JP2014056409A - Information processing device, output operation control method, output operation control program, and output operation control system - Google Patents

Abstract

An information processing apparatus and the like for controlling an output operation according to an installation position are provided.
An information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an image acquisition unit that acquires an image including output device information that defines a position of a device that can output an image, and an output device information acquisition unit that acquires output device information from the image. A position determination unit that acquires position information of the information processing device, an output determination unit that determines whether or not an image can be output based on the position information and the output device information. When the position of the processing device is defined in the output device information, it is determined that the image can be output.
[Selection] Figure 15

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an output operation control method, an output operation control program, and an output operation control system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a technique for restricting copying of a printed material by embedding information such as copy permission or copy prohibition of the printed material in the printed material.

  As a technique related to this, for example, in Patent Document 1, in order to ensure security for a paper document, information such as copying permission or copying prohibition of a printed material is embedded in the printed material in the form of a dot pattern or a barcode, thereby A technique for restricting copying is known.

  Further, in addition to restrictions on users, a technique for preventing information leakage due to duplication has also been devised by further restricting printing locations.

  As a technique related to this, for example, in Patent Document 2, while position information indicating a position where the document can be output is embedded as restriction information in a document ID that uniquely identifies the document, the device is uniquely identified on the device side. Embedding information indicating the location information of the device in the device code specified in the above, and when printing the document, read the document ID and device code printed and displayed in the form of a barcode etc. on the mobile device that gives the print instruction A technique for permitting printing when the position information included in the document ID matches the position information included in the device code is known.

  In addition, regarding the acquisition of position information, various position information management systems for grasping and managing the position of a wireless terminal or a person or article having a wireless terminal in a facility where accurate positioning using GPS or the like is difficult Has been proposed.

  Further, for example, Patent Literature 3 discloses a system in which a wireless terminal receives unique information transmitted from a lighting device and transmits the unique information to a server to identify the position of the wireless terminal.

  However, in the technique of Patent Document 2, it is difficult for a device installed indoors to acquire position information because GPS is difficult to acquire position information indoors. Also, it is assumed that GPS position information is fixedly written in a memory inside the device installed indoors. However, if the device is moved, the security for the location will not function at all. .

  Also in the system of Patent Document 3, no consideration is given to the power consumption of the wireless terminal. In addition, in the server, in order to specify the position of the wireless terminal, it is necessary to search for a position associated with the unique information, which may increase the calculation cost.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide an information processing apparatus or the like that controls an output operation according to an installation position.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an image acquisition unit that acquires an image including output device information that defines a position of a device that can output an image, Based on the output device information acquisition means for acquiring the output device information, the device position acquisition means for acquiring the position information of the information processing apparatus, the position information, and the output device information, whether or not to output the image is determined. An output determination unit that performs output determination when the position of the information processing apparatus is defined in the output device information.

  In addition, what applied the arbitrary combination of the component of this invention, expression, or a component to a method, an apparatus, a system, a computer program, a recording medium, etc. is effective as an aspect of this invention.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the information processing apparatus etc. which control output operation | movement according to an installation position can be provided.

The figure showing the positional infomation management system in one Embodiment of this invention. The figure showing the network which comprises the positional infomation management system in one Embodiment of this invention. The hardware block diagram of the communication apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention. The hardware block diagram of the radio | wireless terminal in one Embodiment of this invention. The hardware block diagram of the management apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention. The hardware block diagram of the management server in one Embodiment of this invention. The functional block diagram of the communication apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention. The functional block diagram of the radio | wireless terminal in one Embodiment of this invention. The functional block diagram of the management apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention. The functional block diagram of the management server in one Embodiment of this invention. The figure showing the example of the information which the communication apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention hold | maintains. The figure showing the example of the information which the radio | wireless terminal in one Embodiment of this invention hold | maintains. The figure showing the example of the format of the positional information which the radio | wireless terminal in one Embodiment of this invention transmits. The figure showing the example of the information which the management server in one Embodiment of this invention hold | maintains. The figure showing the operation | movement sequence of the positional infomation management system in one Embodiment of this invention. The figure showing the example of the search screen of the management server in one Embodiment of this invention. The figure showing the example of the search result screen of the management server in one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an installation diagram of an image forming apparatus 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 400 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a main functional configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the output image in one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the output apparatus information in one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining information processing of the image forming apparatus 400 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the apparatus information in one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the example of a display of the output image output impossibility in one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the example of a display of the output image output impossibility in one Embodiment of this invention.

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

[Obtain location information]
First, in the present embodiment, position information is used when controlling an output operation according to an installation position. For this reason, first, a position information management system for acquiring and managing the position information will be described first.

(1. System)
FIG. 1A shows a location information management system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1A includes communication apparatuses 100, 102, 104, and 106, wireless terminals 120, 122, and 124, a management apparatus 140, a management server 160, and a network 180 and a network 190 that include the communication apparatus, the wireless terminal, and the management apparatus. . Here, the network 180 is a wireless network managed by the management device 140. FIG. 1B shows the communication devices 100, 102, 104, and 106, the wireless terminals 120, 122, and 124, and the management device 140 that constitute the wireless network in FIG. 1A.

  The communication devices 100, 102, 104, and 106 are fixed to, for example, a ceiling of a room, and position information (hereinafter referred to as “position information”) such as history information, the number of floors of a building, and a building number related to the fixed position. This is transmitted wirelessly continuously or intermittently. Each communication device has an independent casing and operates by being supplied with power from a previously installed power source, or is incorporated in a lighting fixture such as an LED fluorescent tube and operates with power supplied from the lighting fixture. Each of the communication devices 100, 102, 104, and 106 transmits position information held by each of the communication devices 100, 102, 104, and 106 to a predetermined range using a radio signal. The predetermined range is determined by the signal strength of the radio signal used. The communication device is arranged so as to cover an area that is a position management target, and is configured so that the respective areas do not overlap. Or even if it is a case where it overlaps, in the side which receives a positional information, it is comprised so that any one communication apparatus can be determined based on the intensity | strength of a received radio wave. In the example of FIG. 1A, a conical dotted line shown below each communication device represents a predetermined range. As a communication method for transmitting position information, for example, a ground complementary signal (Indoor Messaging System; IMES) can be used.

