JP2001312388A - Network image output control method and image output device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To protect print-out from a printer without previously performing user registration or the like to that printer. SOLUTION: When print data 100 are transmitted from a client device 20 to a printer system 10, the printer system 10 applies a unique authentication code 110 to these print data 100 and correspondently stores this authentication code 110 and the print data 100. Then, the printer system 10 returns that authentication code 110 to the client device 20 as a transmitting source of the print data 100. When a user moves to the printer system 10 and inputs that authentication code, the print system 10 prints out the print data 100 corresponding to that code.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a method for controlling the output of an image output job when the image output job is transmitted from a client to a remote image output device via a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a printout is made to a remote printer via a network, the output result is confused with another person's printout and is difficult to find, or the output result is sent to another person before the user goes to the printer. Problems such as being seen or lost have been pointed out.

As a conventional technique for solving such a problem, a user is registered in a print server in advance,
2. Description of the Related Art A method of performing printout by performing user authentication in a print server is well known. For example, JP-A-8-2562
In the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 39, when a user name and a password are input in a digital multifunction peripheral, the multifunction peripheral logs in to a user's PC (personal computer) to acquire print data and perform printout. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 11-
According to the technology described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 305968, the print server stores print data received from a client,
When the input of valid authentication information from the user is received for the data, the data is printed out.

As another prior art, there is known a method in which an authentication ID is added to a print job to be sent to a print server, and printing is enabled by inputting the authentication ID to the print server. Such a system includes, for example, JP-A-9-212317 and JP-A-10-1635.
No. 5, JP-A-11-305968. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-15609 discloses a method in which print data is subjected to security processing and transmitted to a printer, and the security is released from a print data transmission source computer and printing is performed.

[0005]

However, the method of registering a user in the print server in advance requires a user registration when printing at a print service shop on the street or an office on a business trip. Was inconvenient to print. On the user registration side, an administrator performs user registration work for a person who may only use the user once, and the burden may be unnecessarily increased.

In the method of sending a print job to a print server together with an authentication ID, the client freely assigns the authentication ID. Therefore, there is a possibility that a print job to which the same authentication ID is assigned from a different client is input. ,There's a problem.

An object of the present invention is to provide a network image output control method and apparatus which solves such a problem.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a network image output method according to the present invention provides a method for associating a job with job identification information from a client to an image output apparatus via a network. Send,
The image output device attaches authentication information to the job received from the client, stores the job and job identification information in association with the authentication information, notifies the authentication information to the client that transmitted the job, and notifies the user of the job transmission. When accepting an image output instruction, accepts input of job identification information and authentication information of an output target job, specifies a job to be output based on the job identification information, and performs authentication based on the input authentication information for the output target job. If the information matches the information, the job is output as an image.

According to this method, security of image output can be ensured without performing user registration in the image output apparatus in advance. Further, according to this method, since the authentication information is provided on the image output device side, the image output device can manage the uniqueness of the authentication information and the like, and the burden on the client side can be reduced. Further, since the authentication is performed using the job identification information set by the client side in addition to the authentication information, the strength of security is improved.

[0010] An apparatus according to the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives an image output job and job identification information corresponding to the image output job via a network, assigns authentication information to the received job, and responds to the authentication information. Job receiving means for storing the image output job and the job identification information thereof, and notifying the job transmission source of the assigned authentication information; input means for receiving input of the job identification information and the authentication information of the job to be output; When the authentication information of the job corresponding to the input job identification information among the stored jobs matches the input authentication information, an output control unit that outputs an image of the job is provided.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In this system, a printer system 10 is a common printer system that is placed in, for example, a print shop or an office.
2, including a storage device 14, a print engine 16 and a UI (user interface) unit 18.

The print server 12 is a device that controls the overall processing of the printer system 10. The print server 12 includes, in addition to general processing functions such as reception of a print instruction from the client device 20, scheduling of a print job, and conversion of print data into a printable format, authentication of a print request from a user. It has an output management function. The storage device 14 stores the client device 2
This is an apparatus for storing print data and the like received from 0.
The print engine 16 is a device that prints print data on paper or the like. The UI unit 18 is a device that provides a user with an operation menu and a status display of the printer system 10 and receives an instruction input and the like.

In the present embodiment, identification and authentication of print data to be output on the printer system 10 side are performed by a combination of a user name and an authentication code.

As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, when transmitting print data 100 to the printer system 10, user A associates print data 100 with user name 10
2 is also transmitted. The print server 12 assigns an authentication code 110 to the received print data 100,
The authentication code 110 is stored in the storage device 14 in association with the user name and the print data.

Here, in the present embodiment, the user name is used to identify the individual print data 100. Therefore, if print data having the same user name as the received user name 102 is stored in the storage device 14, the print server 12 changes the received user name 102 and
Make it unique within 4. This change may be performed, for example, by adding one or several characters to the received user name 102. User name 1 registered in storage device 14
02a secures the uniqueness in this way.

