Print control device and program

Abstract

To provide a printing control apparatus and program that can manage an output of document data according to the intention of a person who manages restriction information that restricts printing of the document data.SOLUTION: In a printing apparatus, a control unit is configured to receive a print job 8 including document data and information indicating whether or not it is necessary to inquire a server that holds restriction information indicating a condition for restricting printing of the document data, in a case where the print job 8 includes the information indicating that the inquiry is necessary, acquire the restriction information in a case where a print restriction information ticket associated with the document data exists by inquiring the server, and permit printing of the document data in a case where request information to be compared with the acquired restriction information satisfies the condition indicated by the restriction information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a print control device and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, a printing system has been proposed that allows printing only within the range of print restrictions set on a document file, without the decision of a person making a print request to print the document file (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] The printing system described in Patent Document 1 is equipped with a print permission determination means that receives document contents, a print restriction information table, and a print request information table and determines whether printing is possible, and the print permission determination means permits printing of the document contents if the print request information contained in the print request information table satisfies the print restriction information contained in the print restriction information table. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2004-227447 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a print control device and a program that can manage the output of document data in accordance with the intention of a person who manages restriction information that restricts the printing of document data. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] [1] receiving instruction information including document data and information indicating whether or not an inquiry is required to an external device that holds restriction information indicating a condition for restricting printing of the document data; When the instruction information includes information indicating a need for an inquiry, the external device is inquired of, and if the restriction information associated with the document data exists, the restriction information is acquired; a processor that permits printing of the document data when the information to be compared with the acquired restriction information satisfies a condition indicated by the restriction information; 、 the processor permits printing of the document data when the instruction information does not include the information indicating the need for an inquiry, and when the instruction information includes the information indicating the need for an inquiry but the restriction information cannot be acquired. Print control device. [ 2 ] When the information to be compared satisfies a condition indicated by the restriction information, the processor When the confidentiality of the document data is high ,before Allows printing of document data ,before When the confidentiality of document data is low ,before The printing of document data is permitted and the printing is recorded as history information. 1 ] A printing control device as described in the above. [ 3 The restriction information is configured so that the presence or absence of a restriction and the content of the restriction can be set for each item. Or [2] The print control device according to claim 1 . [ 4 ] If the information to be compared does not satisfy the condition, the processor outputs a reason why the condition is not satisfied. 3 ] A print control device according to any one of the above. [ 5 ] the processor transmits the reason why the condition is not satisfied to a terminal device of a person who has the authority to change the restriction information. 4 ] A printing control device as described in the above. [ 6 The conditions indicated by the restriction information include the location of a printing device that prints the document data and the time when the document data is printed, and are set forth in [1] to [ 5 ] A print control device according to any one of the above. [ 7 The conditions indicated by the restriction information further include information of a requester requesting printing. 6 ] A printing control device as described in the above. [ 8The processor, when a request for changing the restriction information is received from a person having the authority to change the restriction information, changes the restriction information. Reception The above [1] to [ 7 ] A print control device according to any one of the above. [ 9 ] causing a computer to receive document data and instruction information including information indicating whether or not an inquiry needs to be made to an external device that holds restriction information indicating a condition for restricting printing of the document data; When the instruction information includes information indicating a need for an inquiry, the external device is inquired of and, if there is restriction information associated with the document data, the external device is caused to acquire the restriction information; If the information to be compared with the acquired restriction information satisfies the condition indicated by the restriction information, printing of the document data is permitted. A program, When the instruction information does not include the information indicating the need for an inquiry, or when the instruction information includes the information indicating the need for an inquiry but the restriction information cannot be acquired, printing of the document data is permitted. program. Effect of the Invention