  The wireless terminals 120, 122, and 124 can receive wireless signals transmitted by the nearest communication device among the communication devices 100, 102, 104, and 106. In the example of FIG. 1A, each wireless terminal is attached to a rectangular parallelepiped managed object that is a target whose position is to be managed. The wireless terminals 120, 122, and 124 are terminals that can transmit radio waves themselves, such as active tags. Hereinafter, the wireless terminal 120 will be described.

  The wireless terminal 120 is within a range in which a wireless signal from the communication device 100 can be received, and receives position information of the communication device 100. The position information of the communication device 100 is received using, for example, IMES. The wireless terminal 120 transmits information including its own identification information such as a network address to the communication apparatus 100 together with the received position information. The transmission is performed through a network 180 by short-range wireless communication such as IEEE802.15.4 and ZigBee (registered trademark). In this case, IEEE802.15.4 abbreviated address or IEEE extended (MAC) address can be used as identification information of the wireless terminal 120. The identification information and position information transmitted to the communication device 100 are then transmitted to the management device 140 via the adjacent communication device 102. The transmission / reception operation in the wireless terminal 120 is performed at a timing determined in advance in the wireless terminal 120 or at a timing when a change in acceleration by the acceleration sensor included in the wireless terminal 120 is detected.

  The management device 140 connects the network 180 and the network 190 to each other, and bridges data transmitted from the network 180 side to the network 190. The management device 140 is installed, for example, for each floor of a building or for each room partitioned by walls. When the network 180 is a PAN (Personal Area Network) based on IEEE802.15.4 and ZigBee (registered trademark) and the network 190 is a LAN based on the IEEE802.3 standard, the communication system is converted between them. If the identification information of the wireless terminal 120 is represented by an IEEE 802.15.4 abbreviated address, it is converted into an IEEE extended address based on the information at the time of PAN configuration and transmitted to the management server 160.

  The management server 160 records the identification information and position information received via the management apparatus 140 together with the reception date and time, and manages the position of the communication apparatus. In the management server 160, management objects related to wireless terminals are recorded in advance. Therefore, the location of the management target can be searched using these pieces of information.

  The network 180 connects the respective communication devices 100, 102, 104, 106, the wireless terminals 120, 122, 124, and the management device 140, for example, a PAN configured by IEEE802.15.4 and ZigBee (registered trademark) standards. It is. When the PAN is configured with IEEE802.15.4 and ZigBee (registered trademark) standards, the wireless terminal, the communication device, and the management device each have an end device function, a router function, and a coordinator function defined by the ZigBee (registered trademark) standard. . Each communication device and wireless terminal enters the management of the management device at the time of activation, forms a PAN, and determines the minimum path to the management device.

  The network 190 is a network that connects the management apparatus 140 and the management server 160, and is, for example, a LAN defined by the IEEE 802.3 standard.

  As described above, in the location information management system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the wireless terminal can transmit the identification information and the location information to the management server using power that can be communicated with the nearest communication device. it can. In addition, it is not necessary to install a new infrastructure for installing the communication device, and the introduction cost can be reduced.

  Note that the location information of the communication device may be provided through the network 180. This eliminates the need for transmission means for transmitting position information such as IMES.

  Further, the wireless terminal may transmit the identification information and the position information to the management apparatus 140 when the management apparatus is present in the vicinity of the communication apparatus that transmitted the position information. Thereby, identification information and position information can be transmitted to the management server by the shortest path.

  Further, the management server function may be integrated into the management server. This eliminates the need for a separate management device.

  The wireless terminal may be a wireless terminal having a function equivalent to an active tag, such as a smartphone, PDA, PC, or smart meter. As a result, it is possible to manage the position information of the existing wireless terminal without attaching a tag.

  Further, in addition to the above-described position information, information for specifying a finer position, such as information representing a section in the room, may be included. As a result, finer location management is possible.

  The location management target may be a person. Thereby, the location of a person can be managed by the system 1.

  The network 180 may be configured using short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth LE, ANT, Z-Wave, and the like. This makes it possible to manage position information of various wireless terminals.

  The network 190 may include a plurality of types of networks such as the Internet. This makes it possible to manage the location information of the wireless terminal regardless of the physical location between the network 180 and the management server 160.

(2. Hardware configuration example)
(2. Hardware configuration example)
Next, the hardware configuration of the communication device 100, the wireless terminal 120, the management device 140, and the management server 160 included in the location information management system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D.

  FIG. 2A shows a hardware configuration of the communication apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The communication device 100 includes a CPU 200, a RAM 202, a ROM 204, a position signal transmission unit 208, a wireless communication unit 212, and a bus 214.

  The CPU 200 executes a program that controls the operation of the communication device 100. The RAM 202 constitutes a work area of the CPU 200 and the like. The ROM 204 stores position information of the communication device 100 in addition to the program executed by the CPU 200. The position signal transmission unit 208 is an apparatus including an antenna that transmits a positioning signal representing position information of the communication apparatus 100 and transmits a positioning signal such as IMES. The wireless communication unit 212 is a device that includes an antenna capable of transmitting and receiving radio waves conforming to the IEEE802.15.4 standard, for example. A bus 214 electrically connects the above devices.

  With the above configuration, the communication apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention transmits position information to the wireless terminal 120, receives identification information and position information from the wireless terminal 120, and transmits these information via the management apparatus. Can be sent to the management server.

  As described above, when the position information is transmitted by wireless communication, the position signal transmission control unit 206 and the position signal transmission unit 208 are not necessary.

  FIG. 2B shows a hardware configuration of the wireless terminal 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wireless terminal 120 includes a CPU 220, a RAM 222, a ROM 224, a position signal reception unit 228, a wireless communication unit 232, an acceleration detection unit 236, and a bus 238.

  The CPU 220 executes a program that controls the operation of the wireless terminal 120. The RAM 222 constitutes a work area of the CPU 220 and the like. The ROM 224 stores identification information of the wireless terminal 120 and position information received from the communication device 100 in addition to the program executed by the CPU 220. The position signal receiving unit 228 is a device including an antenna that receives a positioning signal representing position information and receives a positioning signal such as IMES. The wireless communication unit 232 is a device that includes an antenna capable of transmitting and receiving radio waves conforming to, for example, IEEE 802.15.4 standard. The acceleration detection unit 236 detects a change in acceleration and is, for example, an acceleration sensor or a motion sensor using inertial force or magnetism. A bus 238 electrically connects the above devices.

