Image forming apparatus and program

Abstract

To provide an image forming device and a program that have different settings for each group regarding processing related to image-attached history information.SOLUTION: In the image forming device, a processor acquires group information regarding a group to which a user who has instructed execution of processing belongs, defines processing settings related to image-attached history information that records image information indicating the content of target image data that is the target of processing execution in association with processing history information, acquires setting information associated with the group specified by the acquired group information from an external device, and executes processing related to the image-attached history information according to the settings specified in the acquired setting information after executing the processing instructed by the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes creating a log image from an image handled in a job and transferring the log image and a job log to an external device during job execution.

[0003] Patent Document 2 describes storing usage history information in a storage area corresponding to a group to which a user belongs when generating the history of the user's use of the device as usage history information.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In an image forming apparatus, a technique has been proposed to create image-attached history information in which image information indicating the content of target image data for processing is recorded together with the processing history information as the history of processes such as fax and copy. Here, for example, processing related to the image-attached history information such as whether to create the image-attached history information may be preset for each group as an operation policy for the image-attached history information of the group to which the user belongs. When a single image forming apparatus is used by users of a plurality of groups, if a uniform operation policy for the image-attached history information is uniformly applied to all users, it will not be possible to correspond to the operation policy for the image-attached history information of each group.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and program that allows for different settings for processing image-attached history information for each group. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a processor, which acquires group information relating to a group to which a user who has instructed the execution of a process belongs, and sets up configuration information that defines the settings for processing related to image history information, which records image information indicating the content of target image data that is the target of the execution of the process in association with processing history information, and acquires configuration information associated with a group identified by the acquired group information from an external device, and after the execution of the process instructed by the user, executes processing related to image history information according to the settings defined in the acquired configuration information.

[0008] In the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment, the setting contents include whether or not it is necessary to create image history information of the executed process, and if the acquired setting contents specify that it is necessary to create image history information, the processor creates image history information after executing the process instructed by the user, by associating image information indicating the contents of the target image data on which the process was executed with the history information of the process.

[0009] In the third aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus, in the image forming apparatus of the second aspect, includes in the setting information whether or not there is destination information regarding the destination for transferring the image history information, and if the acquired setting information contains destination information, the processor transfers the created image history information to the destination indicated by the destination information.

[0010] In the fourth aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus, in the image forming apparatus of the third aspect, if the transfer of image-attached history information fails, the processor notifies the administrator of the group to which the user who instructed the execution of the failed transfer process belongs.

[0011] In the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus of the third or fourth aspect, if the transfer of image-attached history information fails, the processor prohibits the use of its own apparatus by users belonging to the group to which the user who instructed the execution of the failed transfer belongs.

[0012] In the sixth aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus, in the image forming apparatus of the fifth aspect, if the transfer of image-attached history information fails, the processor notifies users belonging to the group to which the user who instructed the execution of the failed transfer belongs that the use of the apparatus is prohibited.

[0013] The seventh aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus according to any one of the second to sixth aspects, wherein the setting includes whether or not to conceal the history information with images, and the processor performs a process to conceal the created history information with images if the acquired setting information specifies that it is necessary to conceal the history information with images.

[0014] The eighth aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus in the seventh aspect, in which the process of concealing image-attached history information is a process of encrypting the image-attached history information using a public key in a public-key cryptography scheme.

[0015] A program according to the ninth aspect of the present invention causes a computer to perform the following steps: acquire group information relating to a group to which a user who has instructed the execution of a process belongs; acquire setting information from an external device that defines the setting content for an image history information, which records image information indicating the content of the target image data that is the subject of the execution of the process in association with processing history information, and the setting information is associated with a group identified by the acquired group information; and after the execution of the process instructed by the user, execute the processing relating to the image history information according to the setting content defined in the acquired setting information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the image forming apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, regarding the processing of image-attached history information, different setting contents can be set for each group.

[0017] According to the image forming apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, image-attached history information can be generated according to the setting contents of the processing regarding the image-attached history information defined for each group.

[0018] According to the image forming apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, the image-attached history information can be transferred to the outside according to the setting contents of the processing regarding the image-attached history information defined for each group.

[0019] According to the image forming apparatus of the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to notify the administrator of the group that there is a problem in the transfer of the image-attached history information.

[0020] According to the image forming apparatus of the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the image forming apparatus from being used in a situation where the image-attached history information is not recorded.