Since the user name 102 may be changed as described above, when the print server 12 notifies the client device 20 of the authentication code 110, the print server 12 also notifies the user name 102a registered in the storage device 14. I do.

In this embodiment, since the print data 100 in the storage device 14 is identified by the user name 102a, the identification code 1 assigned to the print data 100 is used.
10 need not be unique.

The UI unit 18 of the printer system 10 includes:
A list of the user names 102a of the print data 100 held in the storage device 14 is displayed. The user A who has arrived at the printer system 10 selects his / her print data from the list and instructs output. Then, the print server 12 requests the user A to input the authentication code via the UI unit 18, and if a correct authentication code is input in response thereto, causes the print engine 16 to print out the print data 100.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the print request receiving mechanism of the print server 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the reception function is normally in a print data reception waiting state (S10). When the print data and the user name associated with the print data are received via the network 30 (S12), the storage information in the storage device 14 is checked (S14), and the same user name as the received user name is already registered. It is checked whether or not it has not been performed (S16). And
If the same user name is registered, the user name is modified so as to be unique in the storage device 14 (S1
8) Adopt it as the user name of the print data. If the same user name is not registered, the received user name is adopted as it is. Then, an authentication code to be given to the print data is created (S20), and the authentication code and the user name are stored in the storage device 14 (S2).
2) The received print data is stored in the storage device 14 in association with the authentication code and the like (S24). Then, the information of the user name and the authentication code is notified to the user who has transmitted the print data or the like (S26).

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the output instruction authentication mechanism of the print server 12. This authentication mechanism is normally in a state of waiting for selection of output data (S30). In this state, a list of the user names of the print data stored in the storage device 14 is displayed on the UI unit 18 and the user waits for a selection. When the user selects output data from this list, the print server 12
8 displays an authentication code input screen to urge the user to input the authentication code (S31), and waits for the input of the authentication code (S31).
32). Then, when the authentication code is input, it is checked whether the input code matches the authentication code stored corresponding to the selected print data (S3).
4). If they do not match, a message indicating that the authentication code is incorrect is displayed on the UI unit 18 and the process is terminated. If the input authentication code matches the stored authentication code, the authentication is successful, and the printing process is started.

In the printing process, the print server 12 retrieves the print data from the storage device 14 (S36),
First, it is determined whether the print data is PDL (page description language) data that can be processed by the print engine 16 (S38). This determination is based on the fact that the print data is P
It is assumed that there are both cases where the data is sent as DL data and cases where the data is sent in a format other than PDL such as e-mail. If the data is PDL data, the print data is sent to the print engine 16 and printed (S50). When the printing is completed, the print data, the user name, and the authentication information are deleted from the storage device 14 (S52), and the process is terminated. I do.

If the print data extracted from the storage device 14 is not a PDL, it is checked whether the print data includes an attached file (S40). In an electronic mail or the like, a file such as a document or a chart may be attached in addition to the text information. If there is no such attached file, the body of the print data is regarded as a text file, converted into a PDL format (S42), printed (S50), and the data is deleted (S52). If there is an attached file, the print data is separated into the body and the attached file (S44), and the body is regarded as a text file and
L (S46), and the attached file is converted to the PDL format by a conversion process adapted to the data format of the file (S48). Then, the print engine 16 prints the PDL data of the text and the attached file (S5).
0), when the printing is completed, the related data is deleted (S5).
2).

As described above, according to this embodiment, every time a print request is made to the printer system 10, the authentication code 110 is sent.
Is given, it is possible to authenticate print output permission without performing user registration in the printer system 10 in advance. Further, in the present embodiment, since the printer system 10 gives the authentication code 110, the printer system 10
The side can manage the uniqueness of the authentication code 110 and the like. Further, in the present embodiment, since authentication is performed using the user name and the authentication code, stronger security can be realized.

In the above example, first, a list of user names is displayed to ask the user to select an output object, and thereafter, an input of an authentication code is requested. Instead, the user name and the authentication code are input to the user. May be input at the same time to perform authentication.

In the above example, when the print data includes an attached file, both the body and the attached file are printed out. However, the step of allowing the user to select which of the body and the attached file to print. Can also be added.

In the above example, the user name is transmitted to the printer system 10 together with the print data, and the print data is identified by the user name on the printer system 10 side. Alternatively, the document name may be used.

Further, in the above configuration, it is possible to set a print attribute relating to print data to be output from the UI unit 18. The print attribute can also be specified when transmitting print data from the client device 20.

When the printer system 10 receives the print data from the client device 20, it immediately converts the print data into a format such as PDL that can be processed by the print engine 16,
It is also preferable to store print data in this format. In this case, when there is an output instruction from the UI unit 18, the output can be performed quickly.

In the above example, the user name and the authentication code are manually input from the UI unit 18 when the output instruction is given. However, the user name and the authentication code are input by the client device 20 instead. The data may be stored in a portable storage medium such as a memory card, and the storage medium may be read by the printer system 10. In this case, in order to detect tampering of the authentication code or the like on the user side, the print server 12 performs processing such as encryption or data addition on the user name or the authentication code, and then notifies the user side. Are also suitable.

