JP5145254B2 - Image forming system, server apparatus, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system, a server device, and an image forming apparatus.

  Upon receiving a print command from a personal computer, the image forming apparatus connected to the network acquires a document file from a file server on the network, expands the document file into a bitmap image, and based on the bitmap image Some perform printing (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  In the image forming apparatus, when the copy job is being executed, the user ID is acquired from the ID card after the copy job is finished, and it is determined whether or not the user ID matches the user identifier of the document file. After confirming that they match, printing based on the document file is executed.

  On the other hand, when the copy job is not executed, printing based on the document file is immediately executed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-251358 JP 2004-168065 A

  In the above-described system, when a print command is supplied from the personal computer to the image forming apparatus, printing is started unless a copy job is being executed. Therefore, when printing is performed, the user is at the installation location of the personal computer and not at the installation location of the image forming apparatus. For this reason, the printed matter is left unattended until the user goes to the place where the image forming apparatus is installed, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of maintaining confidentiality.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to obtain an image forming system capable of preventing leakage of confidential information, and a server device and an image forming apparatus usable in the system.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows.

An image forming system according to the present invention includes at least one image forming apparatus connected to a network, a server apparatus connected to the network, and connected to the network to generate image output data from document data and transmit the image output data to the server apparatus. A client device. The server device includes a first communication device connected to the network, a data receiving unit that receives the image output data by the first communication device, a data management unit that stores the image output data in a predetermined storage device, a user Whether the user authentication information input based on the operation is received from the image forming apparatus or an electronic device previously associated with the image forming apparatus via the network by the first communication apparatus, and whether the user authentication information is valid When it is determined that the authentication processing means for determining whether or not the user authentication information is valid, the image output data associated with the user authentication information among the image output data is first sent to the image forming apparatus. Data transmission means for transmitting by the communication device. In addition, the image forming apparatus transmits the user authentication information to the server apparatus using the second communication apparatus connected to the network, an acquisition unit that acquires user authentication information based on a user operation, and the second communication apparatus. Control means for receiving image output data from the server apparatus by the communication apparatus and performing image forming processing based on the image output data.
In the server device, the data reception means receives a message from another user at the first communication device, the data management means stores a message from the other user in a predetermined storage device, and the data transmission means When the user authentication information is valid, a message list for the user of the user authentication information is transmitted to the image forming apparatus, and the message requested by the image forming apparatus in the message list is transmitted to the image forming apparatus. Send to.
The control unit of the image forming apparatus acquires (a) a list of messages from the server apparatus, selects a message from the list of messages based on a user operation, and transmits a transmission request for the selected message to the server apparatus. A message is received from the server device and displayed on a predetermined display device. (B) After all the messages in the message list are displayed, a list of user image output data of user authentication information is acquired from the server device. The image output data is selected from the list of image output data based on the user operation, a transmission request for the selected image output data is transmitted to the server device, the image output data is received from the server device, and the image output data is converted into the image output data. Based on this, an image forming process is performed. This control means displays a preview image of an image obtained by the image output process on a predetermined display device before the image forming process.
On the other hand, the data transmission means of the server device transmits a list of the user image output data of the user authentication information to the image forming device after all the messages in the message list are displayed. The image output data requested from the image forming apparatus is transmitted to the image forming apparatus.

  As a result, the image output data is temporarily stored by the server apparatus, and the image output data is not supplied to the image forming apparatus unless user authentication of the server apparatus is performed from the installation location of the image forming apparatus. For this reason, the user can take a printed matter from the image forming apparatus immediately after printing. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent leakage of confidential information from the image forming apparatus. In addition, since the user can confirm the image of the printed matter in advance in the preview, printing that the user does not need is not executed. Therefore, it is difficult for unnecessary printed matter to be generated, and it is possible to prevent leakage of confidential information caused by leaving the unnecessary printed matter.

  In addition to the above-described image forming system, the image forming system according to the present invention may be configured as follows. In this case, the data management unit of the server apparatus stores the preview image data in a predetermined storage device in association with the image output data, and the data transmission unit of the server apparatus transmits the preview image data to the image forming apparatus via the first communication apparatus. Send. Then, the control unit of the image forming apparatus receives the preview image data by the second communication apparatus and displays the preview image based on the preview image data.

  In addition to any of the image forming systems described above, the image forming system according to the present invention may be as follows. In this case, the server device includes image processing means for generating preview image data from the image output data.

  In addition to any of the image forming systems described above, the image forming system according to the present invention may be as follows. In this case, the data receiving means of the server device receives preview image data from the client device by the first communication device.

  In addition to any of the image forming systems described above, the image forming system according to the present invention may be as follows. In this case, the preview image data has the same resolution as the image output data.

  In addition to any of the image forming systems described above, the image forming system according to the present invention may be as follows. In this case, the control unit of the image forming apparatus displays a preview image based on the image output data received from the server apparatus.

  In addition to any of the image forming systems described above, the image forming system according to the present invention may be as follows. In this case, the image forming system includes an authentication server device connected to a network, having registered user authentication information, and performing user authentication based on the registered user authentication information. The authentication processing means of the server device transmits user authentication information from the image forming device or the electronic device to the authentication server device by the first communication device to execute user authentication, and the first communication device performs user authentication from the authentication server device. The result is received, and based on the result, it is determined whether or not the user authentication information is valid.

In addition to any of the image forming systems described above, the image forming system according to the present invention may be as follows. In this case, the control unit of the image forming apparatus selects image output data from the list of image output data based on a user operation, and transmits a transmission request for preview image data corresponding to the selected image output data to the server apparatus. The preview image data is received from the server device, and a preview image is displayed based on the preview image data. Further, the data transmission means of the server device transmits preview image data requested from the image forming device to the image forming device.

