JP2009171200A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of taking effective countermeasures when a fire or the like breaks out. <P>SOLUTION: In an MFP 1, upon sensing a fire alarm (emergency bell, siren) by a fire information sensing section 32, an abnormality determination processing section 34 instructs a print processing section 22 to stop forming or printing of images. Further, the section 34 instructs a transfer processing section 36 to transfer stored data to a safe portion for evacuation. Thus, documents and data can be prevented from being left behind in a site after extinguishment of a fire. In addition, an operation panel 20 displays fire alarm to urge a user to take prompt action. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile transmitter / receiver, a multi-function peripheral having these functions, and a multifunction peripheral device.

  When this type of image forming apparatus receives document data for printing via, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) or the like, or receives facsimile transmission data via a telephone line, printing is executed based on the data. In particular, when an image forming apparatus is used in a business of a public office or a company, various types of secret information (for example, personal information, trade secrets, etc.) is often included in document data for printing and facsimile transmission data. Therefore, in recent years, not only documents after being printed by the image forming apparatus but also electronic data before printing has become a security target that should be kept secret. As countermeasures in normal times, for example, an outsider is prohibited from entering the installation place of the image forming apparatus or the operation of the image forming apparatus by an outsider is disabled. In emergency situations involving evacuation (for example, in the event of an earthquake, fire, etc.), normal countermeasures are not sufficient, and other countermeasures are required.

For this reason, conventionally, when an abnormal situation occurs in an office building or the like where an image forming apparatus is actually installed (for example, detection of shaking due to earthquake motion), internal information held in the apparatus can be removed such as removable media. Prior art for saving to an external storage device is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to this prior art, even if an outsider tries to access the internal information of the image forming apparatus after the end of the abnormal situation, the internal information is already saved in the external storage device, so that leakage of the internal information can be prevented. Conceivable. On the other hand, since a legitimate user can restore internal information from the external storage device by authenticating a password or the like, it is possible to access the internal information again after the end of the abnormal situation or print a document from there. Conceivable.
JP 2007-27682 A

  However, since the above prior art merely saves internal information in an external storage device, it is vulnerable to the point that a document has been printed by then. For this reason, if a document on which internal information is printed on the site is left behind, the document is taken out by an intruder and the internal information leaks.

  In addition, the above prior art saves internal information to an external storage device as a security measure in the event of an abnormality, but such a method assumes only a measure against an earthquake, and a fire is detected as an abnormal situation. It is not enough as a security measure when it occurs. That is, since the external storage device is detachably installed in the image forming apparatus, there is a problem that data cannot be recovered after the fire is extinguished if the external storage device itself is burned together with the image forming apparatus due to a fire.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of reliably executing security measures when an abnormality occurs.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an image forming unit that forms an image based on image data, a printing unit that prints an image formed by the image forming unit on a medium, and an alarm when an abnormality occurs. An alarm detecting means for detecting, and a stop processing means for stopping at least an image forming operation by the image forming device or an image printing operation by the printing device when an alarm is detected by the alarm detecting device. It is.

  The “alarm when an abnormality occurs” mentioned here may be a general alarm (fire alarm, crime prevention alarm) sound such as an emergency bell or siren, an alarm notified by communication means, or a human voice alarm. There may be. In any case, when the image forming apparatus of the present invention detects an alarm when an abnormality occurs, the image forming apparatus takes security measures by stopping the image forming or printing operation. As a result, even after the user requests the image forming apparatus to print the document, the printing based on the request is not performed, and the document on which the secret matter is recorded is left behind at the fire occurrence site. There is nothing. For this reason, even if fire extinguishing activities are performed early in the event of a fire and the image forming apparatus itself does not reach fire, the document will not remain on the spot and the document will not be taken out by an intruder. Information leakage is reliably prevented.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention further includes receiving means for receiving image data transmitted from an external device through a predetermined communication line. In this case, the stop processing means stops the operation of receiving the image data by the receiving means when an alarm at the time of occurrence of abnormality is detected by the alarm detecting means.

  For example, when image formation and printing are performed based on image data received through a network or a telephone line, the present invention stops receiving further image data upon detecting an alarm when an abnormality occurs. Thereby, it is possible to prevent inadvertent transmission of image data including secret information to the image forming apparatus.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention also includes a storage unit that stores information including at least image data, and an alarm when the alarm detection unit detects an abnormality, the information stored in the storage unit is stored in another storage device. Transfer means for transferring.