[0021] According to the image forming apparatus of the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to notify the target user that the own apparatus cannot be used.

[0022] According to the image forming apparatus of the seventh aspect of the present invention, according to the setting contents of the processing regarding the image-attached history information defined for each group, a process of anonymizing the image-attached history information can be performed.

[0023] According to the image forming apparatus of the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is also possible to prevent leakage of the image-attached history information to the machine administrator of the image forming apparatus.

[0024] According to the program of the ninth aspect of the present invention, regarding the processing of image-attached history information, different setting contents can be set for each group.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0025] [Figure 1]This figure shows the system configuration of an image forming system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an image forming apparatus in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of a user management table managed by the authentication server. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of a configuration information management table managed by a security server. [Figure 6] This is a flowchart to explain the operation of an image forming apparatus when a user uses it. [Figure 7] This is a flowchart to explain the actions taken after transferring the image log. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0026] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a diagram showing the system configuration of an image forming system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] The image forming apparatus 10 included in the image forming system 1 is capable of creating an image log in which image information indicating the content of the image data to be processed is recorded together with processing history information as a history of processing such as faxing and copying. The image log corresponds to the image-attached history information in the technology of the present invention. This image forming apparatus 10 is installed in a location accessible to users belonging to various groups, such as a shared space of multiple companies or departments, a convenience store, or a co-working space. Operational policies regarding image logs, such as whether or not to create an image log, will differ for each group, such as a company or department.

[0028] The image forming system 1 of this embodiment allows for different approaches to image log creation for each group, in accordance with the operational policy regarding image logs of the group to which the user belongs, for an image forming apparatus 10 used by users belonging to various groups.

[0029] As shown in Figure 1, the image forming system 1 includes, as an example, multiple image forming devices 10, an authentication server 20, a security server 30, and image log servers 40A and 40C. These are interconnected via a network 50.

[0030] The image forming apparatus 10 is a so-called multifunction device that has multiple functions such as printing, scanning, copying, and facsimile.

[0031] The authentication server 20 manages information about the groups to which each user belongs for use of the image forming apparatus 10.

[0032] The security server 30 manages configuration information for each group, which defines the settings for processing image logs.

[0033] The image log server is a server that stores image logs created by the image forming apparatus 10, and one is provided for each group. Image log server 40A is a server that stores image logs created when used by users belonging to company A. Image log server 40C is a server that stores image logs created when used by users belonging to company C.

[0034] Next, Figure 2 shows the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 in this embodiment.

[0035] As shown in Figure 2, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, memory 12, storage device 13 such as a hard disk drive, a communication interface (IF) 14, a user interface (UI) device 15 including a touch panel or liquid crystal display and keyboard, a scanner 16, and a print engine 17. These components are connected to each other via a control bus 18.

[0036] The communication interface 14 transmits and receives data to and from external devices via the network 50. The user interface device 15 receives instruction input from the user. The scanner 16 reads the original document loaded into the image forming apparatus 10 as image data. The print engine 17 prints the image onto a recording medium such as printing paper through processes such as charging, exposure, development, transfer, and fixing.

[0037] The CPU 11 is a processor that controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 by executing predetermined processes based on a control program stored in the memory 12 or storage device 13. In this embodiment, the CPU 11 is described as reading and executing a control program stored in the memory 12 or storage device 13, but it is not limited to this. This control program may be provided in the form of a computer-readable recording medium. For example, this program may be provided in the form of a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM (Read Only Memory) or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM recorded on an optical disc, or in the form of a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or memory card recorded on a semiconductor memory. Alternatively, this control program may be obtained from an external device via a communication line connected to the communication interface 14.

[0038] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 realized by the execution of the control program described above.

[0039] As shown in Figure 3, the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment includes an authentication unit 61, an operation input unit 62, a display unit 63, a data transmission / reception unit 64, a control unit 65, an image reading unit 66, and an image output unit 67.

[0040] The authentication unit 61 performs authentication processing for users who intend to use the image forming apparatus 10. The operation input unit 62 inputs information on various operations performed by the user. The display unit 63 is controlled by the control unit 65 and displays various information to the user. The data transmission / reception unit 64 transmits and receives data with external devices such as the authentication server 20, security server 30, and image log servers 40A, 40C.

[0041] The control unit 65 controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 10, and based on user input, it controls the image reading unit 66 to read the original image, the output of print data from the image output unit 67, and so on.