In addition to any of the image forming systems described above, the image forming system according to the present invention may be as follows. In this case, the list of image output data includes thumbnail images for images obtained by the image output process. The resolution of the preview image is set higher than the resolution of the thumbnail image.

  In addition to any of the image forming systems described above, the image forming system according to the present invention may be as follows. In this case, the image output data is print data described in a page description language.

A server device according to the present invention includes a communication device connected to a network, a data receiving unit that receives image output data by the communication device, a data management unit that stores image output data in a predetermined storage device, and a user operation. The user authentication information input based on the information is received from the image forming apparatus or the electronic device previously associated with the image forming apparatus via the network by the communication apparatus, and whether or not the user authentication information is valid. An image associated with the user authentication information in the image output data in response to a request from the image forming apparatus when it is determined that the authentication processing means to be determined and the user authentication information are valid. Data transmission means for transmitting output data to the image forming apparatus via a communication device. Then, the data management means, it stores the preview image data in a predetermined storage device in association with the image output data.
Then, the data receiving means receives a message from another user by the communication device, the data management means stores the message from the other user in a predetermined storage device, and the data transmitting means: (a) user authentication If the information is valid, a message list for the user of the user authentication information is transmitted to the image forming apparatus, and a message requested by the image forming apparatus in the message list is transmitted to the image forming apparatus. (B) After all the messages in the message list are displayed on the image forming apparatus, a list of user image output data of the user authentication information is transmitted to the image forming apparatus, and the image in the image output data list is transmitted. The preview image data corresponding to the output data and the image output data are transmitted to the image forming apparatus.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a communication device connected to a network, an acquisition unit that acquires user authentication information based on a user operation, and a server device connected to the network. Control for transmitting a request for transmission of output data, and receiving image output data associated with user authentication information from image output data from the server device by the communication device and performing image forming processing based on the image output data Means. Then, the control means acquires (a) a list of messages from other users stored in the server device to the user of the user authentication information from the server device, and selects a message from the list of messages based on a user operation. The transmission request of the selected message is transmitted to the server device, the message is received from the server device and displayed on a predetermined display device, and (b) the user authentication is performed after all the messages in the message list are displayed. A list of image output data of the user of information is acquired from the server device, image output data is selected from the list of image output data based on a user operation, and a transmission request for the selected image output data is transmitted to the server device. The image output data is received from the server device and image forming processing is performed based on the image output data. In addition , a preview image of an image obtained by the image output process is displayed on a predetermined display device before the image forming process.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent leakage of confidential information in an image forming system.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the server apparatus in FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multifunction machine in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating processing when a job is executed by a multifunction peripheral in the image forming system illustrated in FIG. 1. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen that displays a list of image output data according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating processing when printing is performed by a printer in the image forming system illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining processing when displaying a preview on a multifunction peripheral in the image forming system shown in FIG. 1. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen that displays a list of image output data when previewing is possible in Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen that displays a preview image in the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen that displays a list of messages in the second embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image forming system which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the network apparatus in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In this image forming system, a client device 1, a server device 2, a multifunction device 3, a printer 4 and a card reader 5, and an authentication server device 6 are connected to each other via a network 7. These devices are assigned identifiers (IP address, machine name, etc.) that can be uniquely specified in the network 7.

  The client device 1 is a terminal device operated by a user, such as a personal computer. The client device 1 has an output driver 11 such as a printer driver. The output driver 11 is a processing unit that generates image output data from document data. Document data is data generated by an application and stored as a data file. The image output data is print data described in, for example, a page description language.

  The server device 2 is a computer device connected to the network 7 and includes an output data management unit 21 and an output data storage unit 22. The output data management unit 21 is a processing unit that stores image output data received from the client device 1 in the output data storage unit 22.

  The multifunction machine 3 is an image forming apparatus that executes image forming processing based on image output data. Image forming processing includes printing, facsimile transmission, copying, and the like. The multifunction machine 3 has a card reader 31. When the user's ID card 101 is brought close to the card reader 31 during login, the card reader 31 reads the user authentication information of the user from the ID card. The ID card is an IC card or the like. The user authentication information is a user ID, an encrypted user ID, or the like. The multifunction device 3 transmits user authentication information of the user to the server device 2, receives image output data transmitted by the user from the client device 1 to the server device 2, and executes image formation processing based on the image output data. .

  The printer 4 is an image forming apparatus that executes printing based on image output data supplied from the server apparatus 2 via the network 7. The card reader 5 is installed at the same location as the printer 4 and is associated with the printer 4 in advance. When the user's ID card 101 is brought close to the card reader 5, the card reader 5 reads the user authentication information of the user from the ID card and transmits it to the server device 2 via the network 7.

  The authentication server device 6 is a computer device connected to the network 7 and has user registration data 61 and device registration data 62. The user registration data 61 includes user authentication information for authorized users. The device registration data 62 includes information on the correspondence relationship between the printer 4 and the card reader 5. When there is a user authentication request from the server device 2, the authentication server device 6 performs user authentication processing with reference to the user registration data 61 and transmits the authentication result to the server device 2 as a response. Further, when there is an inquiry about the image forming apparatus corresponding to the card reader 5, the authentication server apparatus 6 refers to the device registration data 62 and sets the image forming apparatus (here, the printer 4) corresponding to the card reader 5 to the server apparatus. 2 is notified. As the authentication server device 6, for example, a device in which an active directory server is operating is used.

  The network 7 is, for example, a wired and / or wireless LAN (Local Area Network).

