JP2016051970A - Image reader and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image reader capable of determining whether image data of a document including personal information can be outputted on the basis of the situation of a user to whom duplication is required, and an image forming apparatus.SOLUTION: An image reading part 120 reads an image of a document and acquires image data. A personal information detection part 301 detects personal information included in the image data acquired by the image reading part 120. In the case where the personal information detection part 301 detects personal information, a discrimination part 302 discriminates whether the image data can be outputted, on the basis of information relating to the user who is using the image reader or criminal information relating to a location of the image reader. An additional data request part 303 requests acquisition of additional image data relating to the discrimination that is made by the discrimination part 302. A notification part 304 notifies any other person than the user who is using the image reader, of an alarm in the case where the discrimination part 302 discriminates that the image data cannot be outputted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus and an image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers, and multi-function machines have become widespread, and are installed not only in offices but also in stores such as convenience stores where many unspecified people come and go. Such an image forming apparatus is multifunctional, and is connected to various portable storage media such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) device, to a portable terminal through short-range wireless communication, and to a LAN (Local Area Network). ) Etc. are also available through the network.

  On the other hand, image forming apparatuses installed at convenience stores are also widely used for copying. However, due to recent strict identity verification in various procedures such as opening a bank account, a manuscript containing personal information is used as a manuscript. Is often used.

  For example, from the viewpoint of preventing leakage of personal information, Patent Document 1 permits printing only with a printing method that ensures a security level suitable for including personal information when the personal information is included in the manuscript. An image processing apparatus is disclosed.

JP 2010-198401 A

  However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a purpose of preventing leakage of personal information managed in a centralized manner, and is applied to copying originals including personal information in an image forming apparatus installed in a convenience store or the like. It is not easy to do.

  In addition, if the security for copying personal information is tightened in image forming devices installed at convenience stores, etc., it is possible to print manuscripts containing personal information even if there is a need to submit it as legitimate identification material. It will disappear and the convenience of use will be significantly impaired. On the other hand, if no response is made, for example, a manuscript that includes personal information even in situations where it is tricked by a malicious third party to request a copy containing personal information as a pre-stage of wire fraud Can be printed, and personal information leaks to a malicious third party.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional situation, and is capable of determining whether to output image data of a manuscript including personal information based on a situation of a user who is requested to copy. An object is to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following technical means. That is, the image reading apparatus according to the present invention includes an image reading unit, a personal information detection unit, and a determination unit. The image reading unit reads an image of a document and acquires image data. The personal information detection unit detects personal information included in the image data acquired by the image reading unit. Here, personal information is information associated with an individual such as a name, address, and telephone number. When the personal information detection unit detects personal information, the determination unit determines whether image data can be output based on information on a user in use or crime information on the location of the own device. In addition, as information regarding the user in use, for example, information stored in a portable terminal such as a call history, a mail history, a WEB browsing history, or a movement history can be used.

  In this image reading apparatus, when a user intends to acquire image data including personal information, whether or not to output image data of a document including personal information is determined based on the situation of the user who is requested to copy (duplicate). be able to. For example, there is an unnatural point (history that makes it possible to guess the intervention of a malicious third party) in the call history, mail history, WEB browsing history, movement history, etc. of the mobile terminal possessed by the user, When a crime such as a personal information fraud case or a transfer fraud case occurs in the surrounding area of the reading device, it is possible to prevent output of image data of a manuscript including personal information.

  The image reading apparatus may further include an additional data request unit. The additional data request unit requests acquisition of additional image data related to the determination by the determination unit. The additional data requesting unit requests, for example, image reading of a request form from the personal information requesting source. In this case, the additional data request unit can confirm the company name, company location, etc. from the image data acquired at this time, and can additionally confirm whether there is any unnatural point in the request for personal information.

  The above image reading apparatus may further include a notification unit. When the determination unit determines that the image data cannot be output, the notification unit notifies a warning to a person other than the user in use. With this configuration, for example, when the image reading apparatus is installed in a convenience store, a warning can be notified to a store clerk or the like.

