user positions the cursor over the string "Deny" and then performs a left-click operation with the mouse of the operation unit 202, the operation unit 202 outputs a signal corresponding to the left-click to the control unit 211. When the control unit 211 receives the signal corresponding to the left-click from the operation unit 202, it identifies that the user has specified the restriction "Deny" based on the cursor position. If the user specifies a restriction other than "Deny" in the restriction settings popup window, the same processing as the operation unit 202 and control unit 211 will be performed as when the user specifies "Deny" in the restriction settings popup window.

[0090] Following the processing in step S108, the control unit 211 determines whether the restriction specified by the user is the restriction "Share" (step S109).

[0091] In the determination process of step S109, if the control unit 211 determines that the restriction specified by the user is "Share" (S109: YES), the control unit 211 displays a pop-up window on the display unit 203 (hereinafter referred to as the "shared user information setting pop-up window"), as shown in Figure 16(C) as an example, for specifying the user information (shared user information) of the user who will share the restricted folder / file (step S110). The shared user information setting pop-up window, as shown in Figure 16(C) as an example, includes the string "Share to:" prompting the user to enter shared user information, a shared user information input area for entering shared user information, a "Cancel" button, and an "OK" button. If the user selects the "Cancel" button, the setting of shared user information is canceled, but a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0092] Following the processing in step S110, the control unit 211 identifies the shared user information entered by the user (step S111).

[0093] For example, when a user uses the keyboard keys on the operation unit 202 to input shared user information (for example, shared user information "user_2") into the shared user information input area, the operation unit 202 outputs a signal corresponding to the key pressed by the user to the control unit 211 each time the user presses a key. Based on the signal input from the operation unit 202, the control unit 211 identifies the pressed key and controls the display of the display unit 203 to display alphanumeric characters or other information corresponding to the identified key in the shared user information input area. Note that the user can input one or more shared user information entries into the shared user information input area, and if two or more entries are entered, the shared user information should be separated by a colon or semicolon. When a user moves the cursor on the screen of the display unit 203 using the mouse on the operation unit 202, the operation unit 202 outputs signals to the control unit 211 corresponding to the amount of mouse movement in the x and y axes by the user's operation. Based on these signals input from the operation unit 202, the control unit 211 displays the cursor on the screen of the display unit 203 while moving it to the display unit 203. After the user positions the cursor over the "OK" button and then performs a left-click operation with the mouse on the operation unit 202, the operation unit 202 outputs a signal corresponding to the left-click to the control unit 211. When the control unit 211 receives the signal corresponding to the left-click from the operation unit 202, it identifies that the user has selected the "OK" button based on the cursor position, and identifies the input content entered in the shared user information input area (for example, "user_2") as shared user information.

[0094] Following the processing in step S111, the control unit 211 displays a pop-up window (hereinafter referred to as the "sharing restriction setting pop-up window") on the display unit 203 for the user to specify the sharing restriction content "Share" to be set for the folders and files to be restricted (step S112). The sharing restriction setting pop-up window, as shown in Figure 17(D) as an example, includes the sharing user information, the string "Set Permissions to:" prompting the user to set the restriction content "Share", and the options "View" and "Modify" for the sharing restriction content "Share".

[0095] Following the processing in step S112, the control unit 211 identifies the sharing restriction content specified by the user from among the sharing restriction content options "View" and "Modify" for the restriction content "Share" as the sharing restriction content corresponding to the shared user information to be set on the restricted folder / file (step S113). Note that if the user specifies the sharing restriction content in the sharing restriction setting popup window, the same processing as the operation unit 202 and control unit 211 etc. is performed as when the user specifies the restriction content "Deny" in the restriction setting popup window.

[0096] Steps S112 and S113 are repeated for the number of shared user information items.

[0097] In the determination process of step S109, if the control unit 211 determines that the sharing restriction content specified by the user is not the sharing restriction content "Share" (S109: NO), or following the processing in step S113, the control unit 211 determines information indicating the restricted folder / file (if the restricted folder / file is a folder, it is folder information indicating the folder (for example, folder path information of the folder), if the restricted folder / file is a file, it is file information indicating the file (for example, file path information of the file), and the restriction content ("Vies", "Modi"). A signal is sent to the management server 300 via the communication unit 204, containing restriction information indicating "fy", "Deny", or "Share", and, if the restriction content is "Share", further containing sharing restriction information indicating the shared user information and sharing restriction content ("Vies", "Modify") for each shared user information (step S114). The control unit 311 of the management server 300 updates the setting restriction management tables (folder setting restriction management table, file setting restriction management table) based on the information contained in the signal received from the PC 200 via the communication unit 330, as will be described later.

[0098] Furthermore, the process from step S106 to step S114 is repeated a number of times specified by the user for each folder and file.

[0099] Next, the information management process performed by the management server 300 in Figure 1 will be explained with reference to Figures 12 and 13. Figure 12 is a flowchart showing the processing steps of the information management process performed by the management server 300 in Figure 1. Figure 13 is a flowchart showing the processing steps following the information management process in Figure 12.

[0100] The control unit 311 determines whether or not it has received a signal containing login information (user information (user ID) and password information) from an external device via the communication unit 330 (step S201). If the control unit 311 determines in the determination process of step S201 that it has not received a signal containing login information (S201: NO), the process of step S201 is repeated.