  With the above configuration, the wireless terminal 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention can receive location information from the communication device 100 and transmit its own identification information to the communication device 100 together with the location information. In particular, identification information and position information can be efficiently transmitted by performing a transmission or reception operation at a timing when the wireless terminal is moved.

  In addition, when the wireless terminal 120 is an information terminal such as a smartphone or a PC, the wireless terminal 120 includes an input device such as a touch panel, a dial key, a keyboard, and a mouse and a corresponding input control unit that accepts input from the user. Also good. Furthermore, a display device such as a screen and a corresponding display control unit may be provided.

  In addition, when the wireless terminal 120 includes a GPS antenna and a corresponding control unit, it is possible to receive a positioning signal by IMES using the antenna, and it is possible to correspond to the position information management system 1 only by software modification.

  Further, the acceleration detection control unit 234 and the acceleration detection unit 236 are arbitrary components. When the acceleration detection control unit 234 and the acceleration detection unit 236 are not provided, the transmission or reception operation of the wireless terminal 120 is performed at a predetermined interval or time.

  Further, as described above, when the position information is received by wireless communication, the position signal reception control unit 226 and the position signal reception unit 228 are not necessary.

  FIG. 2C shows the hardware configuration of the management apparatus 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The management device 140 includes a CPU 240, a RAM 242, a ROM 244, a wireless communication device 248, a wired communication device 252, and a bus 254.

  The CPU 240 executes a program that controls the operation of the management apparatus 140. The RAM 242 constitutes a work area of the CPU 240 and the like. The ROM 244 stores programs executed by the CPU 240 and data used by the programs. The wireless communication device 248 is a device including an antenna capable of transmitting and receiving radio waves conforming to IEEE802.15.4 standard, for example. The wired communication device 252 is a device having a network interface that conforms to, for example, the IEEE 802.3 standard. A bus 254 electrically connects the above devices.

  With the above configuration, the management apparatus 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention can convert a signal from the network 180 including the communication apparatus 100 and the wireless terminal 120 into a network 190 including the management server 160. When the network 180 configuring the PAN is ZigBee (registered trademark), it can have a coordinator function for managing devices participating in the PAN.

  FIG. 2D shows the hardware configuration of the management server 160 in one embodiment of the present invention. The management server 160 includes a CPU 260, a RAM 262, a ROM 264, an HDD 266, a communication unit 270, a display unit 274, an input unit 278, and a bus 280.

  The CPU 260 executes a program that controls the operation of the management server 160. The RAM 262 constitutes a work area for the CPU 260 and the like. The ROM 264 stores a program executed by the CPU 260 and data used by the program. The HDD 266 stores information for managing the position of the wireless terminal 120 used in the position information management system 1. The communication unit 270 is a device having a network interface that conforms to, for example, the IEEE 802.3 standard. The display unit 274 includes a display such as a liquid crystal display or a CRT display. The input unit 278 includes, for example, a keyboard and a mouse that accept input from the user. A bus 280 electrically connects the above devices.

  With the above configuration, the management server 160 in one embodiment of the present invention can manage the location of the wireless terminal 120 and search for the location of the wireless terminal 120.

  The HDD 266 may be any storage device including a tape drive, or may be a storage area accessible via a network.

  In addition, the management server 160 may include a wireless communication control unit and a wireless communication device included in the management device 140 described above, and may perform processing instead of the management device 140. Thereby, it is not necessary to provide the management device 140 separately.

(3. Function)
FIG. 3A shows a functional block diagram of the communication apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The communication apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a storage unit 300, a communication unit 304, and a control unit 312.

  The storage unit 300 stores the position information 302 of the communication device 100. An example of a table for storing the position information 302 is shown in FIG. FIG. 4 includes items of floor number, latitude, longitude, and building number. The floor number represents the floor number of the building where the communication device 100 is installed. The latitude and longitude represent the latitude and longitude of the position where the communication device 100 is located. The building number represents the building number of the building where the communication device 100 is installed. In the example of FIG. 4, the communication device 100 is located on the 16th floor of a building C of a certain building, and is located at a point where the latitude is 35.459555 and the longitude is 139.3387110.

  The communication unit 304 includes a position information transmission unit 306, a terminal information reception unit 308, and a terminal information transmission unit 310.

  The position information transmitting unit 306 wirelessly transmits the position information 302 including information such as the history information, the number of floors of the building, and the building number continuously or intermittently to the wireless terminal 120 within a predetermined range. The position information 302 is transmitted using, for example, a format defined in IMES.

  The terminal information receiving unit 308 receives identification information and position information transmitted from the wireless terminal 120.

  The terminal information transmission unit 310 transmits the identification information and position information transmitted from the wireless terminal 120 to the management server 160 via the management device 140. When the network 180 is made using the ZigBee (registered trademark) standard, the transmission is performed using routing information held by the communication apparatus 100.

  The control unit 312 controls the operation of the communication device 100. When the communication apparatus 100 configures a PAN using the wireless terminal 120 and the management apparatus 140 and ZigBee (registered trademark), the communication apparatus 100 is controlled to provide a router function.

  With the above configuration, the communication apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention holds the position information 302, transmits the position information 302 to the wireless terminal 120, receives the identification information and the position information of the wireless terminal 120, and The identification information can be transmitted to the management server through the management device 140.

  Note that the position information 302 may include additional information such as the name of the building where the communication apparatus 100 is installed and information indicating a section in the room. As a result, finer location management is possible.

  FIG. 3B shows a functional block diagram of the wireless terminal 120 in an embodiment of the present invention. The wireless terminal 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a storage unit 320, a communication unit 326, an acceleration detection unit 332, and a control unit 334.

  The storage unit 320 includes identification information 322 and position information 324. The identification information 322 includes information such as the network address of the wireless terminal 120 that can identify the wireless terminal 120 on the location information management system 1. For example, when the network 180 is based on the IEEE 802.15.4 and ZigBee (registered trademark) standards, an IEEE 802.15.4 abbreviated address or an IEEE extended (MAC) address can be used. The position information 324 is the position information 302 transmitted from the communication apparatus 100. An example of a table for storing the position information 324 is shown in FIG. The configuration is the same as in FIG.

  The communication unit 326 includes a position information receiving unit 328 and an identification information transmitting unit 330.