  On the other hand, in another aspect, the present invention can also provide an image forming apparatus including the above-described image reading apparatus and an image forming unit that prints a document image read by the image reading apparatus on a transfer target. .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether to output image data of a manuscript including personal information based on the situation of a user who is requested to copy, for example, prohibiting output such as printing under unnatural circumstances By doing so, it is possible to prevent the leakage of personal information.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which shows an example of the personal information protection procedure which the multifunctional machine in one Embodiment of this invention implements

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, the present invention is embodied as a digital multi-function peripheral having an image reading unit (image reading device).

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a digital multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction peripheral 100 includes a main body 101 including an image reading unit 120 (image reading device) and an image forming unit 140, and a platen cover 102 attached above the main body 101. An original table 103 made of a transparent plate such as contact glass is provided on the upper surface of the main body 101, and the original table 103 is opened and closed by a platen cover 102. In addition, an operation panel 171 is provided on the front surface of the multi-function device 100 so that the user can give a copy start or other instruction to the multi-function device 100 and can check the status and settings of the multi-function device 100.

  An image reading unit 120 is provided below the document table 103. The image reading unit 120 reads an image of a document with the scanning optical system 121 and generates digital data (image data) of the image.

  The generated image data can be printed on a sheet as a transfer medium in the image forming unit 140. The generated image data can also be transmitted to another device (not shown) through the network 162 by the network interface 161.

  The image forming unit 140 prints the image data generated by the image reading unit 120 and the image data received from another device connected to the network 162 on a sheet. The image forming unit 140 feeds paper from the manual feed tray 151, the paper feed cassettes 152, 153, and 154 to the transfer unit 155 that transfers the toner image. The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred in the transfer unit 155 is discharged to a discharge tray 149.

  The multifunction device 100 also includes a device-side wireless communication unit 181. When the terminal-side wireless communication unit 191 of the portable terminal 190 exists within the wireless communicable range, the device-side wireless communication unit 181 exchanges data between the device-side wireless communication unit 181 and the terminal-side wireless communication unit 191. Establish a possible wireless link.

  A communication method for establishing the wireless line is not particularly limited. For example, so-called near field communication such as NFC (Near Field Communication) or Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be used. In the present embodiment, when the mobile terminal 190 is brought close to the apparatus-side wireless communication unit 181, a wireless line is established by NFC. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which settings (for example, pairing, etc.) for specifying a connection partner are performed by NFC, and other data transmission / reception is performed by other communication methods such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). it can.

  FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a control system in the multifunction machine. The MFP 100 according to the present embodiment includes a central processing unit (CPU) 201, a random access memory (RAM) 202, a read only memory (ROM) 203, a hard disk drive (HDD) 204, an image reading unit 120, and an image forming unit 140. A driver 205 corresponding to each drive unit is connected via an internal bus 206. The ROM 203, the HDD 204, and the like store programs, and the CPU 201 controls the multifunction peripheral 100 in accordance with instructions from the control program. For example, the CPU 201 uses the RAM 202 as a work area, and controls the operation of each driving unit by exchanging data and commands with the driver 205. The HDD 204 is also used to store image data obtained by the image reading unit 120, image data received from other devices through the network interface 161, and data received through the device-side wireless communication unit 181.

  An operation panel 171 and various sensors 207 are also connected to the internal bus 206. The operation panel 171 receives a user operation and supplies a signal based on the operation to the CPU 201. Further, the operation panel 171 displays an operation screen on a display provided in the operation panel 171 according to a control signal from the CPU 201. The sensor 207 includes various sensors such as an open / close detection sensor for the platen cover 102, a document detection sensor on the document table, a temperature sensor for the fixing device, and a detection sensor for the conveyed paper or document.

  The CPU 201 executes, for example, a program stored in the ROM 203 to realize the following means (functional blocks), and controls the operation of each means according to signals from these sensors.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating the multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the multifunction peripheral 100 includes a personal information detection unit 301 and a determination unit 302.

  The personal information detection unit 301 detects personal information included in the image data acquired by the image reading unit 120. Here, personal information is information associated with an individual such as a name, address, and telephone number. Examples of the manuscript including personal information include a resident's card, a license, a basic resident register card, a passbook (deposit passbook, savings passbook) and the like.