  Next, detailed configurations of the server apparatus 2 and the multifunction machine 3 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server device 2 in FIG.

  In FIG. 2, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201 is an arithmetic processing unit that executes a program and executes processing described in the program. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 202 is a nonvolatile memory that stores programs and data in advance. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 203 is a memory that temporarily stores the program and data when the program is executed.

  An HDD (Hard Disc Drive) 204 is a storage device having a recording medium for storing an operating system (not shown), a server program 211, and the like. In the first embodiment, the server program 211 is executed by the CPU 201, whereby the output data management unit 21, the communication processing unit 221, the authentication processing unit 222, and the usage monitoring unit 223 are realized.

  The communication processing unit 221 is a processing unit that controls the network interface card 205 and transmits and receives data using a communication protocol such as TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol). The communication processing unit 221 receives the image output data with the network interface card 205 and transmits the image output data to the image forming apparatus such as the multifunction machine 3 or the printer 4 with the network interface card 205.

  The authentication processing unit 222 uses the communication processing unit 221 to associate user authentication information input based on a user operation with the MFP 3 or the printer 4 via the network 7 using the network interface card 205 in advance. It is a processing unit that determines whether or not the user authentication information is valid.

  The usage amount monitoring unit 223 monitors the usage amount such as the number of pages associated with image forming processing (printing, facsimile transmission, copying, etc.) executed in the multifunction device 3 and the printer 4 for each user or department to which the user belongs. Part.

  The network interface card 205 is a communication device connected to the network 7.

  The storage device 206 is a device that stores various data. As the storage device 206, a hard disk drive, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, or the like is used as appropriate. A partial area of the storage device 206 is used as the output data storage unit 22. In addition, the storage device 206 stores usage data 231 and setting data 232. The usage amount data 231 includes a usage amount value and an upper limit value for each of a plurality of items for each user or department to which the user belongs. The setting data 232 is data that is referred to when processing of the processing unit realized by the CPU 201 is executed. Note that the usage data 231 and the setting data 232 may be stored in a storage device different from the storage device 206. In the first embodiment, the output data storage unit 22 is in the server device 2, but may be in an external device connected to the server device 2, or a file server or database connected to the network 7. It may be in the server.

  The CPU 201, the ROM 202, the RAM 203, the HDD 204, the NIC 205, and the storage device 206 are connected to each other via a bus, a controller, an interface, and the like so that data communication can be performed.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the multifunction machine 3 in FIG.

  The multifunction machine 3 includes a card reader 31, a network interface card 301, a printing device 302, a modem 303, an image reading device 304, a storage device 305, a control device 306, and an operation panel 307.

  The network interface card 301 is a communication device connected to the network 7.

  The printing apparatus 302 has, for example, a laser printing mechanism, forms a print image from image output data, generates a control signal corresponding to the print image, controls the printing mechanism with the control signal, and prints an image on a print sheet. Is a device for printing.

  The modem 303 is a device that forms a facsimile image from the image output data, generates facsimile data corresponding to the facsimile image, and transmits the facsimile data. When the modem 303 receives the facsimile data, the modem 303 generates facsimile image data corresponding to the facsimile data.

  The image reading device 304 is a device that optically reads a document image and generates image data of the document image.

  The storage device 305 is a device that stores setting data 311. As the storage device 305, a hard disk drive, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, or the like is appropriately used. The setting data 311 is data that is referred to when processing is executed by the control device 306.

  The control device 306 is a device that controls the printing device 302, the modem 303, and the image reading device 304 to execute image forming processing. In addition, the control device 306 executes processing for transmitting the user authentication information acquired by the card reader 31 to the server device 2 using the network interface card 301 and receiving image output data from the server device 2 using the network interface card 301. Note that the control device 306 is realized, for example, by executing a control program by a microprocessor. Further, the control device 306 may execute formation of a print image and generation of facsimile data.

  The operation panel 307 has a display device and an input device, and is a user interface that can be used by a user at the installation location of the multifunction machine 3. As the display device, for example, a liquid crystal display is used, and as the input device, for example, a touch panel and a plurality of key switches are used.

  Next, the operation of each device in the system will be described.

  First, processing when a job is executed by an image forming apparatus having a card reader will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining processing when the MFP 3 executes a job in the image forming system shown in FIG.

  In the client device 1, the user activates the output driver 11 via an application (not shown). The output driver 11 generates image output data corresponding to the document data (step S1), and transmits it to the server device 2 via a network interface card (not shown) (step S2). At this time, the user authentication information of the user is transmitted together with the image output data. Alternatively, identification information associated with the user authentication information is transmitted together with the image output data.

  The image output data is received by the server device 2. In the server device 2, the communication processing unit 221 receives the image output data via the network interface card 205. The output data management unit 21 stores the output data in the output data storage unit 22 in association with the user authentication information (step S3).

  Thereby, the image output data is temporarily held in the server device 2.

  Thereafter, the user goes to the installation location of the multifunction machine 3 and performs a login operation. In the first embodiment, as a login operation, the user holds the ID card 101 assigned to the user over the card reader 31. When the card reader 31 of the multifunction machine 3 detects the ID card 101 that is brought close to it, it reads the user authentication information from the ID card 101 (step S4).

  When the user authentication information is read by the card reader 31, the control device 306 transmits the user authentication request and the user authentication information to the server device 2 by using the network interface card 301 (step S5).

  The server device 2 receives the user authentication request and the user authentication information. In the server device 2, the communication processing unit 221 receives the user authentication request and the user authentication information via the network interface card 205. When the user authentication request and the user authentication information are received, the authentication processing unit 222 transmits the user authentication request and the user authentication information to the authentication server device 6 via the network 7 (step S6).