[0101] If the control unit 311 determines in the determination process of step S201 that it has received a signal containing login information (S201:YES), the control unit 311 refers to the login information (user information and password information) managed by the management server 300 to determine whether the received login information (user information and password information) is correct. If the login information is correct, the control unit 311 sends a signal containing display information, etc., for displaying the top page of the folder / file management service provided by the management server 300 on the display unit, via the communication unit 330 to the external device that sent the login information (step S202). Note that the explanation for cases where the login information is incorrect is omitted.

[0102] Following the processing in step S202, the control unit 311 determines whether it has received a signal via the communication unit 330 from an external device that has transmitted correct login information, which includes a request for folder information or file information (step S203). If the control unit 311 determines in the determination process of step S203 that it has not received a signal including the above request (S203: NO), the processing in step S203 is repeated.

[0103] If the control unit 311 determines in the determination process of step S203 that it has received a signal containing the above request (S203: YES), the control unit 311 determines whether the requesting external device is a PC or an image forming apparatus (step S204). The control unit 311 manages, for example, the MAC address of an external device in association with the type of external device (PC, image forming apparatus, etc.), and determines the type of device from the MAC address of the device that sent the signal containing the above request.

[0104] In the determination process of step S204, if the control unit 311 determines that the requesting external device is a PC (S204: PC), the control unit 311 retrieves folder information indicating each folder and file information indicating each file uploaded by the logged-in user (the logged-in user information is used as the owning user information, and each folder information and each file information (each owned folder and file information) stored in the storage unit 320 in association with the owning user information) from the storage unit 320, and sends a signal containing the retrieved folder information and each file information (each owned folder and file information) to the requesting external device (in this case, PC200) via the communication unit 330 (step S205). As a result, the display unit 203 of PC200 displays a folder and file display screen, as shown in Figures 15(A) and 16(A), etc., as an example.

[0105] Following the processing in step S205, the control unit 311 determines whether it has received a signal (the signal transmitted by PC200 in the processing of step S104) from an external device (in this case, PC200) via the communication unit 330, which includes information indicating the folders and files subject to restriction settings, restriction information indicating the content of the restriction ("Vies", "Modify", "Deny", "Share"), and, if the restriction content is "Share", further sharing restriction information indicating the shared user information and sharing restriction content ("Vies", "Modify") for each shared user information (step S206). If the control unit 311 determines in the determination process of step S206 that it has not received a signal including the folders and files subject to restriction settings (S206: NO), the processing of step S206 is performed again.

[0106] If the control unit 311 determines in the determination process of step S206 that it has received a signal containing information indicating the folders and files subject to restriction settings (S206: YES), the control unit 311 updates the setting restriction management tables (folder setting restriction management table, file setting restriction management table) based on the information indicating the folders and files subject to restriction settings contained in the received signal (step S207).

[0107] If the received information indicating the restricted folder / file is folder information, and the restriction content indicated by the restriction information is one of the restriction content "View", "Modify", or "Deny", the control unit 311 updates the folder setting restriction management table in the part of the folder setting restriction management table corresponding to the logged-in user information (owner user information) so that the restriction content in the "Restriction Information" column of the row in the folder setting restriction management table where the folder information in the "Folder Information" column of the folder setting restriction management table is the same as the information indicating the restricted folder / file received, the restriction content indicated by the received restriction information becomes the restriction content. If the received restriction information is the restriction content "View", the restriction content indicated in the "Restriction Information" column of the folder and file within the restricted folder / file is updated to the restriction content "View" in both the folder setting restriction management table and the file setting restriction management table.

[0108] If the information indicating the received restricted folder / file is folder information, and the restriction content indicated by the restriction information is "Share", the control unit 311 updates the folder setting restriction management table in the part of the folder setting restriction management table corresponding to the logged-in user information (owner user information) so that in the row where the folder information in the "Folder Information" column is the same as the information indicating the received restricted folder / file, there exists a shared user information in the "Shared User Information" column and a shared restriction content in the "Shared Restriction Information" column that matches the received shared user information and the shared restriction content indicated by the received shared restriction information.

[0109] If the received information indicating the restricted folder / file is file information, and the restriction content indicated by the restriction information is one of the restriction content "View", "Modify", or "Deny", the control unit 311 updates the file setting restriction management table in the part of the file setting restriction management table corresponding to the logged-in user information (owner user information) so that the restriction content in the "Restriction Information" column of the row in which the file information in the "File Information" column is the same as the received information indicating the restricted folder / file is the restriction content indicated by the received restriction information.

[0110] If the information indicating the received restricted folder / file is file information, and the restriction content indicated by the restriction information is "Share", the control unit 311 updates the file setting restriction management table in the part of the file setting restriction management table corresponding to the logged-in user information (owner user information) so that in the row where the file information in the "File Information" column is the same as the information indicating the received restricted folder / file, there exists a shared user information in the "Shared User Information" column and a shared restriction content in the "Shared Restriction Information" column that matches the received shared user information and the shared restriction content indicated by the received shared restriction information.

[0111] If the control unit 311 determines in the determination process of step S204 that the requesting external device is an image forming apparatus (S204: external forming apparatus), the control unit 311 retrieves the following from the folder setting restriction management table and the file setting restriction management table, in the portion where the owning user information is the logged-in user information, the restriction content in the "restriction information" column (hereinafter, as appropriate, referred to as "owner restriction information") is "View" or "Modify" (a predetermined restriction content that does not restrict transmission to the image forming apparatus 100) (the restriction content in the owning user information is a predetermined restriction content "View" or "Modify" that does not restrict transmission to the image forming apparatus 100), the folder information indicating the folder in the "folder information" column and the file information indicating the file in the "file information" column (hereinafter, as appropriate, referred to as "owner folder / file information with ownership restriction content "View" or "Modify") (step S208).