When the client device 20 is a portable terminal such as a PDA or a mobile phone, the user may carry it and come to the printer system 10. Therefore, it is also preferable to provide the printer system 10 with means for directly communicating with such a portable terminal, and to communicate with the portable terminal to acquire a user name and an authentication code. The communication may use wireless or infrared communication means, or may be connected to a portable terminal via a connection cable for communication. When the portable terminal is connected to the printer system 10, the operation of the user is simplified if the printer system 10 automatically reads the user name and the authentication code from the portable terminal.

[Embodiment 2] In this embodiment, a mechanism for facilitating the operation of output authentication using electronic mail is provided.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
(1) A print request from the client to the printer system 10, (2) a notification of the authentication code from the printer system 10 to the client, and (3) an output instruction and an authentication information input from the client to the printer system 10 are all sent by e-mail. Do. Therefore, the printer system 10
Does not require a user interface such as operation input. It is assumed that the user A has the portable terminal 20a.

When the user A wants to print, the user A sends (1) an electronic mail 200 for a print request to the mail address of the printer system 10. This mail 200 includes a source address 202, a destination address,
Bibliographic information such as a subject (title) 204 and body data 206 are included. The body data 206 is basically text data, but may include an attached file 208 created by application software.

The print server 12 that has received the e-mail 200 gives the authentication code 300 to the e-mail 200, and stores the e-mail 200 in the storage device 14 in association with the authentication code 300. Then, (2) an e-mail 210 including the authentication code 300 as a text is created as a reply mail to the e-mail 200, and the e-mail is returned. By receiving the mail 210, the user A knows that the printer system 10 has accepted the print request.

Then, the user A enters the printer system 10
When the mobile terminal 20a moves to (3), (3)
E-mail 210 from printer system 10 earlier
Reply to If the mail system mounted on the mobile terminal 20a is set so that the original message is left in the reply mail, the authentication code 300 is automatically incorporated into the reply e-mail 220. The user A does not need to input the authentication code 300 again. The print server 12 that has received the mail 220 extracts the authentication code 300 from the mail 220, retrieves the corresponding data of the e-mail 200 from the storage device 14, and performs the printing process.

As described above, in the present embodiment, it is possible to save the trouble of the user's manual input at the time of output authentication using the mechanism of e-mail. The user's device only needs to be equipped with standard mailer software, and there is no need to provide any special hardware or software for this mechanism.

In this embodiment, when the output is authenticated, not only the authentication code 300 in the reply mail 220 but also the source address and the subject of the mail 220 are referred to for authentication, so that the security is further strengthened. become. In addition, the security of the system is improved by encrypting the authentication code 300 returned to the user or adding redundant data for preventing tampering.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a system concept according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a processing procedure of a print request receiving mechanism of the print server according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a processing procedure of an output instruction authentication mechanism of the print server according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a system concept according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 printer system, 12 print server, 14
Storage device, 16 print engine, 18 UI unit,
20 client devices, 30 networks, 100
Print data, 110 authentication code.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kohei Genda 3-2-1, Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa KSP R & D Business Park Building Inside Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasuyuki Toki Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 3-2-1, KSP R & D Business Park Building Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2C061 AP01 HH03 HJ06 HK04 HN02 HN15 2C087 AA13 AB06 BB01 BB20 BD46 BD53 CB02 5B021 AA01 BB01 BB04 BB10 CC05 EE04

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A client transmits a job and job identification information to a image output device via a network in association with each other, and the image output device assigns authentication information to the job received from the client, and transmits the authentication information to the job. The job and the job identification information are stored in association with each other, and the authentication information is notified to the client of the job transmission source. When the image output instruction is received from the user, the input of the job identification information and the authentication information of the output target job is performed. A network image output control method for receiving and identifying a job to be output based on the job identification information, and outputting the job as an image if the input authentication information matches the authentication information given to the output target job. 2. The image output device generates unique authentication information in the device as authentication information to be added to a received job, and stores a job corresponding to authentication information input by a user. The network image output control method according to claim 1, wherein the image is output as an image. 3. A receiving means for receiving an image output job and corresponding job identification information via a network, providing authentication information to the received job, and correlating the image output job with the authentication information. A job accepting unit that stores the job identification information and notifies the job sender of the assigned authentication information; an input unit that accepts input of the job identification information and the authentication information of the output target job; Output control means for outputting an image of the job when the authentication information of the job corresponding to the input job identification information matches the input authentication information. 4. The image output device according to claim 3, wherein the input unit reads the authentication information from a portable storage medium presented by a user. 5. The job receiving unit notifies the authentication information to a job transmission source by electronic mail. The input unit receives a reply mail to the electronic mail notifying the authentication information, and The image output device according to claim 3, wherein the authentication information is extracted.