  In this case, the image data received via the network or telephone line is stored in the storage means. However, when an alarm is detected when an abnormality occurs, the image data is transferred to another storage device, so that the information can be safely stored. Can be evacuated. At this time, if “other storage device” is placed in a remote place (area where damage from fire is difficult to occur) and image data is transferred to this storage device via a network, the image is read from there after extinguishing the fire. Since the data can be restored, it is possible to reliably prevent the data from being burned out by a fire or being taken away by an intruder.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention further includes a storage erasure unit that erases the information stored in the storage unit when the information stored in the storage unit is transferred to another storage unit by the transfer unit as described above. It is preferable. Thereby, leakage of secret information can be prevented reliably.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention may further include a report issuing unit that issues a report that the information stored in the storage unit by the transfer unit has been transferred to another storage device. The report issued at this time may be provided, for example, to the transmission source of the image data, or may be provided to the administrator of the image forming apparatus. As a result, the user or administrator of the transmission source can surely know the data transfer destination (whereabouts).

  In addition, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a display unit that displays operation information related to a user's operation in a normal state and information related to the occurrence of an abnormality instead of the operation information when an alarm is detected by the alarm detection unit. May be further provided with information display means for displaying on the display unit.

  In this case, the user can be informed of the alarm through the display unit, and the subsequent action can be prompted. Further, for example, when the user tries to copy a document, the operation can be stopped, and the document can be saved together with the user to a safe place.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to reliably prevent information leakage as a security measure when an abnormality occurs. In addition, the safety of information can be significantly improved by preventing the data from being burned out or being stolen by an intruder.

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

[Basic configuration]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a multifunction peripheral device 1 (hereinafter referred to as “MFP”), which is an example of an image forming apparatus, from the upper left front. In FIG. 1, the front surface of the MFP 1 facing the operator and the left side surface of the MFP 1 can be seen. The apparatus main body 2 of the MFP 1 is, for example, an in-body discharge type, and a discharge tray 15 is formed inside thereof.

  A document feeder (ADF) 8 is mounted on the upper side of the apparatus body 2. When the MFP 1 is used as a copying machine, a facsimile, or a network scanner, a document is conveyed from the document feeder 8 and its image surface is optically read by an optical scanner unit (image reading unit) 9.

  An operation panel 20 is installed on the front side of the scanner unit 9. The operation panel 20 includes a plurality of operation keys and switches used for various user operations, and a display screen 21 for displaying various information. The display screen 21 also serves as a touch panel type input device, and an image such as an operation menu button is displayed on the display screen 21.

[Alarm detection means]
In the present embodiment, a sound sensor 23 is built in the operation panel 20. The sound sensor 23 is a microphone (microphone), for example, and a slit is formed in the exterior cover of the operation panel 20. The arrangement of the sound sensor 23 is merely an example, and any other arrangement (for example, a side surface of the MFP 1) may be used as long as it can detect ambient sounds efficiently. Further, security measures using the sound sensor 23 will be described later.

  A front loading type paper supply device 3 is disposed at the lower part of the apparatus main body 2. Specifically, the supply device 3 is provided with two upper and lower paper feed cassettes 4 along the height direction of the device body 2. Each of the cassettes 4 is configured to be detachable from the apparatus main body 2. When the cassette 4 is pulled out toward the front side of the MFP 1, the inside of the cassette 4 is opened to the outside, while facing the rear side of the MFP 1. The inside is closed by being pushed in.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the internal structure of the MFP 1. Note that arrows indicated by solid lines in the drawing represent a sheet conveyance path and its conveyance direction. Each cassette 4 stores sheets P in a stacked state, and the sheets P are separated from the cassette 4 one by one and sent out in the left direction in the figure.

  A paper transport unit 6 is disposed on the left side of the supply device 3. The paper P delivered from the cassette 4 is vertically transported upward along the left side surface of the apparatus main body 2 in the paper transport unit 6. Further, an openable manual feed tray 5 is provided on the right side surface of the apparatus main body 2, and the paper supplied from the manual feed tray 5 is also conveyed from the right side of the apparatus main body 2 to the left as viewed in the figure. Thereafter, it is vertically conveyed upward.

[Image forming unit (image forming unit), transfer unit (printing unit)]
Inside the apparatus main body 2, a registration roller 7, an image forming unit 10, and a transfer unit 11 are sequentially arranged on the downstream side when viewed in the sheet conveyance direction. An optical unit 14 is provided on the right side of the image forming unit 10, and laser light is irradiated from the optical unit 14 toward the photosensitive drum of the image forming unit 10.