  The position information receiving unit 328 receives the position information 302 transmitted from the communication device 100. The received position information 302 is held in the storage unit 320 of the wireless terminal 120.

  The identification information transmitting unit 330 transmits the position information 324 together with the identification information 322 of the wireless terminal 120 to the communication device 100. The position information 322 is transmitted to the wireless terminal 120 in a format as shown in FIG. 6, for example. In the format of FIG. 5, the floor, latitude, longitude, and building number fields are represented by 9 bits, 21 bits, 21 bits, and 8 bits, respectively, and the corresponding fields of the message received according to the IMES standard are connected. . The representation format of each field conforms to the IMES standard. Actually, in addition to this format, a header and checksum information defined by the communication method are added and transmitted. As a communication method, for example, IEEE802.15.4 and ZigBee (registered trademark) standards are used.

  The acceleration detection unit 332 detects a change in acceleration of the wireless terminal 120. The change in acceleration is detected, for example, when the wireless terminal 120 starts moving, when the movement stops, or when a tilt is detected. The detected change in acceleration is used to determine the timing of the transmission or reception operation of the wireless terminal 120. The acceleration detection means 332 is an arbitrary component.

  The control unit 334 controls the reception timing of the position information by the position information reception unit 238 and the transmission timing of the identification information 322 and the position information 324 by the identification information transmission unit 330. The transmission / reception timing is determined based on the detection of a change in acceleration by the acceleration detection means 332. Alternatively, it may be determined based on an interval or time preset in the wireless terminal 120. Also, transmission and reception timings may be determined independently of each other. Further, when the wireless terminal 120 forms a PAN with ZigBee (registered trademark) together with the communication device 100 and the management device 140, the control unit 334 controls the wireless terminal 120 to provide an endpoint function.

  With the configuration described above, the wireless terminal 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention can efficiently receive location information from a communication device and efficiently transmit the location information together with the location information to an identification information communication device.

  When the wireless terminal 120 is an information terminal such as a smartphone or a PC, an input unit that receives an input from the user or a display unit that presents information to the user may be provided. As a result, it is possible to present identification information or position information to the user and to input or modify identification information or position information from the user.

  FIG. 3C is a functional block diagram of the management apparatus 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The management apparatus 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a communication unit 340, a conversion unit 346, and a control unit 348.

  The communication unit 340 includes a reception unit 342 and a transmission unit 344. The receiving unit 342 receives data transmitted from a communication device or a wireless terminal belonging to the network 180. The transmission unit 344 transmits the data converted by the management apparatus 140 to the management server 160 belonging to the network 190. The network 180 is a PAN based on IEEE802.15.4 and ZigBee (registered trademark) standards, for example. The network 190 is a LAN based on the IEEE802.3 standard, for example.

  The converting unit 346 converts the data received by the receiving unit 342 from the network 180 into a format compatible with the network 190. The converted data is transmitted to the management server 160 via the network 190 by the transmission unit 344. Here, when the identification information of the wireless terminal 120 included in the data is represented by an IEEE 802.15.4 abbreviated address, it is converted into an IEEE extended address based on the information at the time of PAN configuration.

  The control unit 348 controls the operation of the management device 140. When the management device 140 configures a PAN according to the ZigBee (registered trademark) standard together with the communication device 100 and the wireless terminal 120, the management device 140 is controlled to provide a coordinator function.

  With the above configuration, the management apparatus 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention can bridge communication between the network 180 to which the communication apparatus 100 and the wireless terminal 120 belong and the network 190 to which the management server belongs.

  FIG. 3D shows a functional block diagram of the management server 160 in one embodiment of the present invention. The management server 160 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a communication unit 360, a storage unit 366, an input unit 370, a display unit 372, and a control unit 374.

  The communication unit 360 includes a reception unit 362 and a transmission unit 364. The receiving unit 362 receives the identification information and the position information transmitted from the wireless terminal through the management device 140. The received identification information and position information are stored in the storage means 366. When the transmission unit 364 is requested to provide location information to an external server or the like, the transmission unit 364 transmits the location information to the external server or the like.

  The storage unit 366 has location management information 368. The location management information 368 is information obtained by adding management information such as a reception time to the identification information and location information received from the wireless terminal 120. An example of a table storing the information is shown in FIG. FIG. 7 includes items of identification information, device name, owned department, latitude, longitude, floor number, building, and reception date and time. The identification information is information such as an IEEE extended address of the wireless terminal 120 that has transmitted the identification information. The latitude, longitude, number of floors, and building correspond to the positional information received together with the identification information. The reception date and time is the date and time when the management server 160 received the information. The device name is the name of the management target to which the wireless terminal 120 that transmitted the information is attached or the device name of the wireless terminal 120. The owned department is a department name that owns the wireless terminal 120 that has transmitted the information. Information on the device name and the owned department is associated with identification information by the management server 160 in advance.

  The input unit 370 accepts an input from the user so that the user searches for position information.

  The display unit 372 displays on the screen a GUI related to a search screen for the user to search for position information. An example of the search screen is shown in FIG. 9A. In the “location search system” shown in FIG. 9A, based on the information stored in the storage unit 366, the department and device name related to the wireless terminal are displayed in a list on the screen. When the user selects a check box of a device to be searched through the input unit 370, a check mark is added. When all the devices to be searched are checked and the “Execute Search” button is selected, the search is executed and the screen is switched to a result display screen. In the example of FIG. 9A, an example is shown in which the user performs a search for a device called “UCS P3000” owned by “Sales Section 1”. FIG. 9B is an example of the search result screen. When the “execute search” button is selected, the display unit 372 displays a floor plan of “A building 4th floor” where “UCS P3000” is located based on the data stored in the storage unit 366, the device name, Displays the reception date and time.

  The control unit 374 controls the operation of the management server.

  With the above configuration, the management server 160 according to an embodiment of the present invention can manage the location of the wireless terminal and search for the location. In particular, information representing the position of the wireless terminal itself can be directly received and managed, and the amount of calculation for searching for the position can be reduced.

  The management server 160 has the same functions as the conversion unit 346, the control unit 348, and the reception unit 342 included in the management device 160, and may have the same functions as the management device 160. This eliminates the need to provide the management device 160 individually.