[0007] Claim 1, 9 According to the present invention, it is possible to manage the output of document data in accordance with the intention of a person who manages restriction information that restricts printing of document data. 。 request request 2 According to the present invention, for document data with low confidentiality, instead of imposing printing restrictions, the printing can be managed as history information. 。 request request 3 According to the present invention, it is possible to easily change or set the restriction information, compared to a case where this configuration is not provided. Claim 4 According to the present invention, it is possible to know which item of the conditions indicated by the restriction information needs to be changed in order to permit printing. Claim 5 According to the present invention, even if there is no request to change the restriction information from the person making the print request, a person who has the authority to change the restriction information can change the restriction information so that printing is permitted. Claim6 According to the present invention, printing can be restricted based on the place and time when printing is permitted. Claim 7 According to the present invention, printing can be restricted by the person who requests printing. Claim 8 According to the present invention, the restriction information can be changed in accordance with the intention of a person who has the authority to change the restriction information. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the ticket management information table. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3(a) is a diagram showing an example of a print restriction information ticket for a document with a “high” confidentiality level, and FIG. 3(b) is a diagram showing an example of a print restriction information ticket for a document with a “low” confidentiality level. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the history information table. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a printing device. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a print job. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the printing device. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the details of step S2 shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, components having substantially the same functions are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations will be omitted.

[0010] [Summary of the embodiment] The printing control device of this embodiment receives document data and instruction information including information indicating whether or not an inquiry is necessary to an external device that holds restriction information indicating conditions for restricting printing of the document data, and if the instruction information includes information indicating a need for an inquiry, it queries the external device to obtain restriction information linked to the document data if such information exists, and has a processor that allows printing of the document data if the information to which the obtained restriction information is compared satisfies the conditions indicated by the restriction information.

[0011] The document data may include figures, images, videos, sounds, etc. in addition to documents with written characters. Some document data have different degrees of confidentiality. That is, some document data requires confidentiality and some does not, and the document data requiring confidentiality includes high confidentiality and low confidentiality. The degree of confidentiality may be expressed, for example, by a confidentiality level, or may be expressed by a number of levels ranging from no confidentiality to high confidentiality, such as confidentiality levels 0, 1, confidentiality levels 0, 1, 2, confidentiality levels 0, 1, 2, 3, ..., etc.

[0012] The restriction information may be expressed as a condition that permits printing, or may be expressed as a condition that prohibits printing. The condition may be either an AND condition or an OR condition.

[0013] Examples of the restriction information and the information to be compared with it include the following: (a) Information about the location of the printing device used for printing The location information may be on a prefecture basis, a regional basis such as the Kanto region or the Tohoku region, or a ward or city, town, or village basis. (b) Printing time The time may be a time period consisting of start and end times, morning / afternoon, or day of the week. (c) Information about the person requesting printing For example, this includes information for identifying an individual, such as a user ID or a user name, and information for identifying an organization, such as a department or group to which an individual belongs. (d) Information regarding printing settings Print setting information refers to information related to print settings such as the tray to be used (which specifies the recording paper size, paper orientation, paper quality, etc.), enlarged / reduced size, black and white / color printing, single-sided or double-sided printing, N-up printing (printing N pages of images on one sheet of paper), number of copies to print, etc. Print setting information may also include specific pages that are permitted to be printed, or specific pages that are prohibited from being printed. An example of specific pages that are prohibited from being printed would be when confidentiality is not required for the entire document, but only certain pages are. (e) A combination of the above (a) to (d) For example, a combination of (c) and (d) would be a case where color printing is permitted for a specific department, color printing is prohibited for departments other than the specific department, and only black and white printing is permitted.

[0014] [Embodiment Mode] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This printing system 1 includes a plurality of printing devices 2, a server 3, a plurality of user terminals 4 used by users of the printing devices 2 (also called users or print requesters), an administrator terminal 5 used by an administrator, and a network 6 connecting the printing devices 2, the server 3, the user terminals 4, and the administrator terminal 5. The printing devices 2 are an example of an image forming device to which a print control device is applied. The server 3 is an example of an external device. A user is an example of a person who requests printing. The administrator is an example of a person who has the authority to change restriction information.

[0015] Although the figure illustrates a plurality of printing devices 2, a single printing device 2 may be connected to the network 6. The printing devices 2 may be installed in the same building of the same company, or in different buildings such as a head office and a branch office. The printing devices 2 may not be installed in the same company, but may be installed in facilities such as schools, hospitals, shared offices, and convenience stores.

[0016] The server 3 holds a ticket management information table 30 (see FIG. 2), print restriction information tickets 31a, 31b (hereinafter collectively referred to as "print restriction information ticket 31") for documents with different confidentiality levels (see FIG. 3), and a history information table 32 (see FIG. 4). The confidentiality level indicates the degree of confidentiality, and the higher the confidentiality level, the higher the confidentiality.