[0112] Following the processing in step S208, the control unit 311 retrieves from the folder setting restriction management table and the file setting restriction management table the shared user information in the "Shared User Information" column of the "Shared" column where the shared user information is the logged-in user information, the shared restriction content in the "Shared Restriction Information" column of the "Shared" column is "View" or "Modify" (a predetermined restriction content) (the shared restriction content in the shared user information is the predetermined shared restriction content "View" or "Modify"), the folder information in the "Folder Information" column where the folder information is the folder information, and the file information in the "File Information" column where the file information is the file information (hereinafter, as appropriate, referred to as "shared folder / file information with shared restriction content "View" or "Modify"), and obtains user information (owner user information) indicating the user who uploaded the folder or file indicated by the shared folder / file information with shared restriction content "View" or "Modify" as the source user information (step S209).

[0113] Following the processing in step S209, the control unit 311 transmits a signal via the communication unit 330 to the requesting external device (in this case, the image forming apparatus 100) containing the ownership folder and file information for each ownership restriction content "View" or "Modify" acquired in the processing of step S208, as well as the shared folder and file information for each sharing restriction content "View" or "Modify" acquired in the processing of step S209 (step S210). As a result, a display screen (hereinafter referred to as the "image forming apparatus folder and file display screen"), as shown in example in Figures 15(C) and 17(E), is displayed on the display unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0114] Next, the information management processing by the image forming apparatus 100 in Figure 1 will be explained with reference to Figure 14. Figure 14 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the information management processing by the image forming apparatus 100 in Figure 1.

[0115] The control unit 121 of the image forming apparatus 100 determines whether or not a user has performed a login operation (input operation of user information (user ID) and password information) to log in to a service (folder / file management service) provided by the management server 300 (step S301). If the control unit 121 determines in the determination process of step S301 that the user has not performed a login operation (S301: NO), the process of step S301 is performed again.

[0116] If the control unit 121 determines in the determination process of step S301 that a user has performed a login operation (S301: YES), the control unit 121 sends a signal containing login information (user information (user ID) and password information) to the management server 300 via the network interface unit 115 (step S302). If the login information from the image forming apparatus 100 is correct, the control unit 311 of the management server 300 sends a signal containing display information, etc., for displaying the top page of the folder / file management service on the display unit to the image forming apparatus 100 via the communication unit 330. The explanation for cases where the login information is incorrect is omitted.

[0117] Following the processing in step S302, the control unit 121 displays the top page of the folder / file management service on the display unit 110 based on the display information and other data contained in the signal received from the management server 300 via the network interface unit 115 (step S303).

[0118] Following the processing in step S303, the control unit 121 sends a signal including a request for folder information or file information to the management server 300 via the network interface unit 115 (step S304). For example, when a user uses the operation unit 109 to instruct a request for folder information or file information, the operation unit 109 outputs a signal to the control unit 121 corresponding to the key pressed by the user in that operation, and the control unit 121 sends a signal including a request for folder information or file information to the management server 300 via the network interface unit 115 based on the signal input from the operation unit 109. When the control unit 311 of the management server 300 receives a signal including a request for folder information or file information from the image forming apparatus 100 via the communication unit 330, it sends a signal including the owned folder and file information for each ownership restriction content "View" or "Modify", as well as the shared folder and file information and the sharing source user information for each sharing restriction content "View" or "Modify", to the image forming apparatus 100 via the communication unit 330.

[0119] Following the processing in step S304, the control unit 121 receives a signal from the management server 300 via the network interface unit 115 that includes the ownership folder and file information and ownership restrictions for each ownership restriction "View" or "Modify", as well as the shared folder and file information and ownership restrictions for each sharing restriction "View" or "Modify", and the sharing source user information (step S305).

[0120] Following the processing in step S305, the control unit 121 displays a folder / file display screen for the image forming apparatus on the display unit 203 (step S306). This screen displays the icons of the folders and files that own each "View" or "Modify" ownership restriction in the My Files display area, and the icons of the folders and files that share each "View" or "Modify" sharing restriction in the Share Files display area, along with the user information indicated by the sharing source user information. This screen is an example of which is shown in Figures 15(C) and 17(E). Not all icons corresponding to the ownership folder / file information for each "View" or "Modify" ownership restriction and the shared folder / file information for each "View" or "Modify" sharing restriction are displayed simultaneously on the folder / file display screen for the image forming apparatus.

[0121] The control unit 121 performs various processes on each folder and file whose icon is displayed in the My Files display area, and on each folder and file whose icon is displayed in the Share Files display area (step S306).

[0122] For example, if a user attempts to change the folder name or file name of a folder with the restriction content "View" or the sharing restriction content "View" in the image forming apparatus 100, the control unit 121 of the image forming apparatus 100 sends the changed folder name or the changed file name to the management server 300. However, the control unit 311 of the management server 300 does not accept this changed folder name or file name based on the folder setting restriction management table or the file setting restriction management table, and does not perform the process of changing the folder name or file name.

[0123] Furthermore, if a user attempts to change the folder name or file name of a folder with the restriction "Modify" or the sharing restriction "Modify" in the image forming apparatus 100, the control unit 121 of the image forming apparatus 100 sends the changed folder name or the changed file name to the management server 300. The control unit 311 of the management server 300 then accepts the changed folder name or the changed file name based on the folder setting restriction management table or the file setting restriction management table and processes the change to the folder name or file name.