  Further, the location management information 368 stored by the management server 160 includes the date and time when the wireless terminal transmits the information together with the information shown in FIG. Information including time taken for arrival of information or electric field strength may be stored. Thereby, position information can be managed under more detailed conditions.

  In addition, the management server 160 may record past location information of the wireless terminal. Thereby, the movement of the wireless terminal can be tracked.

(4. Operation sequence)
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an operation sequence of the location information management system 1 in the embodiment of the present invention in the configuration of FIG. In FIG. 8, when a change in acceleration is detected, the communication apparatus 100 that receives position information and transmits identification information, the wireless terminal 120 that transmits position information to a region to which the communication apparatus 100 belongs, PAN (IEEE802.15.4 and An example of a management apparatus 140 that bridges ZigBee (registered trademark) and a LAN (IEEE802.3) and a management server 160 will be described. It is assumed that the PAN among the communication device 100, the wireless terminal 120, and the management device 140 has already been established.

  In step S800, the communication apparatus 100 transmits the position information continuously or intermittently using IMES or the like.

  In step S802, the wireless terminal 120 detects a change in acceleration.

  In step S804, the wireless terminal 120 receives the position information transmitted from the communication device 100.

  In step S806, the wireless terminal 120 stores the received position information.

  In step S808, the wireless terminal 120 transmits identification information and position information to the communication apparatus 100.

  In step S810, the communication apparatus 100 transmits the identification information and the position information received from the wireless terminal 120 to the management apparatus through the minimum path.

  In step S812, the management apparatus 140 converts the data transmitted from the network 180 including the identification information and the position information received from the communication apparatus 100 into a format compatible with the network 190.

  In step S <b> 814, the management apparatus 140 transmits the identification information and position information converted into a format compatible with the network 190 to the management server 160.

  In step S816, the management server 160 registers the identification information and the position information received from the management device together with information on the wireless terminal corresponding to the identification information.

  Through the above procedure, the location information management system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention efficiently transmits the identification information and the location information to the nearest communication device by the radio terminal, thereby reducing the power consumption of the radio terminal. Can be suppressed.

  As described above, the management server 160 may execute the functions of the management apparatus 140 in an integrated manner. In this case, it is not necessary to install a separate management device 140.

  If the wireless terminal does not include the acceleration detection unit 332, step S802 is not executed, and the reception of the position information in step S804 can be performed at a predetermined time or at a predetermined interval. The subsequent processing is the same as steps S806 to S816.

[Device operation control based on position information]
Next, operation control of the image forming apparatus based on the position information will be described. Specifically, by restricting the printable places for the image forming apparatus, information leakage due to copying of confidential documents and the like is prevented.

  As described so far, according to the position information management system 1 according to the above-described embodiment, the management server 160 manages the position (location) of the wireless terminal on the screen (for example, FIG. 9B), for example. It is possible.

  Here, consider adding an active tag, which is the wireless terminal 120, to the image forming apparatus. In this case, since the image forming apparatus has a function corresponding to the wireless terminal 120 according to the above-described embodiment, according to the location information management system 1 according to the above-described embodiment, the image forming apparatus is It becomes possible to grasp the position information of the own device.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of an installation diagram of the image forming apparatus 400 in one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, as an image forming apparatus (MFP 400), for example, an MFP 400a and an MFP 400b are installed in an executive room, an MFP 400c is installed in an executive meeting room, and an MFP 400d and an MFP 400e are installed in an office room. These MFPs 400 a to 400 e have an active tag that is the wireless terminal 120, and can grasp position information of the own device from the communication device 100.

  The image forming apparatus 400 according to the embodiment uses the position information acquired from the communication apparatus 100 to control the operation of the own apparatus. For example, in an office environment or the like, a plurality of image forming apparatuses 400 can be installed. When a certain confidential document is printed using the image forming apparatus 400, the confidential document can be printed from any image forming apparatus 400. If this is done, there is a risk of information leakage such as confidential documents.

  In this case, for example, confidential document printing is permitted only from the image forming apparatuses (MFP 400a, MFP 400b, MFP 400c) installed in the executive room or the executive meeting room, and the image forming apparatus installed in the general office room ( The MFP 400d and the MFP 400e) may be controlled not to permit printing of confidential documents. In this way, the image forming apparatus capable of printing a confidential document is controlled from the viewpoint of the position where the image forming apparatus is installed to control whether or not the confidential document can be printed, thereby reducing the possibility of information leakage of the confidential document or the like. . This will be described in detail below.

(hardware)
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 400 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 400 according to the present embodiment includes an operation panel 411, a storage medium I / F 412, a controller 413, a communication I / F 414, a scanner 415, a plotter 416, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 417. Configured and connected to each other.

  The operation panel 411 includes an input device 411a and a display device 411b. The input device 411a includes hard keys and is used to input operation signals to the image forming apparatus 400. The display device 411b is composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and displays various types of information related to an image forming operation, for example. The communication I / F 414 includes a communication device 414a, and is a communication interface that connects the image forming apparatus 400 to a data transmission path such as a network or a fax machine. The HDD 417 stores various data such as received document data and read image data handled by the image forming apparatus. Further, the HDD 417 manages these various data by a predetermined file system or DB (Data Base).

  Various data stored in the HDD 417 includes data input from the recording medium 412b. The recording medium 412b is set in a drive device 412a included in the storage medium I / F 412 and various data are stored in the HDD 417 from the recording medium 412b via the drive device 412a.

  The controller 413 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 413a, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 413b, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 413c. The ROM 413a is executed when the image forming apparatus is activated. Stores programs and various data. The RAM 413b temporarily stores various programs and data read from the ROM 413a and the HDD 417. Further, the CPU 413c executes a program temporarily stored in the RAM 413b. For example, when the print data is received via the communication I / F 414, the controller 413 executes a program (PDL parser) that can read a page description language (PDL) read from the ROM 413a onto the RAM 413b by the CPU 413c. Then, the print data is interpreted to generate a bitmap image.

  The scanner 415 includes an image reading device 415a and optically reads a document placed on the reading surface and generates image data. The plotter 416 has a printing device 416a and prints a bitmap image on a recording sheet by, for example, an electrophotographic process method.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment realizes a plurality of functions such as a copy, a printer, a facsimile (FAX), and a scanner by the above hardware configuration.