[0017] The ticket management information table 30 is a table that links documents with print restriction information tickets 31. The print restriction information tickets 31 record conditions for restricting printing for each document. The history information table 32 records the usage record of the printing device 2 for each user.

[0018] The user terminal 4 and the administrator terminal 5 are information processing terminals such as personal computers (PCs). The user terminal 4 and the administrator terminal 5 may be portable information processing terminals such as notebook personal computers and tablet terminals, or mobile communication terminals such as multi-function mobile phones (smartphones).

[0019] The user terminal 4 uses a printer driver to convert the document data into print data that can be interpreted by the printing device 2, for example print data written in a page description language (PDL), and adds to this print data print setting information that records various settings required for printing (for example, various printing conditions such as double-sided / single-sided and number of copies), a user ID that identifies the user, and a document ID that identifies the document, and sends the print data to the printing device 2 specified by the user as a print job. If post-processing is desired, the printer driver adds post-processing information indicating the contents of the post-processing to the print job. The configuration of a print job will be described later.

[0020] The network 6 is, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), an intranet, the Internet, etc., and may be either wired or wireless.

[0021] 2 is a diagram showing an example of the ticket management information table 30. The ticket management information table 30 has fields for "document ID" and "ticket ID." Ticket management information consisting of these fields is recorded by the server 3 based on an operation by an administrator.

[0022] In the "document ID" field, a document ID that identifies the document to be processed is recorded. In the "ticket ID" field, a ticket ID that identifies the print restriction information ticket 31 is recorded. The document to be processed and the print restriction information ticket 31 are linked by the ticket management information table 30 using the document ID and the ticket ID.

[0023] (Print Restriction Information Ticket Configuration) FIG. 3(a) is a diagram showing an example of a print restriction information ticket 31a for a document with a "high" confidentiality level, and FIG. 3(b) is a diagram showing an example of a print restriction information ticket 31b for a document with a "low" confidentiality level.

[0024] The print restriction information ticket 31 is configured so that the presence or absence of restriction and the contents of the restriction can be set for each item of the print restriction information. That is, the print restriction information ticket 31 is configured so that the print restriction information consisting of a plurality of items, such as "print requester", "paper type", "number of times printable", "control information" (including print setting information and post-processing information), "printable location", and "printable time", for information on the print target specified by "ticket ID", "document ID", and "confidentiality level" is recorded by the server 3 by the administrator's operation. Note that the items of the print restriction information are not limited to those described above. Also, if no restriction is required, the items of the print restriction information are removed or the contents are not recorded, and other necessary items are added. The items of the print restriction information shown in FIG. 3 are set with an AND condition in which printing is permitted when all items are satisfied. Note that the items of the print restriction information may be set with an OR condition as a condition for permitting printing, or may be set with an AND or OR condition as a condition for prohibiting printing.

[0025] The print restriction information ticket 31a shown in Fig. 3(a) is for print target information with ticket ID "Ticket001", document ID "D001", and document confidentiality level "high". In the example shown in the figure, the "print requester" who can print is restricted to User A. In addition, the "paper type" is restricted to plain paper, the "printable number of sheets" is restricted to 5 times, the "control information" is restricted to single-sided / 2Up / no post-processing, the "printable location" is restricted to within Hodogaya Ward, Yokohama City, and the "printable time" is restricted to 10:00 to 11:00.

[0026] The print restriction information ticket 31b shown in FIG. 3(b) is related to print target information with ticket ID "Tiket002", document ID "D002", and document confidentiality level "low". In the case shown in the figure, the "print requester" who can print is blank, so there is no restriction. Also, the "paper type", "control information", "printable location", and "printable time" are also blank, so there is no restriction. In the print restriction information tickets 31a and 31b shown in FIG. 3(a) and (b), the "print requester" is an example of the requester information. Note that in the print restriction information ticket 31b shown in FIG. 3(b), printing may be restricted by any of the items "print requester", "paper type", "printable number of times", "control information", "printable location", and "printable time". Also, the number of items of print restriction information may be reduced compared to the print restriction information ticket 31a shown in FIG. 3(a), and printing may be restricted by each item.

[0027] (History information table configuration) 4 is a diagram showing an example of the history information table 32. A history information table 32 is provided for each user ID. The figure shows the user ID "UserA". The history information table 32 has multiple items such as "Document ID" and "Print". History information consisting of these items is recorded by the server 3 based on information indicating usage records periodically transmitted from the printing device 2 and at necessary timing, which will be described later.