  When receiving the user authentication request and the user authentication information, the authentication server device 6 refers to the user registration data 61 and determines whether or not the received user authentication information is authentic (step S7). And the authentication server apparatus 6 transmits the authentication result to the server apparatus 2 as a response (step S8).

  The communication processing unit 221 of the server device 2 receives the authentication result via the network 7 and the network interface card 205 and supplies the authentication result to the authentication processing unit 222. The authentication processing unit 222 determines whether the user authentication information from the multifunction device 3 is authentic based on the authentication result (step S9).

  When the authentication processing unit 222 determines that the user authentication information from the multifunction device 3 is authentic, the output data management unit 21 selects the image output data in the output data storage unit 22 A list of image output data associated with the user authentication information is generated, and the communication processing unit 221 transmits the list to the multifunction machine 3 (step S10). The communication processing unit 221 transmits the list to the multifunction device 3 via the network interface card 205 and the network 7.

  If the authentication processing unit 222 determines that the user authentication information from the multi-function device 3 is not authentic, the authentication processing unit 222 uses the communication processing unit 221 to only display the authentication result. 3 to send.

  When the user authentication for the transmitted user authentication information is successful, the control device 306 of the multifunction machine 3 receives the list of image output data associated with the user authentication information with the network interface card 205, and operates the operation panel 307. Display on the display device.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen that displays a list of image output data according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the list includes a user ID, server save date and time of image output data, the number of pages, and thumbnail images. The user ID is a part of the user authentication information or identification information corresponding to the user authentication information. Further, the output data management unit 21 of the server device 2 generates thumbnail image data of the first page of the image output data and adds it to the list. The thumbnail image shown in FIG. 5 is displayed based on the thumbnail image data.

  Thereafter, when there is a selection operation by the user on the input device of the operation panel 307 (step S11), the control device 306 selects image output data from the list according to the selection operation, and sends a transmission request for the image output data. Then, the data is transmitted to the server device 2 by the network interface card 301 (step S12). For example, in the case of a list as shown in FIG. 5, the selected image output data is specified by the server storage date and time or serial number.

  In the server apparatus 2, when the transmission request is received by the communication processing unit 221, the output data management unit 21 reads the requested image output data, and sends the requested image output data to the communication processing unit 221. Transmit (step S13).

  The output data management unit 21 may delete the image output data from the output data storage unit 22 after the image output data is transmitted. Alternatively, the output data management unit 21 may automatically delete the image output data from the output data storage unit 22 after elapse of a predetermined period after the image output data is transmitted.

  The control device 306 of the multifunction machine 3 receives the image output data by the network interface card 301 and executes the image forming process selected by the user using the operation panel 307 (step S14). For example, when the print button is pressed on the screen shown in FIG. 5 (step S11), printing based on the image output data is executed using the printing apparatus 302, and the facsimile transmission button is pressed (step S11). Then, facsimile transmission based on the image output data is executed using the modem 303.

  If the user authentication is successful, the authentication processing unit 22 generates a session ID unique to this session, and the communication processing unit 221 transmits the session ID together with the list to the multifunction device 3. The control device 306 of the MFP 3 transmits the image output data transmission request to the server device 2 after adding the session ID to the image output data transmission request.

  In this way, when the user who issued the image output data is at the installation location of the multifunction machine 3, the image output processing job is executed, so that the possibility of security leakage can be reduced.

  Next, processing when a job is executed by an image forming apparatus that does not have a card reader will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining processing when the printer 4 executes printing in the image forming system shown in FIG.

  First, the image output data is transmitted from the client apparatus 1 to the server apparatus 2 and held in the server apparatus 2 in the same manner as in the case where the image forming process is performed by the multifunction machine 3 (steps S1 to S3).

  When printing is executed by the printer 4, the user goes to the installation location of the printer 4 and the card reader 5 and performs a login operation. In the first embodiment, as a login operation, the user holds the ID card 101 assigned to the user over the card reader 5. When detecting the approaching ID card 101, the card reader 5 reads the user authentication information from the ID card 101 (step S21) and transmits it to the server device 2 via the network 7 (step S22).

  The user authentication information is received by the server device 2. In the server device 2, the communication processing unit 221 receives the user authentication information through the network interface card 205. When the user authentication information from the card reader 5 is received, the authentication processing unit 222 transmits the user authentication information to the authentication server device 6 via the network 7 (step S23).

  Upon receiving the user authentication request and the user authentication information, the authentication server device 6 refers to the user registration data 61 and determines whether or not the received user authentication information is legitimate (step S24). And the authentication server apparatus 6 transmits the authentication result to the server apparatus 2 as a response (step S25).

  The communication processing unit 221 of the server device 2 receives the authentication result via the network 7 and the network interface card 205 and supplies the authentication result to the authentication processing unit 222. The authentication processing unit 222 determines whether the user authentication information from the card reader 5 is legitimate based on the authentication result (step S26).

  If the authentication processing unit 222 determines that the user authentication information from the card reader 5 is legitimate, the authentication processing unit 222 inquires of the authentication server device 6 about the image forming apparatus associated with the card reader 5. The response is received from the authentication server device 6, and based on the response, the image forming device (here, the printer 4) that is the destination of the image output data is specified (step S27). At this time, when the authentication server device 6 receives the inquiry, the authentication server device 6 refers to the device registration data 62 to identify the image forming device associated with the card reader 5 and sends a response indicating the image forming device to the server device 2. Send to.