[0124] Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus 100, it may be possible to display the contents of a folder shown on the screen of the display unit 110 and print it, or it may be possible to not be able to do both. Also, in the image forming apparatus 100, it may be possible to display the contents of a file shown on the screen of the display unit 110 and print it, or it may be possible to not be able to do both.

[0125] Next, we will explain specific examples 1 and 2. As a premise for specific examples 1 and 2, we assume that user A, whose user information is user_1, has uploaded two files to cloud storage 400: one with the filename "Change The World We Live In.pdf" and another with the filename "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf". Furthermore, we assume that in the user information user_1 (owner user information) section of the file settings restriction management table, the "File Information" and "Restriction Information" fields are set to contain pairs of file information and restriction content "View" for the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" and for the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf". Additionally, we assume that user information user_1 has no folders or files set as shared user information in the "Shared User Information" field of the "Share" section. Finally, we assume that user B, whose user information is user_2, has no folders or files uploaded to cloud storage 400.

[0126] First, let's explain Specific Example 1 using Figure 15. After user A, whose user information is user_1, logs in to the folder / file management service provided by the management server 300 on PC200, the control unit 211 of PC200 sends a signal to the management server 300 that includes a request for folder information or file information based on the user's operation. The control unit 311 of the management server 300 obtains file information indicating the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" and the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf" uploaded by user user_1, and sends a signal containing this file information to PC200. The control unit 211 of PC200 displays a folder / file display screen on the display unit 203, showing the icons for the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" and the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf", as shown in Figure 15(A).

[0127] After the user places the cursor over the icon of the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf", and then performs a right-click operation with the mouse, the control unit 211 identifies the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf" as a folder / file subject to restriction settings and displays the restriction setting popup window shown in Figure 15(B) on the display unit 203.

[0128] After the user positions the cursor over the restriction "Deny" and then performs a left-click operation with the mouse on the operation unit 202, the control unit 211 identifies the restriction "Deny" as the restriction to be set for the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf".

[0129] The control unit 211 sends a signal to the management server 300 that includes file information (file path information) indicating the file named "Do what is right as a Houman Being.pdf" and restriction information indicating the restriction content "Deny".

[0130] The control unit 311 of the management server 300 receives a signal from PC200 that includes file information (file path information) indicating a file named "Do what is right as a Houman Being.pdf" and restriction information indicating the restriction content "Deny". The control unit 311 updates the file setting restriction management table in the section corresponding to user information user_1 as the owner user information of the file setting restriction management table, so that the restriction content in the "Restriction Information" column of the row where the file information in the "File Information" column is the same as the file information indicating the received file named "Do what is right as a Houman Being.pdf" becomes the restriction content "Deny" indicated by the received restriction information.

[0131] After user A, whose user information is user_1, logs in to the folder / file management service provided by the management server 300 using the image forming apparatus 100, the control unit 121 of the image forming apparatus 100 sends a signal to the management server 300 that includes a request for folder information or file information based on the user's operation.

[0132] The control unit 311 of the management server 300 retrieves file information indicating the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" in the "File Information" column, where the restriction content (ownership restriction information) in the "Restriction Information" column is "View", as owner folder / file information for ownership restriction content "View" or "Modify", and sends a signal to the image forming apparatus 100 that includes file information indicating the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" as owner folder / file information for ownership restriction content "View" or "Modify".

[0133] The control unit 121 of the image forming apparatus 100 receives a signal containing file information indicating a file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" as the owned folder / file information for the ownership restriction content "View" or "Modify," and displays the folder / file display screen for the image forming apparatus on the display unit 110, which displays the icon of the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" in the My Files display area, as shown in Figure 15(C).

[0134] Next, we will explain specific example 2 with reference to Figures 16 and 17. In Specific Example 2, after user A (user_1) logs in to the folder / file management service provided by the management server 300 on PC200, a folder / file display screen is displayed on the display unit 203, under display control by the control unit 211 of PC200, as in Specific Example 1. The screen displays the icons for the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" and the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf," as shown in Figure 16(A).

[0135] Furthermore, similar to the example in Specific Example 1, the control unit 211 identifies the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf" as a folder / file subject to restriction settings, and under the display control of the control unit 211, the restriction setting pop-up window shown in Figure 16(B) is displayed on the display unit 203.

[0136] After the user places the cursor over the restriction "Share" and then performs a left-click operation with the mouse on the operation unit 202, the control unit 211 identifies the restriction content "Share" as the restriction content to be set for the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf", and displays the shared user information setting popup window shown in Figure 16(C) on the display unit 203.

[0137] When the user enters user information (shared user information) "user_2" indicating another user (user B) who is allowed to share the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf", and then places the cursor on the "OK" button and performs a left mouse click on the operation unit 202, the control unit 211 identifies user information "user_2" indicating user B as the shared user information for sharing the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf", and displays the sharing restriction setting popup window shown in Figure 17(D) on the display unit 203.

[0138] After the user places the cursor over the restriction "Modify" and then performs a left-click operation with the mouse on the operation unit 202, the control unit 211 identifies the sharing restriction content "Modify" as the sharing restriction content corresponding to the shared user information "user_2" to be set in the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf". Then, the control unit 211 sends a signal to the management server 300 that includes file information indicating the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf", restriction information indicating the restriction content "Share", and sharing restriction information indicating the shared user information "user_2" and the sharing restriction content "Modify".