[0042] The image reading unit 66 reads the original image from the loaded original based on the control unit 65. The image output unit 67 outputs the image onto a recording medium such as printing paper based on the control unit 65.

[0043] As described above, the image forming system 1 of this embodiment allows for different approaches to image log creation for each group of users belonging to various groups, in accordance with the operational policy regarding image logs of the group to which the user belongs.

[0044] To achieve this processing, the control unit 65 obtains group information relating to the group to which the user who instructed the execution of the processing belongs, and obtains from the security server 30 configuration information that defines the settings for the image log processing, which records the image information indicating the content of the target image data that is the target of the processing in association with the processing history information, and the configuration information is associated with the group identified by the acquired group information, and after the execution of the processing instructed by the user, it executes the image log processing according to the settings defined in the acquired configuration information.

[0045] Here, the settings include whether or not an image log of the executed process needs to be created. If the acquired settings indicate that an image log needs to be created, the control unit 65 may, after the execution of the process instructed by the user, create an image log that records image information indicating the content of the target image data on which the process was executed, in association with the history information of the process.

[0046] Furthermore, the settings may include whether or not there is destination information regarding the destination of the image log, and the control unit 65 may, if the acquired settings include destination information, forward the created image log to the destination indicated by that destination information.

[0047] In this case, if the transfer of the image log fails, the control unit 65 may also notify the administrator of the group to which the user who instructed the execution of the process that caused the transfer to fail belongs.

[0048] Furthermore, if the transfer of the image log fails, the control unit 65 may prohibit users belonging to the same group as the user who instructed the execution of the failed transfer process from using its own device.

[0049] Furthermore, if the transfer of the image log fails, the control unit 65 may also notify users belonging to the group to which the user who instructed the execution of the failed transfer belongs that they are prohibited from using the device.

[0050] Furthermore, the settings may include whether or not the image log needs to be made confidential. If the acquired settings indicate that the image log needs to be made confidential, the control unit 65 may perform a process to make the created image log confidential. Here, the process of making the image log confidential may be a process of encrypting the image log using a public key in a public-key cryptography scheme.

[0051] The processing in this embodiment will be described in detail below. First, the authentication server 20 and the security server 30 will be described.

[0052] Figure 4 shows an example of a user management table managed by the authentication server 20. As shown in Figure 4, the user management table records the relationship between a user and the group information of the group to which that user belongs. The group information includes a "group identifier" and a "group name". In the user management table, the "group identifier" is information about the management number used to identify the group. The "group name" is information about the name of the group.

[0053] When the authentication server 20 receives a request from the image forming apparatus 10 for information on the group to which a user belongs, it refers to the user management table and notifies the image forming apparatus 10 of the information on the group to which the requested user belongs.

[0054] Next, Figure 5 shows an example of a configuration information management table managed by the security server 30. As shown in Figure 5, the configuration information management table manages information such as "group identifier," "group name," "image log availability," "target service for image log," "image log resolution," "image format," "target page," "destination IP address," "public key," and "administrator email address" for each group.

[0055] In the configuration information management table, "Group Identifier" is information about the management number used to identify the group. "Group Name" is information about the name of the group. "Image Log Availability" is information about whether or not an image log is created when a service is executed. A service refers to a process that can be executed in the image forming apparatus 10 and can be made available to the user. "Image Log Target Service" is information about which services will create an image log when executed. "Image Log Resolution" is information about the resolution of the image log. "Image Format" is information about the image format of the image log. "Target Page" is information about which pages of the target document will have an image log created. "Transfer Destination IP Address" is information about the IP address to which the created image log will be transferred. "Public Key" is information about the public key used when encrypting the created image log using public key cryptography. If information about the public key is registered, it is equivalent to specifying that the confidentiality of the image log is required, and if information about the public key is not registered, it is equivalent to specifying that the confidentiality of the image log is not required. The "administrator email address" is information about the administrator's email address to be notified if the image log transfer fails.

[0056] When the security server 30 receives a request from the image forming apparatus 10 for information on the settings of a group to which a user belongs, it refers to the settings information management table and notifies the image forming apparatus 10 of the settings of the group to which the requested user belongs.