  Then, the output data management unit 21 reads out the image output data associated with the user authentication information from among the image output data in the output data storage unit 22, and identifies the image forming apparatus ( Here, the data is transmitted to the printer 4) (step S28). The communication processing unit 221 transmits image output data to the printer 4 via the network 7 in order using the network interface card 205.

  If the authentication processing unit 222 determines that the user authentication information from the card reader 5 is not authentic, the current session is terminated.

  If the user authentication for the user authentication information transmitted from the card reader 5 is successful, the printer 4 sequentially receives the image output data and executes printing based on the image output data (step S29).

  As described above, since the print job is executed when the user who issued the image output data is at the place where the printer 4 and the card reader 5 are installed, the possibility of security leakage can be reduced.

  In this system, the image output data generated by the client device 1 is stored in the server device 2 as described above, and the multifunction device 3 or the printer 4 acquires the image output data from the server device 2 and prints it. The image output process is performed. Further, in this system, the multifunction device 3 can display a preview image of the image output data stored in the server device 2 under a predetermined condition.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining processing when displaying a preview on the multifunction device 3 in the image forming system shown in FIG.

  In step S <b> 3 described above, when the server apparatus 2 receives the image output data from the client apparatus 1, the server apparatus 2 stores the image output data in the output data storage unit 22 in association with the user authentication information of the user of the client apparatus 1. . At this time, the output data management unit 21 of the server device 2 stores the preview image data corresponding to the image output data in the output data storage unit 22 in association with the image output data. The preview image data is generated from the image output data by the output data management unit 21. Alternatively, the output driver 11 of the client device 1 may transmit the preview image data to the server device 2. In this case, for example, the output driver 11 generates preview image data.

  The preview image data is image data in an image format (for example, JPEG, TIFF, GIF, PNG, etc.). In this embodiment, the resolution of the preview image data is the same as the resolution of the image output data. However, the resolution of the preview image may be lower than the resolution of the image output data as long as it is higher than the resolution of the thumbnail image. If the image output data is image data in a display data format, the image output data may be used as preview image data without separately storing the preview image data.

  Thereafter, when the user authentication for the transmitted user authentication information is successful, in step S10 described above, the control device 306 of the multifunction machine 3 displays a list of image output data associated with the user authentication information from the server device 2. Acquired and displayed on the display device of the operation panel 307, for example, as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen that displays a list of image output data when previewing is possible in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, when a preview is possible, a preview button is displayed.

  Thereafter, when there is a selection operation by the user on the input device of the operation panel 307 and a preview button is pressed (step S101), the control device 306 selects image output data from the list according to the operation, and the image A transmission request for preview image data corresponding to the output data is transmitted to the server apparatus 2 by the network interface card 301 (step S102). For example, in the case of a list as shown in FIG. 8, the selected image output data is specified by the server storage date and time or serial number.

  In the server device 2, when the transmission request is received by the communication processing unit 221, the output data management unit 21 reads the requested preview image data and sends the requested image output data to the communication processing unit 221. Transmit (step S103).

  The control device 306 of the multifunction device 3 receives the preview image data by the network interface card 301, and displays a preview image based on the preview image data on the display device of the operation panel 307 as shown in FIG. Step S104).

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen that displays a preview image in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, a preview image 401 is displayed on the operation panel 307. In addition to the preview image 401, on the screen, related information 402 of image output data corresponding to the preview image, a print button 403, a facsimile transmission button 404, a next page button 405, a previous page button 406, a print setting edit button 407, data A delete button 408, a delete reservation setting button 409, and a preview end button 410 are displayed. When the user's pressing operation on any of these buttons 403 to 409 is detected by the input device of the operation panel, the control device 306 executes processing corresponding to the button having the pressing operation.

  The print button 403 is a button for acquiring image output data and executing print processing based on the image output data as described above. The facsimile transmission button 404 is a button for acquiring image output data and executing facsimile transmission processing based on the image output data as described above. When the print button 403 or the facsimile transmission button 404 is pressed, the control device 306 acquires image output data corresponding to the preview image and executes the job (steps S12 to S14).

  When the preview image data includes a plurality of pages of preview images, first, a preview image 401 of the first page is displayed. The next page button 405 is a button for displaying the preview image 401 of the next page, and the previous page button 406 is a button for displaying the preview image 401 of the previous page. When the next page button 405 or the previous page button 406 is pressed, the control device 306 switches the displayed preview image to the preview image of the next page or the previous page.

  The print setting edit button 407 is a button for editing the print setting value (page designation, color setting, etc.) set in the client apparatus 1 in the multifunction device 3. When the print setting edit button 407 is pressed, the control device 306 displays a setting screen on the operation panel 307, detects a new print setting value by a user operation on the operation panel 307, and sets the new print setting value. Apply to execute print processing.

  The data deletion button 408 is a button for deleting preview image data and image output data associated therewith in the server apparatus 2. When the data deletion button 408 is pressed, the control device 306 transmits a deletion request designating image output data and / or preview image data with a serial number or the like to the server device 2. The output data management unit 21 of the server device 2 deletes the image output data and the preview image data in accordance with the deletion request.

  The delete reservation setting button 409 is a button for automatically deleting the preview image data and the image output data associated therewith in the server apparatus 2 after the job is executed. When the delete reservation setting button 409 is pressed, the control device 306 displays a setting screen on the operation panel 307 and whether or not to delete the image output data and the preview image data after the job is executed by a user operation on the operation panel 307. To identify. When deleting the image output data and the preview image data after executing the job, the control device 306, when the job based on the image output data (printing or facsimile transmission) is completed, the image output data and the preview image data associated with the image output data. A deletion request is transmitted to the server apparatus 2. The output data management unit 21 of the server device 2 deletes the image output data and the preview image data in accordance with the deletion request.