[0028] In "Document ID", a document ID that identifies the document to be processed is recorded, as in Fig. 2. In "Print", the total number of copies and prints is recorded. In addition to "Print", items such as "Scan" may be added.

[0029] (Printer Configuration) 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the printing device 2. The printing device 2 includes a printer 20 and a post-processing device 29. The printer 20 is a multifunction device having multiple functions such as scanning, printing, copying, etc. The post-processing device 29 performs post-processing on printed paper.

[0030] Post-processing includes, for example, staple binding (also called stapling), stapleless binding (also called stapleless stapling), hole punching (also called punching), folding, bookbinding, cutting, etc. "Stapling" refers to the process of staple multiple sheets of paper. "Punching" refers to the process of making two holes in paper. "Folding" refers to the process of folding paper into a Z shape.

[0031] The printer 20 has a control unit 21 that controls each unit of the printing device 2, and the control unit 21 is connected to a memory unit 22, an operation display unit 23, an image reading unit 24, an image forming unit 25, a card reading unit 26, a paper transport unit 27, a communication unit 28, and further to a post-processing device 29. The printer 20 and the post-processing device 29 are connected by a paper transport path (not shown). Note that the printing device 2 does not necessarily have to be equipped with the post-processing device 29.

[0032] The control unit 21 is composed of a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an interface, etc. The processor of the control unit 21 executes a program 220 stored in the storage unit 22 to execute jobs such as a print job, a scan job, a copy job, etc. A print job is an example of instruction information.

[0033] A print job is a job in which print data included in a job sent from the user terminal 4 is printed and output on paper by the image forming unit 25. A print job includes the user ID requesting the job, the print data, print setting information, and, if requested, post-processing information. The post-processing information indicates the content of post-processing to be performed on the paper on which the print data has been printed according to the print setting information.

[0034] A scan job is a job in which image data is read from an original by the image reading unit 24. A copy job is a job in which image data obtained by the scan job is printed and output on paper by the image forming unit 25. A print job and a copy job are each also called a print job.

[0035] The memory unit 22 is composed of a ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk, etc., and stores various information such as a program 220, a user information table 221, a print job storage unit 222, and location information such as the address where the device 2 is installed (hereinafter also referred to as "installation location information").

[0036] The operation display unit 23 is used for inputting and displaying information. The operation display unit 23 is, for example, a touch panel display, and has a configuration in which a touch panel is arranged over a display such as a liquid crystal display.

[0037] The image reading unit 24 includes an automatic document feeder provided on the document table, and a scanner that optically reads an original image from an original placed on the document table or an original sent by the automatic document feeder.

[0038] The image forming unit 25 creates a print by forming an image on paper fed from a paper feed cassette, for example, by electrophotography, inkjet, etc. The image forming unit 25 converts print data described in PDL into image data consisting of raster data, and prints the image data on paper according to print setting information included in the print job.

[0039] When an IC card held by a user is held over the card reading unit 26, the card reading unit 26 reads a user ID and a password from the IC card as user information.

[0040] Under the control of the control unit 21, the paper transport unit 27 transports paper fed from the paper feed tray to the image forming unit 25, and transports the printed paper to the discharge tray if post-processing is not performed, and transports the paper to the post-processing device 29 via the paper transport path and transports the paper that has been post-processed to the discharge tray if post-processing is performed.

[0041] The communication unit 28 is connected to the printing device 2, the server 3, the user terminal 4, and the administrator terminal 5 via the network 6.

[0042] A user ID and a password are recorded for each user in the user information table 221. User information consisting of a user ID and a password is recorded by the control unit 21 based on an operation by an administrator.

[0043] The print job storage unit 222 is an area that stores print jobs received by the printing device 2 from a recording medium 7 such as a USB, or print jobs received by the printing device 2 from a user terminal 4 or another printing device 2, for each user ID.

[0044] 6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a print job 8 stored in print job storage unit 222. Print job 8 includes attribute information 80, inquiry necessity information 81, print setting information 82, post-processing information 83, and print data 84. If post-processing is not performed, print job 8 does not include post-processing information 83. Attribute information 80 includes a document ID that identifies the document. Note that document identification information such as a document name may be used instead of the document ID. Inquiry necessity information 81 records "yes" if an inquiry is required, and records "no" if an inquiry is not required.

