Document Preview Redaction for Personal Data in Image Forming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses lack effective methods for redacting personal information in documents, which can lead to the exposure of sensitive data during printing, scanning, or faxing operations.
Innovation Solution
The image forming apparatus is equipped with a user interface that allows users to select and redact personal information using masking or blurring techniques, with adaptive display state information showing the progress of the redaction process, and supports manual or automatic identification of personal information formats.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If personal information is redacted using masking or blurring techniques, then data privacy is protected, but the complexity of the device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The image forming apparatus automatically performs redaction of personal information without requiring external processing systems. The apparatus identifies and redacts personal information formats autonomously, making the system self-sufficient for privacy protection while maintaining standard device architecture
Solution Approach 2:
The apparatus changes the visual parameters of personal information regions by applying masking or blurring effects to the displayed image data. This transforms the appearance of sensitive information without altering the underlying document structure, achieving privacy protection through parameter modification rather than complex system architecture
2Productivity
If automatic identification of personal information formats is implemented, then redaction efficiency is improved, but measurement precision of information format detection deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus implements automatic identification for common personal information formats while allowing manual selection for edge cases. The system provides partial automation for standard formats (emails, phone numbers, addresses) and combines this with manual verification capabilities, achieving high efficiency for typical cases while maintaining precision through user oversight when needed
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback mechanisms that allow users to review and correct automatically identified personal information. The apparatus presents detected formats to users for verification, enabling correction of misidentifications and improving overall detection precision through iterative feedback loops between automatic detection and manual review
3Ease of operation
If users can manually select and edit redacted areas, then ease of operation is improved, but the time required for redaction process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus performs preliminary automatic identification and selection of personal information regions before presenting them to users for confirmation. This preliminary action reduces the user's workload to mainly verifying and adjusting selections rather than creating selections from scratch, maintaining ease of operation while minimizing time investment
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides dynamic adjustment capabilities where users can modify redacted areas by expanding or contracting selection regions. The apparatus allows flexible adjustment of redaction boundaries while maintaining the ability to quickly accept default selections, adapting the process time to user needs and document complexity
Data Source
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AI summary
An example image forming apparatus includes a user interface device, an image forming job operator, a processor, and a memory. The processor executes instructions to perform a redaction process of redacting personal information displayed on a preview screen of a document through the user interface device of the image forming apparatus and included in the document, show display state information of the personal information, in synchronization with a progress of the redaction process, and control the image forming job operator to perform an image forming job with respect to the document in which the personal information is redacted when the redaction process is completed.