  Further, a fixing unit 12 having a roller pair 19 and a discharge branching unit 13 are sequentially arranged on the downstream side of the transfer unit 11 when viewed in the sheet conveying direction. When performing single-sided printing, the paper discharged from the fixing unit 12 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 15 via the discharge branching unit 13. A duplex printing unit 16 is disposed between the discharge branching unit 13 and the sheet conveying unit 6. The duplex printing unit 16 returns the sheet discharged from the fixing unit 12 to the sheet conveying unit 6 to form an image. The data is sent again toward the unit 10.

[Security measures function]
The basic configuration (hardware configuration) and functions of the MFP 1 have been described above. In addition, in the present embodiment, the MFP 1 has a control function for executing security measures when an abnormality such as a fire occurs. Hereinafter, the security function of the MFP 1 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram relating to the control configuration of the MFP 1. Here, for convenience, various components are shown in units of blocks, but most of the components except the operation panel 20 can be realized by using existing hardware resources (for example, a CPU, a communication adapter, etc.). It can be done. Each will be described below.

  First, as a configuration relating to control of basic functions of the MFP 1 (document reading, fax transmission / reception, image formation, printing), the operation panel 20 is cited, a print processing unit 22, a storage unit 24, a fax communication unit. 28, network communication unit 30 and the like. Among these, the operation panel 20 receives the operation input performed by the user as described above. The print processing unit 22 has a function of controlling the image forming operation (latent image formation and development) performed in the image forming unit 10 and the printing operation in the transfer unit 11.

[Storage means]
For example, a nonvolatile memory 26 is connected to the storage unit 24 as a storage medium. The storage unit 24 has a function of managing data write, read, and erase operations with respect to the nonvolatile memory 26. A database can be constructed in the non-volatile memory 26, and in its storage area, for example, an address book (contact name, fax number, mail address list, etc.) registered in the MFP 1 and various settings (personal) Paper size and density, printing magnification, designation of paper feed stage, etc.) are stored. When the MFP 1 is used as a network printer, for example, image data for printing transmitted from a personal computer (not shown) used by the user is stored in the nonvolatile memory 26. In addition, when the MFP 1 is used as a facsimile transmitter / receiver, image data obtained by reading a document for transmission and image data received from a transmission source are stored in the nonvolatile memory 26. Here, the nonvolatile memory 26 is taken as an example, but a hard disk (magnetic recording medium) may be used as a storage medium.

[Receiving means]
The fax communication unit 28 can be connected to a telephone line using resources such as a fax modem. The network communication unit 30 can be connected to an existing network (LAN) using resources such as a general-purpose network adapter. Thus, as described above, the MFP 1 can be used as a fax transmitter / receiver or a network printer, or can be used as a network scanner, an Internet fax, or the like.

[Alarm detection means]
Further, the MFP 1 includes a fire occurrence information detection unit 32, an abnormality determination processing unit 34, and a transfer processing unit 36 as elements for security measures. Among them, the sound sensor 23 is connected to the fire occurrence information detection unit 32, and when a siren sound, a buzzer sound or the like is generated by a fire alarm or a security alarm, the detection signal from the sound sensor 23 is a fire occurrence information detection unit. 32 is input. In addition, the fire alarm and the security alarm can be generated as, for example, a network signal. In this case, the fire occurrence information detection unit 32 has a function of detecting (receiving) the alarm through the network communication unit 30. In addition to this, the fire occurrence information detection unit 32 may be configured to detect an alarm through a telephone line or detect using a dedicated wireless receiver, for example. In the following explanation, fire alarm will be mainly explained.

[Stop processing means]
When a fire alarm (hereinafter simply referred to as “alarm”) is detected by the fire occurrence information detection unit 32, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 specifically instructs an operation related to security measures. For example, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 issues an instruction to stop the image forming and printing operations to the print processing unit 22. Further, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 issues an instruction to transfer and delete data to the transfer processing unit 36 and the storage unit 24, and issues an instruction to stop communication to the fax communication unit 28. Further, as a security measure, for example, the fact that an alarm is detected is displayed on the operation panel 20, or the operation menu displayed on the operation panel 20 is invalidated. These processes will be further described later with reference to another flowchart.

[Transfer means]
The transfer processing unit 36 transfers the electronic data stored in the nonvolatile memory 26 through the network communication unit 30 based on an instruction from the abnormality determination processing unit 34. The data transfer destination is, for example, a storage device such as a file server connected to a network, and the transfer destination storage device is preferably installed in advance at a remote location (for example, a location sufficiently distant).

[Alarm detection]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of information detection processing executed by the fire occurrence information detection unit 32. During the operation of the MFP 1, the fire occurrence information detection unit 32 executes the information detection process of FIG. 4 as a timer interrupt process, for example. Hereinafter, it demonstrates along the example of a procedure.