[0057] When a user uses the image forming apparatus 10, the control unit 65 performs user authentication processing using the authentication unit 61 to identify the user. Next, the control unit 65 queries the authentication server 20 for the group to which the user belongs and obtains group information related to the group to which the user belongs. Next, the control unit 65 queries the security server 30 for the setting information of the group to which the user belongs and obtains the setting information of the group to which the user belongs. Next, after executing the processing instructed by the user, the control unit 65 executes processing related to the image log according to the setting content specified in the obtained setting information.

[0058] This allows for different settings for image log processing for each group, providing greater flexibility in managing image logs for each group compared to applying the same settings to all groups.

[0059] For example, when user 3 uses the image forming apparatus 10, the control unit 65 queries the authentication server 20 for information on the group to which user 3 belongs, and obtains information indicating that user 3 belongs to company A. Next, the control unit 65 queries the security server 30 for information on the settings of company A to which user 3 belongs, and obtains the settings information of company A.

[0060] Next, after executing the process instructed by user 3, the control unit 65 executes image log processing according to the settings specified in the acquired configuration information. Specifically, since all services are set as image log target services in company A's configuration information, an image log is created regardless of the type of service, such as copy, fax, and email forwarding. At this time, the image log is created with a resolution of 200 dpi, an image format of PDF, and all pages of the document prepared by user 3 as the target pages for the image log. The created image log is encrypted with the public key AAAA and transferred to the IP address of company A's image log server 40A, which is XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX.

[0061] By adopting this configuration, even if the administrator of the image forming apparatus 10, who is not affiliated with company A, retrieves company A's image log, they will be unable to access the contents of the image log because they do not possess company A's private key.

[0062] Furthermore, if the transfer of the image log fails, the control unit 65 will notify the administrator of company A, to which user 3 belongs. The recipient of this notification is "admin@XXXX.co.jp", which is recorded in the configuration information of company A.

[0063] Furthermore, the control unit 65 prohibits users belonging to company A from using its own device and notifies users belonging to company A that they are prohibited from using its own device. The method of notification at this time may be any method, such as displaying a message prohibiting use on the display unit 63 of the image forming apparatus 10 when a user belonging to company A uses the image forming apparatus 10, or sending a mass notification email to users belonging to company A.

[0064] As another example, when user 5 uses the image forming apparatus 10, the control unit 65 queries the authentication server 20 for information on the group to which user 5 belongs, and obtains information indicating that user 5 belongs to company B. Next, the control unit 65 queries the security server 30 for information on the settings of company B to which user 5 belongs, and obtains the settings information of company B.

[0065] Next, after executing the process instructed by user 5, the control unit 65 executes processing related to the image log according to the settings specified in the acquired configuration information. However, since company B's configuration information is set not to create an image log, no processing related to the image log is performed at all.

[0066] As yet another example, when user 8 uses the image forming apparatus 10, the control unit 65 queries the authentication server 20 for information on the group to which user 8 belongs, and obtains information that user 8 belongs to company C as information on the group to which the user belongs. Next, the control unit 65 queries the security server 30 for information on the settings of company C to which user 8 belongs, and obtains the settings information of company C.

[0067] Next, after executing the process instructed by user 8, the control unit 65 executes image log processing according to the settings specified in the acquired configuration information. Specifically, since fax is set as the image log target service in company C's configuration information, an image log is created when a fax is executed. At this time, the image log is created with a resolution of 72 dpi, an image format of TIFF, and the target page for the image log is the first page of the document prepared by user 8. The created image log is transferred without concealment to the IP address YYY.YYY.YYY.YYY of company C's image log server 40C.

[0068] In this way, by limiting the services used to create the image log, further restricting the target pages for the image log to only the first page, and creating the image log at a low resolution of 72 dpi, the size of the image log can be reduced.

[0069] Furthermore, if the transfer of the image log fails, the control unit 65 notifies the administrator of company C, to which user 8 belongs. The recipient of this notification is "admin@YYYY.co.jp", which is recorded in the configuration information of company C.

[0070] Furthermore, the control unit 65 prohibits users belonging to company C from using its own device and notifies users belonging to company C that they are prohibited from using its own device.

[0071] Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts in Figures 6 and 7.

[0072] First, the operation when a user uses the image forming apparatus 10 will be explained. As shown in Figure 6, in step S11, the control unit 65 acquires group information relating to the group to which the user who instructed the execution of the process belongs. Next, in step S12, the control unit 65 acquires setting information for the group to which the user who instructed the execution of the process belongs. Next, in step S13, the control unit 65 executes the process instructed by the user. Next, in step S14, the control unit 65 executes processing relating to the image log according to the setting content specified in the acquired setting information.