  As described above, since the image forming apparatus 400 according to the present embodiment includes the active tag that is the wireless terminal 120, it is needless to say that the image forming apparatus 400 has the same configuration as the wireless terminal 120 in FIG. 2B.

(function)
FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram showing the main functional configuration of the image forming apparatus in one embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 400 includes an output image acquisition unit 401, an output device information acquisition unit 402, a user position acquisition unit 403, a device information acquisition unit 404, an output determination unit 405, an output unit 406, and a display unit 407. Further, as described above, the image forming apparatus 400 according to the present embodiment includes an active tag that is the wireless terminal 120, and thus includes a configuration similar to that of the wireless terminal 120 in FIG. 3B.

  The output image acquisition unit 401 acquires an output image for output (for example, printing) by the image forming apparatus. As an acquisition method, for example, an output image (output image data) is acquired by scanning a paper document with the image reading device 415. Alternatively, an output image (output image data) is acquired by acquiring image data stored in advance in the HDD 417.

  The output device information acquisition unit 402 acquires output device information from the output image (output image data). The output image according to the present embodiment includes, for example, output device information, and the output device information acquisition unit 402 acquires output device information included in the output image from the output image. This point will be described again in detail.

  A user position acquisition unit 403 acquires the position of a user who uses the image forming apparatus. Normally, when an output image is to be output (for example, printed) using the image forming apparatus 400, the user needs to log in to the image forming apparatus 400 first. The user position acquisition unit 403 acquires the login user position by making an inquiry to the management server 160.

  The device information acquisition unit 404 acquires device information of the image forming apparatus 400 existing on the network. Specifically, the device information includes information about the image forming apparatus 400 existing on the network, position information thereof, and functions related to printing (for example, a color printing function, a monochrome printing function, etc.) of the image forming apparatus 400.

  The output determination unit 405 determines whether or not an output image (output image data) can be output. Whether output is possible or not is determined using the output device information and the position of the user. This point will be described in detail later.

  The output unit 406 outputs an output image (output image data) determined to be output. Specifically, printing is performed by the printing apparatus 416a.

  When it is determined that the output image (output image data) cannot be output, the display unit 407 displays to the user that the output image cannot be output through the operation panel 411 (display device 411b). In this case, an alternative image forming apparatus capable of outputting an output image is presented.

  These functions are actually realized by a computer by a program executed by the CPU 413c of the apparatus.

  Note that the image forming apparatus 400 according to the present embodiment includes an active tag that is the wireless terminal 120, and thus includes the same configuration as the wireless terminal 120 of FIG. 3B. Therefore, the position information 324 acquired by the position information receiving unit 328 of the wireless terminal 120 is information indicating the position where the image forming apparatus 400 is located.

  Further, the functional configuration of FIG. 12 merely shows the main functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 400 in one embodiment. For this reason, some of the functions of the image forming apparatus can be mounted on the other external apparatus side. Specifically, for example, the output determination unit 450 may be determined by another external device or the like. In this case, the image forming apparatus 400 realizes the function corresponding to the output determination unit 450 in another external device, and receives the output determination result executed by the other external device. The output unit 406 of the image forming apparatus 400 can be configured to output an output image (output image data) determined to be output according to the received determination result.

(Example of output image)
FIG. 13 shows an example of an output image in an embodiment of the present invention. As described above, the output image can be acquired by scanning a paper document with the image reading device 415. Alternatively, the image data stored in advance in the HDD 417 can be acquired.

  As shown in the drawing, the output image includes a barcode 1301. Since the output device information is embedded in the barcode 1301, the output device information acquisition unit 402 can acquire the output device information by reading the barcode 1301.

  The output device information can be embedded on the output image using a dot pattern, QR code (registered trademark), or the like.

(Output device information)
FIG. 14 shows an example of output device information according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the output device information includes information of an output possible position 1401, an output possible user 1402, and an alternative output possible device presentation 1403. As described above, since the output device information is embedded in the barcode 1301 of the output image (output image data), the output device information acquisition unit 402 acquires the output device information by reading the barcode 1301. it can.

  The output possible position 1401 indicates position information of an output device that can output an output image. That is, when the image forming apparatus 1 executes output of the output image, output of the output image is permitted when the image forming apparatus 1 is located at a position registered in the output possible position 1401.

  The user who can output 1402 is user information (for example, login user ID) that can output an output image. When the image forming apparatus 400 executes output of the output image, only the login user registered as the output enabled user 1402 is permitted to output the output image.

  In the alternative output capable device presentation 1403, when the output image cannot be output, the user can output the output image from the other image forming apparatuses 400 existing on the network through the operation panel 411 (display device 411b). It is a flag for setting whether or not to display an alternative machine capable of performing the above. When the alternative output capable device presentation 1403 is ON, the alternative device is displayed, and when it is OFF, the alternative device is not displayed.

  The administrator or the like prescribes output device information in advance according to the environment or operation, and embeds the specified output device information as the barcode 1301 of the output image. As an embedding method, for example, when a document is printed using an image forming apparatus, if the document is designated as a confidential document, a barcode 1301 in which output device information is embedded is attached together with the print document. There is a way to print.

(Information processing)
FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating information processing of the image forming apparatus 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As a premise, it is assumed that the user is already logged in to the image forming apparatus 400 through user login to output (for example, print) an output image. This will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  In step S1500, the image forming apparatus 400 determines whether there is an output image output request. Specifically, when the user operates the operation panel 411 of the image forming apparatus 400 to operate the designation of the output image, the setting of printing conditions (number of sheets, paper size, color, etc.), and execution of printing, the output image It can be determined that there is an output request.

  In step S1501, the output image acquisition unit 401 of the image forming apparatus 400 acquires the specified output image (output image data). According to the user designation, for example, an output image can be acquired by scanning a paper document by the image reading device 415, or by acquiring image data stored in advance in the HDD 417.

  In step S1502, the output device information acquisition unit 402 of the image forming apparatus 400 acquires output device information from the output image. As described above, the output image according to the present embodiment includes, for example, output device information, and the output device information acquisition unit 402 acquires the output device information included in the output image from the output image (for example, , FIGS. 13 and 14).

  In step S1503, the position information receiving unit 328 of the wireless terminal 120 included in the image forming apparatus 400 receives position information from the communication apparatus 100, thereby acquiring position information 324 indicating the position where the image forming apparatus 400 is located (for example, , FIG. 4).