  Step S100: The fire occurrence information detection unit 32 checks whether an alarm is detected through the sound sensor 23 or the network communication unit 30 as described above. In particular, if no alarm is detected (No), the fire occurrence information detection unit 32 ends the information detection process for a while and returns to the state before the occurrence of the interruption (for example, the main program). On the other hand, if it is confirmed that an alarm has been detected (Yes), the fire occurrence information detection unit 32 next executes step S102.

[Display of information on occurrence of abnormality (information display means)]
Step S102: The fire occurrence information detection unit 32 issues an information display request to the operation panel 20. Specifically, it requests a display driver (not shown) of the operation panel 20 to display information corresponding to the occurrence of an abnormality. In response to this, the display driver invalidates the menu button or the like of the operation panel 20 that has been displayed so far, and displays a message such as “fire alarm detected” instead of the image of the menu button.

  Step S104: Next, the fire occurrence information detection unit 32 notifies the abnormality determination processing unit 34 of the occurrence of a fire (that a fire alarm has been detected). When the above procedure is completed, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 returns to the state before the interruption. In this case, the fire occurrence information detection unit 32 prohibits subsequent interruptions and enters a standby state without executing the information detection process again.

[Activation of security measures]
Next, FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of an abnormality countermeasure process executed by the abnormality determination processing unit 34. This abnormality countermeasure process is also periodically executed, for example, as a timer interrupt process while the MFP 1 is operating.

  Step S200: The abnormality determination processing unit 34 checks whether or not a fire occurrence notification has been received from the fire occurrence information detection unit 32. In particular, if a fire occurrence notification has not been made (No), the abnormality determination processing unit 34 returns to the state before the occurrence of the interruption. On the other hand, when a fire occurrence notification is made (Yes), the abnormality determination processing unit 34 proceeds to the next step S202 and subsequent steps.

[Stopping image formation and printing]
Step S202: First, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 executes a print stop process. In this defined process, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 instructs the print processing unit 22 to stop image formation and printing. As a result, for example, the image forming unit 10 does not perform the operation of exposing the photosensitive drum or developing the latent image with toner. Further, when the sheet P is waiting on the registration roller 7, for example, the sheet remains stopped without being supplied to the transfer unit 11, and new sheet feeding from the sheet feeding cassette 4 is not performed.

[Stop receiving data]
Step S204: Next, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 executes communication stop processing. In this defined process, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 instructs the fax communication unit 28 and the network communication unit 30 to stop communication. Thereby, even if the fax communication unit 28 receives a fax, for example, the communication is cut off. If there is received data that has been received halfway at this time, the data is also erased. Similarly, even if the network communication unit 30 is receiving image data for printing, the reception is interrupted, and the buffered data is erased halfway. In this case, since a fax transmission error occurs, it becomes clear that communication has not been completed normally at the transmission source. In addition, since a printing error occurs in the user's personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as “personal computer”), it is apparent that the printing has not been completed normally.

[Data transfer (transfer means) and erase (memory erase means)]
Step S206: Furthermore, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 executes a data transfer process. In this defined process, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 instructs the transfer processing unit 36 to transfer (save) data. In response to this, the transfer processing unit 36 starts transferring various data (including received image data, data registered in the database, etc.) stored in the nonvolatile memory 26 (including the accumulated data). The data transfer operation is completed within the time until an electronic device is actually damaged by a flame or heat.

  The transfer method here may be, for example, a form attached to an e-mail or a form by network communication. The data transfer destination may be another storage device connected to the network as described above, or may be another image forming device (an MFP other than the MFP 1). In addition, in this process, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 instructs the storage unit 24 to erase the transferred data. As a result, no important data remains in the MFP 1 after the fire is extinguished.

[Issuance of transfer reports (report issuing means)]
Step S208: Subsequently, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 executes a report issuing process. In this predefined process, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 collects logs, checksum values, and the like at the time of data transfer by the transfer processing unit 36, and creates a report regarding the transferred data. For example, when image data transmitted from a user's personal computer is transferred without being printed, a report of the transfer result is notified to the user's personal computer as the sender. The report may be in a text file format or CSV format, or may be in an audio file format. Further, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 notifies a transfer result report (a list of transferred data) to a terminal or the like held by the administrator of the MFP 1.

  When the above procedure is executed, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 returns to the state before the occurrence of the interrupt. After the return, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 prohibits subsequent interruptions and enters a standby state without executing the abnormality countermeasure processing again. The standby state continues until the MFP 1 is restored after the fire is extinguished, for example. If the MFP 1 is not seriously damaged, the MFP 1 can be normally started by releasing the standby state (reset start) at the time of recovery.