[0073] Next, we will explain the operation after the image log has been transferred. As shown in Figure 7, in step S21, the control unit 65 transfers the image log, and in step S22, it determines whether or not the transfer of the image log was successful.

[0074] In step S22, if the control unit 65 determines that the transfer of the image log was successful, it terminates the process.

[0075] If the control unit 65 determines in step S22 that the transfer of the image log was unsuccessful, in step S23, it notifies the group administrator that the transfer of the image log failed.

[0076] Next, in step S24, the control unit 65 prohibits use by users belonging to the same group as the user who just used the service, and in step S25, it notifies the users belonging to the prohibited group of this fact and terminates the process.

[0077] [Differentiation] Although an image forming system according to one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be modified as appropriate.

[0078] In each of the embodiments described above, the term "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: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic device, etc.).

[0079] Furthermore, the processor operations in each of the above embodiments may not be performed by a single processor, but may also be performed by multiple processors located in physically separate locations working together. Also, the order of the processor operations is not limited to the order described in each of the above embodiments, and may be changed as appropriate. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0080] 1. Image forming system 10 Image forming apparatus 11 CPU 12 memory 13 Storage device 14. Communication Interface 15. User Interface Device 16 Scanners 17 Print Engine 18 Control bus 20 Authentication Server 30 Security Servers 40A, 40C Image Log Server 50 Networks 61 Certification Department 62 Operation Input Section 63 Display section 64 Data transmission / reception unit 65 Control Unit 66 Image reading unit 67 Image Output Section

Claims

1. Equipped with a processor, The aforementioned processor, The group information of the group to which the user who instructed the execution of the process belongs is obtained. Setting information that defines the settings for processing related to image history information, which records image information indicating the content of the target image data to be processed in association with processing history information, and setting information associated with a group identified by acquired group information is acquired from an external device. After the process instructed by the user is executed, the system executes the processing related to the image history information according to the settings specified in the acquired configuration information, which include whether or not to create image history information for the executed process, and whether or not there is destination information for the destination to which the image history information is transferred. If the acquired configuration information specifies that the creation of image-attached history information is required, after the execution of the process instructed by the user, image-attached history information is created by associating image information indicating the content of the target image data on which the process was performed with the history information of the process. If the acquired configuration information includes destination information, the created image-attached history information will be transferred to the destination indicated by that destination information. If the transfer of image-attached history information fails, the use of the device will be prohibited for users belonging to the group to which the user who instructed the execution of the failed transfer belongs. Image forming apparatus.

2. The aforementioned processor, If the transfer of image-attached history information fails, the administrator of the group to which the user who instructed the process to execute the failed transfer belongs will be notified. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned processor, If the transfer of image-attached history information fails, the system will notify users belonging to the group to which the user who instructed the process to execute the failed transfer belongs that they will be prohibited from using the device. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.

4. The above settings include whether or not to conceal the history information with images, The aforementioned processor, If the acquired configuration information specifies that the history information with images must be kept confidential, the process of creating the history information with images will be performed to keep it confidential. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The process of concealing image-attached history information is the process of encrypting the image-attached history information using a public key in a public-key cryptography scheme. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4.

6. The steps include obtaining group information about the group to which the user who instructed the execution of the process belongs, Setting information that defines the settings for processing related to image history information, which records image information indicating the content of the target image data to be processed in association with processing history information, and the step of obtaining setting information associated with a group identified by acquired group information from an external device, The steps include: executing a process after the user has performed the processing instructed by the user, and then executing a process related to the image history information according to the settings specified in the acquired setting information, which includes whether or not to create image history information for the executed process, and whether or not there is destination information for the destination to which the image history information is transferred; If the acquired configuration information specifies that the creation of image-attached history information is required, the process involves creating image-attached history information by associating image information indicating the content of the target image data on which the process was performed with the history information of the process, after the execution of the process instructed by the user. If the acquired configuration information includes destination information, the process includes the step of transferring the created image-attached history information to the destination indicated by that destination information, If the transfer of image-attached history information fails, the following steps are taken: The user who instructed the user to perform the failed transfer process is prohibited from using their device if they belong to the same group as that user. A program that causes a computer to execute something.

Images