[0139] The control unit 311 of the management server 300 receives a signal containing file information indicating a file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf", restriction information indicating the restriction content "Share", and sharing restriction information indicating shared user information "user_1" and sharing restriction content "Modify". In the portion of the file setting restriction management table corresponding to user information user_1 as the owner user information, the file information in the "File Information" column is on the same line as the file information indicating a file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf", and the shared user information in the "Shared User Information" column and the sharing restriction content in the "Sharing Restriction Information" column are the received shared user information "user_2" and the sharing restriction content "Modify" indicated by the received sharing restriction information. The file settings restriction management table is updated so that there are items that meet the following criteria.

[0140] After user B, whose user information is user_2, logs in to the folder / file management service provided by the management server 300 using the image forming apparatus 100, the control unit 121 of the image forming apparatus 100 sends a signal to the management server 300 that includes a request for folder information or file information based on the user's operation.

[0141] The control unit 311 of the management server 300 retrieves file information from the file setting restriction management table, where the shared user information in the "Shared User Information" column of the "Shared" column is the logged-in user information (user information of user B, "user_2"), the sharing restriction content in the "Shared Restriction Information" column of the "Shared" column is "View" or "Modify", and the file information in the "File Information" column indicates the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf". It also retrieves user information user_1 (owner user information) indicating user A who uploaded the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf" as the source user information. The control unit 311 then sends a signal containing the file information indicating the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf" and the source user information "user_1" to the image forming apparatus 100.

[0142] The control unit 121 of the image forming apparatus 100 receives a signal containing file information indicating the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf" and the sharing source user information "user_1". The control unit 110 then displays the folder / file display screen for the image forming apparatus on the display unit 110, as shown in Figure 17(E), which displays the icon of the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf" and the user information (user_1) of the user who uploaded this file in the Share Files display area.

[0143] According to the embodiment described above, the user who uploaded the folder or file (owner user) can use the PC200 to set restriction information indicating the content of the restrictions on processing the folder or file, and the management server 300 manages the set restriction information for the folder or file, thereby restricting the processing of the folder or file by the owner user when using the image forming apparatus 100.

[0144] Furthermore, the owner user can use PC200 to set up users who will share folders or files (shared users), and the management server 300 can manage these shared users. This allows the owner user to share folders or files with shared users using the image forming apparatus 100, and sharing can be restricted to only the users with whom the owner user wishes to share folders or files using the image forming apparatus 100.

[0145] Furthermore, the owner user can use the PC200 to set sharing restriction information that indicates the content of the restrictions on how shared users can process folders or files, and the management server 300 can manage the set sharing restriction information for folders or files, thereby restricting how shared users can process folders or files when using the image forming apparatus 100.

[0146] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the configurations of the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible.

[0147] For example, in the above embodiment, the management server 300 transmits a signal to the image forming apparatus 100 that includes the ownership folder and file information for each ownership restriction "View" or "Modify", as well as the shared folder and file information for each sharing restriction "View" or "Modify" and the information of each sharing source user. However, the system is not limited to this. For example, the management server 300 may transmit a signal to the image forming apparatus 100 that includes the ownership folder and file information for each ownership restriction "View", "Modify", or "Deny", as well as ownership restriction information indicating each ownership restriction, as well as shared folder and file information for each sharing restriction "View", "Modify", or "Deny", as well as sharing restriction information indicating each sharing restriction and the information of the sharing source user. In this case, the CPU 121 of the image forming apparatus 100 may perform processing based on the restriction content or sharing restriction content.

[0148] Alternatively, the following may be done: The storage unit stores restriction information indicating the content of the restriction that restricts the processing of the folder or file in the owner user information, and restriction expiration information indicating the expiration date for the restriction that restricts the processing of the said restriction. When the information terminal is connected to the information management device by using the owner user information as the user information when the information terminal connects to the information management device, the control unit 311 receives from the information terminal the setting restriction information indicating the content of the restriction that restricts the processing of the folder or file in the owner user information, and the setting restriction expiration information indicating the expiration date for the restriction that restricts the processing of the said restriction. Based on the received setting restriction information and setting restriction expiration information, the control unit updates the restriction information and restriction expiration information stored in the storage unit that correspond to the folder or file in the owner user information. The control unit 311 uses the owner user information as user information when the image forming apparatus connects to the information management device. When the information management device and the image forming apparatus are connected, the control unit 311 receives a request from the image forming apparatus for folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file. Based on the restriction content indicated by the restriction information and the restriction expiration date indicated by the restriction expiration information corresponding to the folder or file in the owner user information stored in the storage unit, the control unit 311 transmits the information indicating the folder or file to the image forming apparatus.

[0149] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, it is also possible to set expiration dates for folders with respect to the "Modify" and "Deny" restriction types, and to set expiration dates for the "Modify" and "Deny" sharing restriction types under the "Share" restriction type, and to set expiration dates for files with respect to the "Deny" restriction type, and to set expiration dates for the "Deny" sharing restriction type under the "Share" restriction type. In the above embodiment, the sharing restriction types under the "Share" restriction type are assumed to be "View" and "Modify", but here, it is assumed that the sharing restriction type under the "Share" restriction type is "Deny". Note that the targets for which expiration dates can be set may be other restriction types and sharing restriction types.

[0150] The "Modify" restriction for folders has an expiration date during which the folder name can be changed; after this date, the folder name can no longer be changed. The "Deny" restriction for folders has an expiration date during which the folder cannot be viewed or accessed; after this date, the folder can be viewed or accessed. The "Modify" restriction for folders has an expiration date during which the folder name can be changed; after this date, the folder name can no longer be changed. The "Deny" restriction for folders has an expiration date during which the folder cannot be viewed or accessed; after this date, the folder can be viewed or accessed.