[0045] Next, the control unit 21 will be described.

[0046] When the control unit 21 receives a print job 8 from the recording medium 7, the user terminal 4, or another printing device 2, the control unit 21 stores the received print job 8 in the print job storage unit 222 corresponding to the user ID included in the print job 8. The control unit 21 also transmits the details of the executed job to the server 3 periodically (for example, at 18:00 every day) as history information.

[0047] If the information to be compared with the print restriction information (hereinafter also referred to as "request information") satisfies the conditions indicated by the print restriction information recorded in the print restriction information ticket 31, the control unit 21 permits printing.

[0048] The control unit 21 obtains the request information by the following methods. The print requester may be obtained, for example, when the user logs in or during authentication processing of the print job accumulation unit 222. The paper type and control information may be obtained, for example, from the print setting information 82 and post-processing information 83 included in the print job 8. The printing location may be obtained from installation location information of the device 2 stored in the storage unit 22. The printing time may be when the print job 8 that the user wants to execute is selected from the list of print jobs 8 displayed on the operation display unit 23.

[0049] (Printing system operation) Next, an example of the operation of the printing system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the printing device 2. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the details of step S2 shown in Fig. 7. It should be noted that unless otherwise specified, it is assumed that the control unit 21 of the printing device 2 executes the process.

[0050] (1) Behavior when print restriction information is not changed The control unit 21 of the printing device 2 receives the print job 8 from the recording medium 7 (S1). The control unit 21 stores the received print job 8 in the print job storage unit 222 corresponding to the user ID included in the print job 8. Note that the print job 8 may be sent from the user terminal 4 or another printing device 2.

[0051] When the user holds his / her IC card over card reading unit 26, control unit 21 starts the authentication process of print job storage unit 222 shown in FIG. 8 (S2).

[0052] The card reading unit 26 reads user information consisting of a user ID and a password from the IC card, and outputs it to the control unit 21. The control unit 21 determines whether or not the authentication is successful depending on whether or not the user information output from the card reading unit 26 is recorded in the user information table 221 (S21).

[0053] If authentication is successful (S21: Yes), a print job selection screen is displayed on the operation display unit 23, and selection of a print job 8 is accepted (S22). A list of print jobs 8 stored in the print job storage unit 222 of the authenticated user is displayed on the print job selection screen, and the user can select a print job 8 that he or she wishes to execute from the list of print jobs 8. When the user selects a print job 8 and operates the "Confirm" button, the control unit 21 reads out the print job 8 from the print job storage unit 222.

[0054] In the above step S21, if the authentication is not established (S21: No), a message to that effect is displayed on the operation display unit 23 (S23).

[0055] When the authentication process of the print job accumulation unit 222 is completed, in step S3 shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 21 determines whether the inquiry necessity information 81 of the print job 8 indicates the necessity of an inquiry (S3).

[0056] If no inquiry is required (S3: No), the image forming unit 25 is controlled to print the print data 84 included in the print job 8 according to the print setting information 82 (S4). If the print job 8 includes post-processing information 83, the post-processing device 29 is caused to execute post-processing after printing.

[0057] If the above step S3 indicates that an inquiry is required (S3: Yes), the control unit 21 inquires of the server 3 whether or not a print restriction information ticket 31 is set for the document ID included in the attribute information 80 of the print job 8 (S5). If a ticket ID corresponding to the document ID included in the inquiry exists in the ticket management information table 30, the server 3 transmits the print restriction information ticket 31 corresponding to the ticket ID to the printing device 2. For example, if the document ID included in the attribute information 80 of the print job 8 is "D001", the ticket ID "Ticket001" is recorded in the ticket management information table 30 corresponding to the document ID "D001" as shown in FIG. 2, and therefore it is determined that the ticket ID exists.

[0058] The control unit 21 judges whether the print restriction information ticket 31 has been acquired as a result of the inquiry to the server 3 (S6). If the print restriction information ticket 31 cannot be acquired because the ticket ID does not exist in the ticket management information table 30 (S6: No), printing is executed (S4) in the same manner as when no inquiry is required in the above step S3 (S3: No).