  The preview end button 410 is a button for ending the display of the preview image 401. When the preview end button 410 is pressed, the control device 306 deletes the preview screen shown in FIG. 9, for example, and displays the list screen shown in FIG. 8 again.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the client device 1 generates image output data from the document data and transmits it to the server device 2. In the server device 2, the communication processing unit 221 receives the image output data with the network interface card 205, and the output data management unit 21 stores the image output data in the output data storage unit 22. Then, the authentication processing unit 222 receives the user authentication information input based on the user operation from the MFP 3 via the network 7 by the network interface card 204, and whether or not the user authentication information is valid. Determine whether. When it is determined that the user authentication information is valid, the communication processing unit 221 sends the image output data associated with the user authentication information, out of the image output data, to the MFP 3 as a network interface card. It transmits in 205. Further, the control device 306 of the multifunction machine 3 displays a preview image on an image obtained by the image output process on a predetermined display device before the image forming process.

  As a result, the image output data is temporarily stored by the server apparatus 2 and supplied to the image forming apparatus without user authentication of the server apparatus 2 from the installation location of the image forming apparatus such as the multifunction machine 3 and the printer 4. Not. For this reason, the user can take a printed matter from the image forming apparatus immediately after printing. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent secret leakage from the multifunction machine 3 and the printer 4. Furthermore, since the user can confirm the image of the printed matter in advance by preview, printing that is not required by the user is not executed. Therefore, it is difficult for unnecessary printed matter to be generated, and it is possible to prevent leakage of confidential information caused by leaving the unnecessary printed matter.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
The image forming system according to the second embodiment of the present invention has a messaging function between users in addition to the system of the first embodiment.

  In the second embodiment, when a user transmits a message to another user, the output driver 11 of the client device 1 receives a message registration request, a message input by the user, user authentication information of the transmission source, and user authentication of the transmission destination. Information is transmitted to the server device 2. The output data management unit 21 of the server device 2 receives them via the network interface card 205 and the communication processing unit 221 and stores them in the storage device 206.

  On the other hand, when the user attempts to log in to the multifunction device 3 in the multifunction device 3, user authentication processing similar to that in the first embodiment is executed (steps S3 to S8). The authentication processing unit 222 of the server device 2 determines whether or not the user authentication information from the multifunction machine 3 is authentic (step S9).

  If the authentication processing unit 222 determines that the user authentication information from the multifunction device 3 is authentic, the output data management unit 21 displays a list of messages including the user authentication information in the transmission destination. The communication processing unit 221 generates the list and transmits the list to the multifunction device 3. The communication processing unit 221 transmits the list to the multifunction device 3 via the network interface card 205 and the network 7.

  When the user authentication for the transmitted user authentication information is successful, the control device 306 of the multifunction device 3 receives the list of messages associated with the user authentication information with the network interface card 205 and displays the operation panel 307. Display on the device. This list is displayed in a BBS (Bulletin Board System) format, for example, as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen that displays a list of messages in the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, the list includes the message title, the sender user ID, and the server storage date and time of the message. The user ID is a part of the user authentication information or identification information corresponding to the user authentication information. On this screen, a display button 411 and an end button 412 are displayed.

  Thereafter, when there is a message selection operation by the user on the input device of the operation panel 307 and the display button 411 is pressed, the control device 306 selects a message from the list according to the operation, and requests to send the message. Is transmitted to the server apparatus 2 by the network interface card 301. For example, in the case of a list as shown in FIG. 10, the selected message is specified by the server storage date and time and the user ID of the sender.

  In the server device 2, when the transmission request is received by the communication processing unit 221, the output data management unit 21 reads the requested message and causes the communication processing unit 221 to transmit the message to the multifunction device 3. The control device 306 of the multifunction device 3 receives the message by the network interface card 301 and causes the display device on the operation panel 307 to display the message.

  When the message display is finished, the message list is displayed again. In the list, a mark may be added to indicate that a message has been displayed, or the message may be deleted from the list. Alternatively, after the message is displayed, a notification may be transmitted from the multifunction machine 3 to the server apparatus 2 so that the server apparatus 2 deletes the message.

  On the other hand, when the end button 412 is pressed, the control device 306 ends the message list display. Thereafter, the control device 306 notifies the server device 2 of the end of display of the message list. In the server device 2, when the notification is received by the communication processing unit 221, the output data management unit 21 outputs image output data associated with the user authentication information among the image output data in the output data storage unit 22. And the communication processing unit 221 transmits the list to the multifunction machine 3 (step S10). The communication processing unit 221 transmits the list to the multifunction device 3 via the network interface card 205 and the network 7.

  At this time, the processing after step S10 may be executed only when all the messages in the message list are displayed. In this case, for example, only when all the messages in the message list are displayed, the multifunction device 3 transmits a notification indicating the end of the display of the message list to the server device 2.

  Since the subsequent processing is the same as that in the first embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, a message to the user is displayed before executing a job in the multifunction machine 3.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In the third embodiment of the present invention, a combination of a printer 4, a card reader 5, and a network device 8 is used instead of the multifunction machine 3 in the first or second embodiment.

  The network device 8 is an electronic device that is connected to the network 7 and has a display device 81. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the network device 8 in FIG. The network device 8 includes a display device 81, a network interface card 801, an input device 802, and a control device 803.

  The display device 81 is a device for displaying a preview image or the like. As the display device 81, for example, a liquid crystal display is used.

  The network interface card 801 is a communication device connected to the network 7.

  The input device 802 is a device that detects a user operation. As the input device 802, for example, a touch panel and a plurality of key switches are used.