[0151] The "Deny" restriction on files means that the restriction period is until which the file cannot be viewed and the folder cannot be accessed. After this period expires, the file can be viewed and the folder can be accessed again. The "Deny" restriction on files means that the sharing restriction period is until which the file cannot be viewed and the folder cannot be accessed. After this period expires, the file can be viewed and the folder can be accessed again.

[0152] For example, restriction expiration information indicating the expiration date of restriction content and sharing restriction expiration information indicating the expiration date of sharing restriction content are managed by creating a "restriction expiration information" column corresponding to the "restriction information" column and a "sharing restriction expiration information" column corresponding to the "sharing restriction information" column in the folder setting restriction management table (an example shown in Figure 8) and the file setting expiration management table (an example shown in Figure 9).

[0153] Next, we will explain Specific Example 3 with reference to Figures 18 and 19. As a premise for Specific Example 3, we assume that user A, whose user information is user_1, has uploaded two files to cloud storage 400: one with the filename "Change The World We Live In.pdf" and another with the filename "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf". Furthermore, we assume that in the user information user_1 (owner user information) section of the file settings restriction management table, the "File Information" and "Restriction Information" fields are set to contain pairs of file information and restriction content "View" indicating the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf", and pairs of file information and restriction content "View" indicating the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf".

[0154] In specific example 3, after user A, whose user information is user_1, logs in to the folder and file management service provided by the management server 300 on PC200, a folder and file display screen is displayed on the display unit 203, under display control by the control unit 211 of PC200, as in specific example 1. The screen displays the icons for the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" and the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf," as shown in Figure 18(A).

[0155] Also, similar to Specific Example 1, the control unit 211 identifies the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf" as a folder / file subject to restriction settings, and under the display control of the control unit 211, the restriction setting pop-up window shown in Figure 18(B) is displayed on the display unit 203.

[0156] After the user places the cursor over the restriction item "Deny" and then performs a left mouse click on the operation unit 202, the control unit 211 identifies the restriction item "Deny" as the restriction item to be set for the file named "Do what is right as a Human Being.pdf" and displays a pop-up window shown in Figure 18(C) (hereinafter referred to as the "restriction expiration date setting pop-up window") on the display unit 203 for the user to enter the restriction expiration date. The restriction expiration date setting pop-up window shown in Figure 18(C) includes the string "Set time boundaries to:" prompting the user to set the restriction expiration date, a restriction expiration date input area for entering the expiration date, a "Cancel" button, and an "OK" button. The restriction expiration date input area is arranged in the order of DD (days), HH (hours), and MM (minutes). If the user selects the "Cancel" button, the restriction expiration date setting is canceled.

[0157] When the user uses the keyboard keys on the operation unit 202 to input the expiration date "00:1:00" (1 hour) into the expiration date input field, the operation unit 202 outputs a signal to the control unit 211 corresponding to the key pressed by the user each time the user presses a key. Based on the signal input from the operation unit 202, the control unit 211 identifies the pressed key and controls the display of the display unit 203 to display the number corresponding to the identified key in the expiration date input field. When the user uses the mouse on the operation unit 202 to move the cursor on the screen of the display unit 203, the operation unit 202 outputs signals to the control unit 211 corresponding to the amount of mouse movement in the x and y axes caused by the user's operation. Based on the signal input from the operation unit 202, the control unit 211 displays the cursor on the screen of the display unit 203 while moving it. After the user positions the cursor over the "OK" button and then performs a left-click operation with the mouse on the operation unit 202, the operation unit 202 outputs a signal corresponding to the left mouse click to the control unit 211. When the control unit 211 receives the signal corresponding to the left mouse click from the operation unit 202, it identifies that the user has selected the "OK" button based on the cursor position, and identifies the expiration date "00:1:00" (1 hour) displayed in the expiration date input area as the expiration date.

[0158] The control unit 211 sends a signal to the management server 300 via the communication unit 204 that includes file information (file path information) indicating the file named "Do what is right as a Houman Being.pdf", restriction information indicating the restriction content "Deny", and restriction expiration information indicating the restriction expiration date "00:1:00" (1 hour).

[0159] The control unit 311 of the management server 300 receives a signal from the PC 200 via the communication unit 330 that includes file information (file path information) indicating a file named "Do what is right as a Houman Being.pdf", restriction information indicating the restriction content "Deny", and restriction expiration information indicating the restriction expiration date "00:1:00" (1 hour). In the part of the file setting restriction management table corresponding to user information user_1 as the owner user information, the control unit 311 updates the file setting restriction management table so that the file information in the "File Information" column of the row where the file information is the same as the file information indicating the received file named "Do what is right as a Houman Being.pdf", the restriction content indicated by the restriction information in the "Restriction Information" column becomes "Deny", and the restriction expiration date indicated by the restriction expiration information in the "Restriction Expiration Information" column becomes "00:1:00" (1 hour).

[0160] After user A, whose user information is user_1, logs in to the folder / file management service provided by the management server 300 using the image forming apparatus 100, the control unit 121 of the image forming apparatus 100 sends a signal to the management server 300 that includes a request for folder information or file information based on the user's operation.

[0161] The control unit 311 of the management server 300 retrieves file information from the part of the file setting restriction management table corresponding to the owner user information (user information user_1), the file information indicating the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" in the "File Information" column, the restriction information indicating the restriction content "View" in the "Restriction Information" column, the file information indicating the file named "Do what is right as a Houman Being.pdf" in the "File Information" column, the restriction information indicating the restriction content "Deny" in the "Restriction Information" column, and the restriction expiration information indicating the restriction expiration "00:1:00" (1 hour) in the "Restriction Expiration Date" column. Then, the control unit 311 starts timing. For the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" whose restriction content indicated by the restriction information is "View", the control unit 311 sends a signal to the image forming apparatus 100 that includes file information indicating the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf".