[0059] The control unit 21 acquires the request information to be compared with the print restriction information, and determines whether the request information satisfies the conditions indicated by the print restriction information recorded in the print restriction information ticket 31 (S7).

[0060] Here, the case where the print restriction information ticket 31a is as shown in Fig. 3(a) will be described. In this case, since the person requesting printing of the print restriction information is UserA, if the user ID of the user requesting printing is other than UserA, printing of the document with document ID D001 is prohibited. Also, since the paper type of the print restriction information is plain paper, printing on paper other than plain paper, such as thin paper or thick paper, is prohibited.

[0061] Since the permitted number of prints in the print restriction information is "5 times," the control unit 21 accesses the server 3 and obtains the number of prints "4 times" for document ID D001 from the history information table 32 related to the user ID "UserA." Since the obtained number of prints "4 times" is less than the permitted number of prints in the print restriction information "5 times," it is determined that this condition is met. If the print restriction information ticket 31a does not have an item for the permitted number of prints, the number of prints is not obtained from the history information table 32.

[0062] Since the print restriction information is single-sided / 2up / no post-processing, double-sided printing other than N-up printing and double-sided printing are prohibited. Printing that requires post-processing is also prohibited.

[0063] Since the printable location of the printing restriction information is within Hodogaya Ward, Yokohama City, the control unit 21 acquires the installation location information from the memory unit 22 and determines whether the request information satisfies the conditions based on whether the installation location information is within Hodogaya Ward, Yokohama City.

[0064] Since the printable time in the print restriction information is 10:00 to 11:00, the control unit 21 determines that the request information satisfies the condition if, for example, the time when the user selects the print job 8 that he or she wishes to execute from the list of print jobs 8 displayed on the operation display unit 23 is within the range of 10:00 to 11:00, and determines that the request information does not satisfy the condition if the time is not within the range of 10:00 to 11:00.

[0065] If the request information satisfies the conditions indicated by the print restriction information (S7: Yes), it is determined whether the confidentiality level of the print restriction information is "high" (S8). If the confidentiality level is "high" (S8: Yes), printing is performed in the same manner as described above (S4).

[0066] If the confidentiality level is "low" (S8: No), the server 3 records the execution details of the print job 8 (for example, the user ID, the total number of prints made up to now, etc.) in the history information table 32 as history.

[0067] In step S7, if the request information does not satisfy the conditions indicated by the print restriction information (S7: No), the control unit 21 displays a message that printing is not possible on the operation display unit 23 (S10). The fact that printing has been cancelled is recorded as history information in the server 3 (S11). When displaying a message that printing is not possible on the operation display unit 23, the control unit 21 may display the conditions that are not satisfied by the request information, or may transmit the conditions that are not satisfied by the request information to the administrator terminal 5.

[0068] (2) Behavior when changing print restriction information An example of the operation of the printer 2 will be described below in which the print requester, User A, changes the date and time of printing or the place of printing due to a change in the meeting time with a client.

[0069] If the request information does not satisfy the conditions indicated by the print restriction information in step S7 due to a change in the print date and time or the print location (S7: No), a print cancel message is displayed on the operation display unit 23 (S10).

[0070] For example, the print requester requests the administrator to change the print restriction information by email or phone. For example, assume that UserA changes the printing location to Nishi-ku, Yokohama, and the printing time is now 12 o'clock. In this case, the print restriction information ticket 31a shown in FIG. 3 indicates that the printable location is within Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, and the printable time is 10:00-11:00, which does not satisfy the printable location and printable time items. The print requester requests the administrator to change the current location and time to satisfy the conditions indicated by the print restriction information.

[0071] The administrator accesses the server 3 from the administrator terminal 5, changes the printable location of the print restriction information ticket 31a shown in FIG. 3 to Nishi-ku, Yokohama, and changes the printable time to, for example, 12:00 to 14:00. The administrator notifies the print requester of the changes by email or phone. If the administrator permits printing, he or she modifies the print restriction information.

[0072] When an instruction is given to execute print job 8 for document ID D001, a determination is made as to whether an inquiry is necessary (S3: Yes), an inquiry is made to server 3 (S5), a print restriction information ticket 31a is obtained (S6: Yes), the requested information satisfies the conditions indicated by the print restriction information (S7: Yes), the confidentiality level is determined to be "high" (S8: Yes), and printing is performed (S4).