  The control device 803 is a device that performs data communication with other devices connected to the network 7 via the network interface card 801 and displays a preview image on the display device 81. Note that the control device 803 is realized, for example, by executing a control program by a microprocessor.

  Since the components other than the network device 8 in FIG. 11 are the same as those in the first or second embodiment, the description thereof is omitted. However, the server apparatus 2 operates as follows.

  Next, the operation of each device in the system will be described.

  In the third embodiment, the processes in steps S1 to S26 in FIG. 6 are performed in the same manner. When the authentication processing unit 222 determines that the user authentication information from the card reader 5 is authentic, the output data management unit 21 determines the image output data associated with the user authentication information. The preview image data is read, and the communication processing unit 221 transmits the image output data to the network device 8. At this time, when the printer 4 is designated as the output destination, the output data management unit 21 inquires of the authentication server device 6 about the network device associated with the printer 4 in advance, and the network device is the network device 8. Is identified.

  The control device 803 of the network device 8 receives the preview image data with the network interface card 801, and causes the display device 81 to display a preview image based on the preview image data, for example, as shown in FIG. However, since the printer 4 has only a printing function, the facsimile transmission button 404 is deleted.

  When any of the buttons 405 to 409 in the preview screen is pressed, the control device 803 of the network device 8 cooperates with the server device 2 in the process corresponding to the pressed button in the same manner as the control device 306 described above. And run.

  When the print button 403 is pressed, the control device 803 transmits a transmission request for image output data to the server device 2. In the server device 2, when the transmission request is received by the communication processing unit 221, the output data management unit 21 reads out the requested image output data, and transmits the image output data to the printer 4 to the communication processing unit 221. Let When the printer 4 receives the image output data, the printer 4 executes print processing based on the image output data.

  When the print button 403 is pressed, the server device 2 may transmit the requested image output data to the network device 8, and the network device 8 may transmit the image output data to the printer 4. . When the print setting edit button 407 is pressed and the print setting is changed, the control device 803 transmits image output data reflecting the changed print setting to the printer 4.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, even when printing is performed by the printer 4, the network device 8 displays the preview image for the image obtained by the image output process before the image forming process. .

  As a result, the user can confirm the image of the printed matter in advance in the preview, so that printing not required by the user is not executed. Therefore, it is difficult for unnecessary printed matter to be generated, and it is possible to prevent leakage of confidential information caused by leaving the unnecessary printed matter.

  Each embodiment described above is a preferred example of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to these, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is.

  For example, in each of the above embodiments, the image output data is, for example, JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format, TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) format, GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) format, PNG (Portable Network Graphics) format, etc. Data such as an image format, a PDF (Portable Document Format) format, and an EPS (Encapsulated Post Script) format may be used.

  In each of the above embodiments, only one multifunction device 3 is provided. However, a system in which a plurality of multifunction devices are connected to the network 7 can be configured.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the server device 2 may have the function of the authentication server device 6 without providing the authentication server device 6.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, a group of image forming apparatuses such as the multifunction machine 3 and the printer 4 is provided, group identification information is added to the image output data in the client apparatus 1, and the server apparatus 2 associates the group identification information with the group identification information. You may make it hold | maintain image output data. In this case, a list of image output data associated with the group identification information of the group to which the image forming apparatus belongs and the user authentication information of the login user is transmitted from the server apparatus 2 to the multifunction machine 3.

  In each of the above embodiments, the control device 306 of the multifunction machine 3 sends a request for deleting the image output data to the network interface card for the image output data selected by the user after the list of image output data is displayed. It may be transmitted to the server apparatus 2 at 301. In this case, when the deletion request is received by the communication processing unit 221, the output data management unit 21 of the server device 2 deletes the requested image output data from the output data storage unit 22. A session ID is added to this deletion request.

  In each of the above embodiments, the output data management unit 21 of the server device 2 may automatically delete image output data that has passed a predetermined period (for example, one month) since storage.

  In each of the above embodiments, the client device 1 and the server device 2 may not handle the preview image data, and the multifunction device 3 or the network device 8 may generate the preview image data from the image output data.

  In each of the above embodiments, when the preview image data includes a plurality of pages of preview images, the image forming apparatus 3 displays the preview image data page by page when the preview image is displayed. Or the preview image data of all pages may be acquired at one time.

  In each of the above embodiments, for each user, information indicating whether or not display of a preview image is permitted is stored in the server device 2 or the authentication server device 6 in advance. After the authentication is successful, the preview image data may be provided to the multifunction device 3 or the network device 8 only when the user is permitted to display the preview image.

  The present invention is applicable to, for example, an image forming system having a plurality of multifunction peripherals.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Client apparatus 2 Server apparatus 3 Multifunction machine (an example of an image forming apparatus)
4 Printer (an example of an image forming apparatus)
5 Card reader (an example of electronic equipment)
6 Authentication server device 7 Network 8 Network device 21 Output data management unit (an example of data management means, an example of image processing means)
31 Card reader (an example of acquisition means)
205 Network interface card (an example of a first communication device, an example of a communication device)
221 Communication processing unit (an example of data receiving means, an example of data transmitting means)
222 Authentication processing unit (an example of authentication processing means)
301 Network interface card (an example of a second communication device, an example of a communication device)
306 Control device (an example of control means)

Claims (12)