[0162] The control unit 121 of the image forming apparatus 100 receives a signal containing file information indicating a file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf", and displays the folder / file display screen for the image forming apparatus on the display unit 110, which shows the icon of the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" in the My Files display area, as shown in Figure 19(D).

[0163] When the time measured by the control unit 311 of the management server 300 exceeds the one-hour time limit, it sends a signal to the image forming apparatus 100 that includes file information indicating a file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf", as well as file information indicating a file named "Do what is right as a Houman Being.pdf", where the restriction information indicates the restriction content "Deny" and the restriction expiration information indicates a restriction expiration of one hour.

[0164] The control unit 121 of the image forming apparatus 100 receives a signal that includes file information indicating the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" as well as file information indicating the file named "Do what is right as a Houman Being.pdf", and displays the folder / file display screen for the image forming apparatus on the display unit 110, as shown in Figure 19(E), which displays the icon for the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" as well as the icon for the file named "Do what is right as a Houman Being.pdf" in the My Files display area.

[0165] Let's assume that user A (user_1) has user B (user_2) as a shared user for the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf", with the sharing restriction set to "View", and user B (user_2) has also been set as a shared user for the file named "Do what is right as a Houman Being.pdf", with the sharing restriction set to "deny", and the sharing restriction expiration date set to "00:1:00" (1 hour). In this case, when user B, whose user information is user_2, logs into the folder / file management service provided by the management server 300 on the image forming apparatus 100, and the control unit 311 of the image forming apparatus 300 sends a signal to the management server 300 that includes a request for folder information or file information, the control unit 311 of the image forming apparatus 300 processes based on the file setting restriction management table, and the folder / file display screen for the image forming apparatus displayed on the display unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 100 first displays the icon of the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" in the Share Files display area, and after 1 hour, in addition to the icon of the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf", the icon of the file named "Do what is right as a Houman Being.pdf" is displayed in the Share Files display area.

[0166] Furthermore, if a restriction setting of "Deny" with an expiration date of "00:1:00" is set for a folder, or if a restriction setting of "Share" with an expiration date of "00:1:00" is set for a sharing restriction setting of "Deny", the control unit 311 of the management server 300 will similarly control the folder, so that the icon for the folder will not be displayed initially, but will be displayed after 1 hour has elapsed.

[0167] Furthermore, if a restriction with the restriction content "Modify" and a restriction expiration date of "00:1:00" is set for a folder, or if a restriction with the restriction content "Share" and a restriction expiration date of "00:1:00" is set for the sharing restriction content "Modify", the control unit 311 of the management server 300 retrieves the folder information indicating the folder in the "Folder" column, the restriction information indicating the restriction content "Modify" in the "Restriction Information" column, and the restriction expiration information indicating the restriction expiration date "00:1:00" (1 hour) in the "Restriction Expiration" column from the part of the folder setting restriction management table corresponding to the owner user information, starts timing, and accepts the modified folder name from the image forming apparatus 100 and processes the folder name change until 1 hour has elapsed. After 1 hour has elapsed, it does not accept the modified folder name from the image forming apparatus 100 and does not process the folder name change.

[0168] In the case of specific example 3, when the control unit 311 of the management server 300 receives a signal from the image forming apparatus 300 that includes a request for folder information or file information, it sends to the image forming apparatus 100, without waiting for the restriction period to expire, file information indicating the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" and restriction information indicating the restriction content "View", file information indicating the file named "Do what is right as a Houman Being.pdf", restriction information indicating the restriction content "Deny", and restriction period information indicating the restriction period "00:1:00" (1 hour). When the control unit 121 of the image forming apparatus 100 receives this signal, it may start timing and display the folder / file display screen for the image forming apparatus on the display unit 110, showing the icon of the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" in the My Files display area. After one hour has elapsed, the display unit 110 may display the folder / file display screen for the image forming apparatus, showing the icon of the file named "Do what is right as a Houman Being.pdf" in addition to the icon of the file named "Change The World We Live In.pdf" in the My Files display area. In addition, for other restrictions with set expiration dates and sharing restrictions with set expiration dates, the image forming apparatus 100 may manage the elapsed expiration dates and sharing restrictions, and in the case of "Deny", it may switch from hiding the icon to displaying it, and in the case of "Modify", it may switch from a mode that accepts changes to folder names, etc. to a mode that does not accept changes.

[0169] Furthermore, the configurations and processes shown in the above embodiments using Figures 1 to 17, and the configurations and processes shown in the above modifications (such as the modifications described using Figures 18 and 19), are merely embodiments of one invention, and the present invention is not intended to be limited to these configurations and processes. [Explanation of symbols]

[0170] 100 Image forming apparatus 200 Personal Computers (PCs) 300 Management Servers 310 Control Unit 311 Control Unit 320 Storage section 320A Information Management Program 330 Communications Department

Claims

1. In an information management device that can be connected to an image forming apparatus and an information terminal, A storage unit that stores restriction information indicating the content of restrictions that restrict the processing of a folder or file by the owner user information corresponding to the owner user information, The system includes a control unit that updates the contents of the storage unit, The control unit, By using the owner user information as user information when the information terminal connects to the information management device, when the information management device and the information terminal are connected, When the information terminal receives setting restriction information indicating the restriction content to be set as a restriction content that restricts the processing of the folder or file in the owner user information, the storage unit updates the restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the owner user information based on the received setting restriction information. By using the owner user information as user information when the image forming apparatus connects to the information management device, when the information management device and the image forming apparatus are connected, When the image forming apparatus receives a request for folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file, the storage unit transmits the folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file to the image forming apparatus based on the restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the owner user information stored in the storage unit. Information management device.