  In step S <b> 1504, the output determination unit 405 of the image forming apparatus 400 determines whether the apparatus is located at a position where output is possible. As described above, the output possible position 1401 is defined in the output device information (for example, FIG. 14). The output determination unit 405 compares the position information 324 indicating the position where the image forming apparatus 400 is located with the output possible position 1401, and if the position information 324 matches the position information defined in the output possible position 1401, This machine determines that it is located at a position where output is possible.

  Here, referring again to FIGS. In the output device information (for example, FIG. 14), it can be seen that output of an output image is permitted only for devices located in the officer room 1, the officer room 2, and the officer meeting room. Therefore, the output determination unit 405 determines that the machine is an output enable position when the machine is one of the MFP 400a, the MFP 400b, and the MFP 400c and is located in any of the officer room 1, the officer room 2, and the officer meeting room. Determined to be located in On the other hand, if this machine is one of the MFP 400d and MFP 400e and is not located in any of the officer room 1, the officer room 2, or the officer meeting room, it is determined that the machine is not located in the output enabled position.

  In step S <b> 1505, the output determination unit 405 of the image forming apparatus 400 determines whether the user operating the apparatus, that is, the login user is a user who can output. As described above, the image forming apparatus 400 is already in the login state after the user login. Therefore, the user ID of the login user is compared with the outputable user 1402 specified in the output device information (for example, FIG. 14), and the user ID of the login user specified in the outputable user 1402 is compared. If it matches, the login user determines that the user can output. Thereby, only a specific user (for example, an officer, a secretary, etc.) can output an output image from an image forming apparatus installed at a specific position.

  In step S <b> 1506, the user position acquisition unit 403 of the image forming apparatus 400 acquires the position of the user who uses the image forming apparatus 400, that is, the login user position.

  Here, it is considered that an active tag, which is the wireless terminal 120, is attached to a portable item that is always carried by a person such as an employee ID card. Alternatively, as described above, the wireless terminal 120 (including the wireless terminals 122 and 124 described above) is not an active tag itself, but a wireless device having a function equivalent to that of an active tag, such as a smartphone, a PDA, a PC, or a smart meter. It may be a terminal. And when the radio | wireless terminal 120 is a smart phone, for example, a smart phone is normally carried by the user (person).

  In this case, according to the above-described position information management system 1, the management server 160 manages the position (location) of the wireless terminal, and consequently the position of the person (user), for example, on the screen (for example, FIG. 9B). It is possible. In this case, the management server 160 associates and manages the wireless terminal 120, the person (for example, user ID) who owns the wireless terminal 120, and the position information thereof.

  Accordingly, the output determination unit 405 can inquire about the current location of the user by transmitting the login user ID to the management server 160. Based on the user ID, the management server 160 responds with location information where the user is located.

  In step S <b> 1507, the output determination unit 405 of the image forming apparatus 400 determines whether or not the login user is located at an output enabled position. Specifically, the output determination unit 405 compares the position information 324 indicating the position of the image forming apparatus 400 acquired in S1503 with the position information where the login user is acquired acquired in S1506, and both position information If it matches, the login user determines that he / she is located at the output enabled position.

  Here, FIG. 10 will be referred to again. In this case, the output determination unit 405 determines that the login user is located at the output available position if the login user's position is the same as any of the MFP 400a, MFP 400b, and MFP 400c (the login user It is located at the same position as any of MFP 400a, MFP 400b, and MFP 400c).

  In step S1508, the output unit 406 of the image forming apparatus 400 outputs the output image acquired in step S1501. Specifically, the output image is printed by the printing device 416a. The output includes printing, storage as data, network output (transmission) to other devices, and the like.

  In step S1509, if the output determination unit 405 (or display unit 407) of the image forming apparatus 400 is determined not to be determined by the output determination unit 405 in steps S1504 and S1505, the output device information (for example, FIG. 14) is replaced. With reference to the output capable device presentation 1403, it is determined whether the presentation of the alternative output capable device is ON. If it is determined to be ON, the process advances to step S1510 to execute processing for determining an output-capable device that is an alternative to be presented to the user.

  In step S1510, the device information acquisition unit 404 of the image forming apparatus 400 acquires device information of the image forming apparatus 400 existing on the network. Specifically, the device information includes information about the image forming apparatus 400 existing on the network, position information thereof, and functions related to printing (for example, a color printing function, a monochrome printing function, etc.) of the image forming apparatus 400.

  Specifically, since the management server 160 manages a plurality of image forming apparatuses 400 on the network and their position information, the device information can be acquired by inquiring the management server 160, for example. As for the functions of the image forming apparatus 400, the functions of the image forming apparatus 400 can be acquired by using, for example, SNMP for a plurality of image forming apparatuses 400 on the network.

  FIG. 16 shows an example of device information according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, device information of MFP 400a, MFP 400b, MFP 400c, MFP 400d, and MFP 400e is acquired as image forming apparatus 400 existing on the network. The acquired device information includes the IP address of the device, position information (latitude, longitude, floor number, building), function, and the like. The image forming apparatus 400 included in the device information acquired here is a candidate for an alternative output capable device.

  In step S <b> 1511, the output determination unit 405 (or display unit 407) of the image forming apparatus 400 determines whether there is device information that matches the position information defined in the output device information.

  Specifically, referring to the output device information 1401 acquired in S1502, the position information defined in the output device information 1401 and the position information of a plurality of image forming apparatuses 400 on the network based on the device information acquired in S1510. And whether or not there is an image forming apparatus 400 having the same position information. If it exists, the image forming apparatus 400 having the same position information is determined as an alternative image forming apparatus. Since the alternative image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus located at a position defined in the output device information 1401, it is a device capable of outputting an output image.

  In step S1512, the display unit 407 of the image forming apparatus 400 displays to the user that the apparatus (the image forming apparatus) cannot output an output image through the operation panel 411 (display device 411b), for example. An alternative image forming apparatus capable of outputting an output image is presented.

  Note that the printing function of the image forming apparatus 400 can be taken into consideration when determining an alternative image forming apparatus. In the printing conditions set by the user in S1500, for example, when color printing is set, the alternative image forming apparatus needs to have a color printing function. Therefore, a device having a function capable of executing the printing conditions set by the user in S1500 is determined as an alternative image forming device from among the image forming devices located at the position defined in the output device information 1401. To do.