At least one image forming apparatus connected to the network;
A server device connected to the network;
A client device connected to the network for generating image output data from document data and transmitting the image output data to the server device;
The server device
A first communication device connected to the network;
Data receiving means for receiving the image output data by the first communication device;
Data management means for storing the image output data in a predetermined storage device;
User authentication information input based on a user operation is received from the image forming apparatus or an electronic device previously associated with the image forming apparatus via the network by the first communication apparatus, and the user authentication information is Authentication processing means for determining whether or not it is legitimate,
When it is determined that the user authentication information is valid, the image output data associated with the user authentication information among the image output data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus by the first communication apparatus. Data transmission means for
The image forming apparatus includes:
A second communication device connected to the network;
Obtaining means for obtaining the user authentication information based on a user operation;
Control means for transmitting the user authentication information to the server apparatus by the second communication apparatus, receiving the image output data from the server apparatus by the second communication apparatus, and performing image forming processing based on the image output data And
The data receiving means of the server device receives a message from another user by the first communication device,
The data management means of the server device stores a message from the other user in a predetermined storage device,
When the user authentication information is valid, the data transmission unit of the server device transmits a list of messages for the user of the user authentication information to the image forming apparatus, and the image in the list of messages Sending the message requested by the forming apparatus to the image forming apparatus;
The control means of the image forming apparatus acquires (a) the message list from the server apparatus, selects the message from the message list based on a user operation, and sends a transmission request for the selected message. The message is received from the server device and displayed on the predetermined display device; (b) after all the messages in the list of messages are displayed, the user authentication information The image output data list is acquired from the server device, the image output data is selected from the image output data list based on a user operation, and a transmission request for the selected image output data is transmitted to the server device. The image output data is received from the server device and image forming processing is performed based on the image output data. Align, before the image forming process, to display a preview image of the image obtained by the image output processing on a predetermined display device,
The data transmission means of the server device transmits the image output data list of the user of the user authentication information to the image forming device after all the messages in the message list are displayed, and outputs the image Transmitting the image output data requested by the image forming apparatus in a list of data to the image forming apparatus;
An image forming system. The data management means of the server device stores preview image data in a predetermined storage device in association with the image output data,
The data transmission means of the server device transmits the preview image data to the image forming device using the first communication device,
The control unit of the image forming apparatus receives the preview image data in the second communication apparatus and displays the preview image based on the preview image data;
The image forming system according to claim 1.   The image forming system according to claim 2, wherein the server device includes image processing means for generating the preview image data from the image output data.   3. The image forming system according to claim 2, wherein the data receiving unit of the server device receives the preview image data from the client device by the first communication device.   5. The image forming system according to claim 2, wherein the preview image data has the same resolution as the image output data.   The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit of the image forming apparatus displays the preview image based on the image output data received from the server apparatus. An authentication server device connected to the network, having registered user authentication information, and performing user authentication based on the registered user authentication information;
Authentication processing means of the server device transmits user authentication information from the image forming apparatus or the electronic device to the authentication server device by the first communication device to execute user authentication, and the first communication device performs the user authentication. Receiving the result of the user authentication from the authentication server device, and determining whether the user authentication information is valid based on the result;
The image forming system according to claim 1. The control unit of the image forming apparatus selects the image output data from the list of image output data based on a user operation, and sends a transmission request for the preview image data corresponding to the selected image output data to the server apparatus. The preview image data is received from the server device and the preview image is displayed based on the preview image data,
The data transmission means of the server device transmits the preview image data requested from the image forming device to the image forming device;
The image forming system according to claim 2. The list of image output data includes thumbnail images for images obtained by the image output process,
The resolution of the preview image is higher than the resolution of the thumbnail image;
9. The image forming system according to claim 1 or 8, wherein: The image forming system according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , wherein the image output data is print data described in a page description language. A communication device connected to the network;
Data receiving means for receiving image output data in the communication device;
Data management means for storing the image output data in a predetermined storage device;
User authentication information input based on a user operation is received by the communication device from the image forming apparatus or an electronic device previously associated with the image forming apparatus via the network, and the user authentication information is valid. Authentication processing means for determining whether there is,
The image forming apparatus that transmits the user authentication information to the image output data associated with the user authentication information among the image output data when the user authentication information is determined to be valid. Data transmitting means for transmitting to the communication device;
With
The data management means stores preview image data in a predetermined storage device in association with the image output data,
The data receiving means receives a message from another user at the communication device,
The data management means stores a message from the other user in a predetermined storage device,
And (a) when the user authentication information is valid, the data transmission means transmits a list of messages for the user of the user authentication information to the image forming apparatus, and the image formation in the list of messages The message requested from the apparatus is transmitted to the image forming apparatus, and (b) after all messages in the list of messages are displayed on the image forming apparatus, the user's image output of the user authentication information Transmitting a list of data to the image forming apparatus, and transmitting the preview image data corresponding to the image output data in the list of image output data and the image output data to the image forming apparatus;
A server device. A communication device connected to the network;
Obtaining means for obtaining user authentication information based on a user operation;
A transmission request for user authentication information and image output data is transmitted from the communication device to a server device connected to the network, and image output data associated with the user authentication information among the image output data is transmitted to the communication device. Control means for receiving an image forming process based on the image output data received from the server device by the device,
The control means acquires (a) a list of messages from other users stored in the server device to the user of the user authentication information from the server device, and from the list of messages based on a user operation A message is selected, a transmission request for the selected message is transmitted to the server device, the message is received from the server device and displayed on a predetermined display device, and (b) all messages in the list of messages Is displayed from the server device, the image output data list of the user of the user authentication information is acquired from the list of the image output data based on the user operation, the selected An image output data transmission request is transmitted to the server device, and the image output data is transmitted to the server device. An image forming process is performed based on the image output data received from the device, and a preview image of the image obtained by the image output process is displayed on a predetermined display device before the image forming process.
An image forming apparatus.

Images