  In any case, by executing the above security measures in the event of a fire, the following utility is recognized in the MFP 1 of the present embodiment.

(1) When a fire alarm is detected, the MFP 1 immediately stops the image forming and printing operations, so even if a user or administrator accuses the site, a document containing confidential matters will be fired. It is never left behind on site. As a result, even if the fire is extinguished early and the fire does not reach the MFP 1, information leakage from the MFP 1 can be reliably prevented.

(2) Further, since data reception is stopped even during communication, data including secret matters is not stored in the MFP 1. For this reason, even if the MFP 1 is stolen after the fire is extinguished, the sender's information can be prevented from leaking therefrom.

(3) On the other hand, since already received data and registered data are transferred to other places and deleted, information leakage due to theft can be reliably prevented as in (2) above.

(4) Since the report of the transfer result is notified to the sender and the manager together with the above (3), the location of the data can be reliably traced after the fire is extinguished (ensuring traceability). As a result, the data recovery operation for the MFP 1 can be performed more quickly and reliably.

(5) Further, since a fire alarm can be made known to the user who is going to operate the MFP 1 through the operation panel 20, it is possible to contribute to the subsequent coping action of the user. In addition, the user can be discouraged from placing a document on the document table or the document feeder 8 and can be prompted to take the document safely. In addition, by invalidating the acceptance of the operation by the operation panel 20, it is possible to stop the reading of the original document.

  In addition, although the fire alarm was mainly assumed so far, the method of this embodiment can be applied also when the crime prevention alarm occurs. For example, when a security alarm siren or buzzer is detected by the sound sensor 23 or an alarm signal is detected (received) through the network communication unit 30, the abnormality determination processing unit 34 receives the above security measures. By executing, it is possible to reliably prevent information from being taken out by an intruder.

  The present invention can be implemented with various modifications without being limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, in the data transfer process (step S206 in FIG. 5), not only image data, received data by fax, and address book data, but also maintenance management information (printer counter information, remaining toner information, etc.) of the MFP 1 are combined. May be transferred. Thereby, further information leakage can be prevented.

  The configuration shown in FIG. 3 may be realized using existing hardware resources as described above, or may be separately incorporated into the MFP 1 as a dedicated module. However, when existing resources are utilized as in the present embodiment, it can be dealt with only by rewriting on software, and therefore there is an advantage (cost reduction effect) that hardware remodeling is unnecessary.

  In one embodiment, an information display request is issued to the operation panel 20 in the information detection process, but this may be performed in an abnormality countermeasure process.

  In addition, in one embodiment, an MFP is cited as an example of an image forming apparatus, but the image forming apparatus may be a copier, a printer, a scanner, or the like.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the MFP from the upper left front. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an internal structure of an MFP. FIG. 2 is a block diagram relating to a control configuration of an MFP. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a procedure of an information detection process. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a procedure of the countermeasure process at the time of abnormality.

Explanation of symbols

1 MFP
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Paper supply apparatus 4 Paper cassette 10 Image formation part 11 Transfer part 20 Operation panel 22 Print processing part 23 Sound sensor 24 Storage part 26 Non-volatile memory 28 Fax communication part 30 Network communication part 32 Fire occurrence information detection part 34 Abnormality judgment process Part

Claims (6)

Image forming means for forming an image based on image data;
Printing means for printing an image formed by the image forming means on a medium;
An alarm detection means for detecting that an alarm is issued when an abnormality occurs;
And a stop processing unit that stops at least an image formation by the image forming unit or an image printing operation by the printing unit when an alarm is detected by the alarm detection unit. Image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
Receiving means for receiving the image data transmitted from an external device through a predetermined communication line;
The stop processing means includes
An image forming apparatus, wherein when the alarm detection unit detects an alarm when an abnormality occurs, the receiving unit stops the operation of receiving the image data. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
Storage means for storing information including at least the image data;
An image forming apparatus, further comprising: a transfer unit configured to transfer information stored in the storage unit to another storage device when an alarm when an abnormality occurs is detected by the alarm detection unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3.
An image forming apparatus, further comprising: a storage erasing unit for erasing the information stored in the storage unit when the information stored in the storage unit is transferred to another storage unit by the transfer unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 or 4,
An image forming apparatus, further comprising: a report issuing unit that issues a report that the information stored in the storage unit by the transfer unit has been transferred to another storage device. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
A display unit that displays operation information related to user operations during normal operation;
An image forming apparatus, further comprising: an information display unit that displays information on occurrence of an abnormality on the display unit instead of the operation information when an alarm is detected by the alarm detection unit. .

Images