[0073] (Variation 1) In the above embodiment, the print job 8 is imported from the recording medium 7 into the printing device 2 and stored in the printing device 2, but it is also possible to send the print job 8 from the user terminal 4 to the server 3 and store it in the server 3, log in to the printing device 2 to perform authentication processing, and download the print job 8 from the server 3 to the printing device 2.

[0074] (Variation 2) One of the multiple printing devices 2 may have all or part of the functions of the server 3. For example, one printing device 2 may store the ticket management information table 30, the print restriction information ticket 31, and the history information table 32, and compare the request information with the print restriction information to determine whether or not to permit printing.

[0075] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and implementations are possible.

[0076] Each means of the processor may be configured in part or in whole by a hardware circuit such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0077] In the above embodiments, the processor refers to a processor in a broad sense, and includes general-purpose processors (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit, etc.) and dedicated processors (e.g., GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC, FPGA, programmable logic device, etc.).

[0078] In addition, the operations of the processor in the above embodiment may be performed not only by one processor but also by multiple processors located at physically separate locations working together. The order of the operations of the processor is not limited to the order described in the above embodiment, and may be changed as appropriate.

[0079] In addition, some of the components of the above-described embodiments may be omitted or modified. In addition, in the flow of the above-described embodiments, steps may be added, deleted, modified, or replaced. In addition, the programs used in the above-described embodiments may be provided by recording them on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, or may be stored in an external server such as a cloud server and used via a network. [Explanation of symbols]

[0080] 1...printing system, 2...printing device, 3...server, 4...user terminal, 5...administrator terminal, 6...network, 7...recording medium, 8...print job, 20...printer, 21: control unit, 22: storage unit, 23: operation display unit, 24: image reading unit, 25: image forming unit, 26: card reading unit, 27: paper transport unit, 28: communication unit, 29... post-processing device, 30... ticket management information table, 31, 31a, 31b...print restriction information ticket, 32...history information table, 80: attribute information, 81: inquiry information, 82: print setting information, 83: post-processing information, 84: print data, 220: program, 221: user information table, 222...print job storage unit

Claims

1. receiving instruction information including document data and information indicating whether an inquiry is required to an external device that holds restriction information indicating a condition for restricting printing of the document data; When the instruction information includes information indicating a need for an inquiry, the external device is inquired of, and if the restriction information associated with the document data exists, the restriction information is acquired; a processor that permits printing of the document data when information to be compared with the acquired restriction information satisfies a condition indicated by the restriction information; the processor permits printing of the document data when the instruction information does not include the information indicating the need for an inquiry, and when the instruction information includes the information indicating the need for an inquiry but the restriction information cannot be acquired. Print control device.

2. When the information to be compared satisfies the condition indicated by the restriction information and the confidentiality of the document data is high, the processor permits printing of the document data, and when the confidentiality of the document data is low, permits printing of the document data and records the printing as history information. The print control device according to claim 1 .

3. The restriction information is configured so that the presence or absence of a restriction and the content of the restriction can be set for each item. The print control device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. If the information to be compared does not satisfy the condition, the processor outputs a reason why the condition is not satisfied. The print control device according to claim 1 .

5. The processor transmits a reason why the condition is not satisfied to a terminal device of a person who has an authority to change the restriction information. The print control device according to claim 4.

6. the conditions indicated by the restriction information include a location where a printing device that prints the document data is installed and a time when the document data is printed; The print control device according to claim 1 .

7. The conditions indicated by the restriction information further include information of a requester requesting printing. The print control device according to claim 6.

8. the processor accepts the change of the restriction information when a request for changing the restriction information is received from a person having the authority to change the restriction information; The print control device according to claim 1 .

9. On the computer, receiving instruction information including document data and information indicating whether or not an inquiry is required to an external device that holds restriction information indicating a condition for restricting printing of the document data; When the instruction information includes information indicating a need for an inquiry, the external device is inquired of and, if there is restriction information associated with the document data, the external device is caused to acquire the restriction information; a program for permitting printing of the document data when information to be compared with the acquired restriction information satisfies a condition indicated by the restriction information, a program for permitting printing of the document data when the instruction information does not include information indicating a need for an inquiry, and when the instruction information includes information indicating a need for an inquiry but the restriction information cannot be acquired;

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