  Accordingly, it is possible to output an output image satisfying a printing condition desired by the user from the image forming apparatus determined as the alternative image forming apparatus. For example, when an output image is output from an alternative image forming apparatus, a situation where the image is printed in monochrome can be prevented.

  FIG. 17 shows a display example in which an output image cannot be output in one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawing, alternative image forming apparatuses (for example, MFP 400a, MFP 400b, MFP 400c) are explicitly presented on the floor map so that the user can easily recognize them. The floor map data may be stored in advance by the image forming apparatus 400, or may be acquired from the management server 160 at the timing of S1510 or the like.

  In step S1513, the display unit 407 of the image forming apparatus 400 notifies the user that the output image cannot be output, for example, via the operation panel 411 (display device 411b). Note that the process proceeds to S1513 when the machine is not located at an outputable position (S1504), when the user is not an outputable user (S1505), or when the user is not located at an outputable position (S1507).

  FIG. 18 shows a display example in which an output image cannot be output in one embodiment of the present invention. (A) shows the example of a display when this machine is not located in the output possible position, for example. Moreover, (b) shows the example of a display when a user is not located in an output possible position, for example, when a user is not an output possible user.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 400 according to the present embodiment receives the position information of the position of the self apparatus from the communication apparatus 100, and outputs the specific output image such as a confidential document by using the received position information. Control whether or not. As a result, a specific output image can be output only from the image forming apparatus 400 disposed in a special place, and cannot be output from the image forming apparatus 400 disposed in any other place. . As described above, by controlling whether or not the confidential document can be printed from the viewpoint of the position where the image forming apparatus is installed, the information such as the confidential document can be printed. The possibility of leakage can be reduced.

  Note that in S1504 described above, whether or not an output image can be output is determined using the output available position. Therefore, for example, if the MFP 400a that is determined to be capable of outputting an output image is moved to another location (for example, an office), the MFP 400a cannot output the output image from the image forming apparatus. It is determined. On the other hand, when the MFP 400e that is determined to be unable to output an output image is moved to another location (for example, an executive meeting room), the MFP 400e is determined to be capable of outputting the output image from the image forming apparatus. The That is, whether or not an output image can be output from the image forming apparatus 400 according to the present embodiment is determined by a place (position) where the image forming apparatus is installed.

  On the other hand, if it is determined whether or not an output image can be output using, for example, an outputable device (device name, IP address designation) instead of the outputable position, the image forming apparatus that determines that the output image can be output. Since the device name and IP address designation are not changed on the network even if the image is physically moved, it is always determined that the output image from the image forming apparatus can be output. That is, for example, even when the MFP 400a that is determined to be capable of outputting an output image is moved to another location (for example, an office), the MFP 400a does not output the output image from the image forming apparatus. Note that in this case, there is a possibility of leakage of information such as confidential documents.

  In S1508, the output unit 406 of the image forming apparatus 400 outputs the output image acquired in S1501, but during the output of the output image, for some reason (out of paper, out of toner, other troubles, etc.) When the output image cannot be output, the process may transition from S1508 to S1510. In other words, in this case, assuming that the presentation of an alternative output capable device is ON, the alternative output possible device capable of outputting an output image is presented thereafter, and the user cannot output the output image. Even in this case, the output of the output image can be continued immediately using the alternative image forming apparatus.

[Summary]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus that controls an output operation according to the installation position of an information processing apparatus (for example, an image forming apparatus). Note that the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.

100, 102, 104, 106 Communication device 120, 122, 124 Wireless terminal 140 Management device 160 Management server 180 Network 190 Network

JP 2003-280469 A Japanese Patent No. 4407436 International Publication No. 2005/086375

Claims (10)

Image acquisition means for acquiring an image including output device information defining a position of a device capable of outputting an image;
Output device information acquisition means for acquiring the output device information from the image,
Device position acquisition means for acquiring position information of the information processing apparatus;
Based on the position information and the output device information, output determination means for determining whether to output the image,
The output determination means determines that the output of the image is possible when the position of the information processing apparatus is defined in the output device information;
An information processing apparatus characterized by the above. The output device information defines a user who can output the image,
The output determination unit determines that the output of the image is permitted when the login user of the information processing apparatus is defined in the output device information;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. User location acquisition means for acquiring location information of the login user,
The output determination means determines that the output of the image is acceptable when the position information of the login user matches the position information of the information processing apparatus;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2. When the output determination unit determines that the output of the image is impossible, the display unit displays a device capable of outputting the image specified in the output device information.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The output device information defines whether to display a device capable of outputting the image,
The display means displays the device capable of outputting the image when the output device information defines that the device capable of outputting the image is displayed;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 4. Having function acquisition means for acquiring function information of a device capable of outputting the image;
Displaying a device capable of outputting the image satisfying the output condition of the image based on the function information;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus. The image acquisition means acquires the image from a medium or a stored image;
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. An image acquisition procedure for acquiring an image including output device information that defines a position of a device capable of outputting an image;
Output device information acquisition procedure for acquiring the output device information from the image,
A device location acquisition procedure for acquiring location information of the information processing device;
An output determination procedure for determining whether the image can be output based on the position information and the output device information;
The output determination procedure determines that the output of the image is permitted when the position of the information processing apparatus is defined in the output device information.
An output operation control method characterized by the above. In the information processing device,
Image acquisition means for acquiring an image including output device information defining a position of a device capable of outputting the image;
Output device information acquisition means for acquiring the output device information from the image,
Device position acquisition means for acquiring position information of the information processing apparatus;
Based on the position information and the output device information, function as output determination means for determining whether to output the image,
The output determination means determines that the output of the image is possible when the position of the information processing apparatus is defined in the output device information;
An output operation control program. An output operation control system including a communication device having position information of the communication device and an information processing device communicating with the communication device,
The communication device
Having position information transmitting means for transmitting position information having position information of the communication device;
The information processing apparatus includes:
Position information receiving means for receiving the position information from the communication device;
Image acquisition means for acquiring an image including output device information defining a position of a device capable of outputting the image;
Output device information acquisition means for acquiring the output device information from the image,
Based on the position information and the output device information, output determination means for determining whether to output the image,
The output determination means determines that the output of the image is possible when the position of the information processing apparatus is defined in the output device information;
An output operation control system characterized by.

Images