2. The control unit transmits the folder information indicating the folder or the file information indicating the file to the image forming apparatus if the restriction content indicated by the restriction information of the folder or file stored in the storage unit is a predetermined restriction content that does not restrict transmission to the image forming apparatus. The information management device according to claim 1.

3. The control unit, The following are restrictions that limit the processing performed on the folder when the image forming apparatus is connected to the information management device by using the owner user information: The process involves the first restriction, which allows the display of the folder and the folders and files within it, The process in question includes a second restriction that allows changing the folder name that refers to the folder in question, The process involves three restrictions, including not allowing the display of the folder and access to it, One of the above is set as the restriction content indicated by the restriction information for the folder stored in the storage unit, The predetermined restrictions mentioned above are the first restriction and the second restriction. The information management device according to claim 2.

4. The pre-control unit restricts the processing performed on the file when the image forming apparatus is connected to the information management device by using the owner user information, as follows: The process involves the first restriction which allows the display of the file, The process includes a second restriction that allows changing the filename of the file in question and overwriting the file during scanning, The process involves three restrictions, including not allowing the display of the file and access to it, One of the above is set as the restriction content indicated by the restriction information for the file stored in the storage unit, The predetermined restrictions mentioned above are the first restriction and the second restriction. The information management device according to claim 2.

5. The storage unit stores, for the folder or file corresponding to the owner user information, shared user information indicating the user information that shares the folder or file, and shared restriction information indicating the content of the shared restrictions that restrict the processing of the folder or file by the shared user information. The control unit, By using the owner user information as user information when the information terminal connects to the information management device, when the information management device and the information terminal are connected, When the information terminal receives, with respect to the folder or file corresponding to the owner user information, setting shared user information indicating that the shared user information is set as the shared user information that shares the folder or file, and setting sharing restriction information indicating that the sharing restriction content is set as the sharing restriction content that restricts the processing of the folder or file by the shared user information, the shared user information and sharing restriction information corresponding to the folder or file stored in the storage unit are updated based on the received setting shared user information and setting sharing restriction information. By using the shared user information as user information when the image forming apparatus connects to the information management device, when the information management device and the image forming apparatus are connected, When the image forming apparatus receives a request for folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file, the storage unit transmits the folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file to the image forming apparatus based on the shared user information corresponding to the folder or file stored in the storage unit, and the sharing restriction content indicated by the sharing restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the shared user information. The information management device according to claim 1.

6. The storage unit stores, with respect to the folder or file corresponding to the owner user information, restriction information indicating the content of the restriction that restricts the processing of the folder or file by the owner user information, and restriction expiration information indicating the expiration date for the restriction that restricts the processing of the content of the restriction. The control unit, By using the owner user information as user information when the information terminal connects to the information management device, when the information management device and the information terminal are connected, When the information terminal receives the setting restriction information indicating the restriction content to be set as a restriction content to restrict the processing of the folder or file in the owner user information, and the setting restriction expiration information indicating the restriction expiration date for restricting the processing of the said restriction content, the storage unit updates the restriction information and the restriction expiration information corresponding to the folder or file in the owner user information, based on the received setting restriction information and the setting restriction expiration information. By using the owner user information as user information when the image forming apparatus connects to the information management device, when the information management device and the image forming apparatus are connected, When the image forming apparatus receives a request for folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file, the information indicating the folder or file is transmitted to the image forming apparatus based on the restriction content indicated by the restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the owner user information stored in the storage unit and the restriction expiration date indicated by the restriction expiration information. The information management device according to claim 1.

7. A computer, which can be connected to both the image forming apparatus and the information terminal, serves as an information management device. An information management program that functions as a control unit that updates the contents of a storage unit that stores restriction information indicating the content of restrictions that restrict the processing of a folder or file corresponding to the owner user information, The control unit, By using the owner user information as user information when the information terminal connects to the information management device, when the information management device and the information terminal are connected, When the information terminal receives setting restriction information indicating the restriction content to be set as a restriction content that restricts the processing of the folder or file in the owner user information, the storage unit updates the restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the owner user information based on the received setting restriction information. By using the owner user information as user information when the image forming apparatus connects to the information management device, when the information management device and the image forming apparatus are connected, When the image forming apparatus receives a request for folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file, the storage unit transmits the folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file to the image forming apparatus based on the restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the owner user information stored in the storage unit. Information management program.

8. An information management method performed by an information management device, The control step includes updating a storage unit that stores restriction information indicating the content of the restrictions that limit the processing of said folder or file by said user information for each folder and file corresponding to the owner user information, In the control step described above, By using the owner user information as user information when the information terminal connects to the information management device, when the information management device and the information terminal are connected, When the information terminal receives setting restriction information indicating the restriction content to be set as a restriction content that restricts the processing of the folder or file in the owner user information, the storage unit updates the restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the owner user information based on the received setting restriction information. By using the owner user information as user information when the image forming apparatus connects to the information management device, when the information management device and the image forming apparatus are connected, When the image forming apparatus receives a request for folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file, the storage unit transmits the folder information indicating the folder or file information indicating the file to the image forming apparatus based on the restriction information corresponding to the folder or file in the owner user information stored in the storage unit. Information management method.

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