  In the present embodiment, the image data acquired by the image reading unit 120 is temporarily held in the image holding unit 311. In the present embodiment, the HDD 204 functions as a storage area of the image holding unit 311. The personal information detection unit 301 performs OCR (Optical Character Recognition) processing on the image data held in the image holding unit 311 to acquire character information. Here, the personal information detection unit 301 performs image processing such as binarization processing, edge enhancement, and edge detection on the image data to extract a character region and analyze the edge detection result to analyze the character data. Is identified. For example, when the character includes a character group indicating a name, an address, a telephone number, and the like, the personal information detection unit 301 determines that the personal information is included in the image data.

  The personal information detection method is not limited to this method. For example, personal information such as “name”, “address”, “phone number”, “resident card”, “driver's license”, “basic resident register card”, “account number” is written in the specified characters. It may be determined that personal information is included in the image data when a character indicating that the image is included is included.

  When the personal information detection unit 301 detects the presence of personal information in the image data, the determination unit 302 determines whether the image data can be output based on information on the user in use or crime information on the location of the own device. . As information regarding the user in use, for example, information stored in the portable terminal 190 such as a call history, a mail history, a WEB browsing history, or a movement history can be used.

  As described above, the MFP 100 can wirelessly communicate with the mobile terminal 190, and the user brings the mobile terminal 190 close to the apparatus-side wireless communication unit 181, so that the mobile terminal 190 and the MFP 100 are connected. Communication becomes possible. In this configuration, the determination unit 302 can acquire information about the user in use from the mobile terminal 190.

  Further, as crime information relating to the location of the device itself, crime information published by the police station through mail distribution or a WEB site, crime information that can be acquired through an SNS (Social Network Service), a blog, or the like can be used. In the present embodiment, the determination unit 302 acquires crime information through the network 162. Note that the location (address) of the multifunction device 100 is registered in the determination unit 302 in advance.

  When there is an unnatural point in the information about the user in use or when a crime such as a personal information fraud case or a transfer fraud case occurs in the surrounding area of the MFP 100, Disables output of document image data including personal information. Examples of unnatural information about users include, for example, “When there are multiple calls with a short call time with an unregistered number in the most recent call history”, “Invitation mail including specific keywords in the most recent received mail "When there is", "When a WEB page (a suspicious WEB page) containing a specific keyword has been browsed recently or multiple times in the WEB browsing history", "Locations that do not usually go in the GPS movement history" Etc. "

  In the present embodiment, the multifunction peripheral 100 includes an additional data request unit 303 and a notification unit 304.

  The additional data request unit 303 requests acquisition of additional image data related to the determination by the determination unit 302. For example, the additional data request unit 303 requests image reading of a request form from the personal information request source. In this case, the additional data request unit 303 can detect the company name, company location, etc. from the acquired image data, and can additionally confirm whether there is an unnatural point in the request for personal information based on the request form. . If the company name and company location can be detected, the additional data request unit 303 searches for the company name and company location detected by the search engine on the Internet 162. If there is information such as a suspicious company, it is determined that there is an unnatural point in the request for personal information.

  When the determination unit 302 determines that the image data cannot be output, the notification unit 304 notifies a warning to a person other than the user in use. The notification method is not particularly limited. Any method that can be recognized by a person other than the user, such as display, sound, printed matter, and e-mail, can be employed. Here, the alerting | reporting part 304 alert | reports a warning to another person by blinking the lamp | ramp arrange | positioned in the position which others can recognize, and sounding an alarm. Moreover, in this embodiment, the alerting | reporting part 304 alert | reports a warning also to the user in use by displaying a warning on the display of the operation panel 171. FIG.

  On the other hand, the portable information terminal 190 includes a data storage unit 321. Note that the portable information terminal 190 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and an HDD, as with the multifunction machine 100. The CPU implements each unit by executing a program stored in, for example, a ROM or HDD using the RAM as a work area.

  The data storage unit 321 stores data transmitted to the multifunction peripheral 100 via the terminal-side wireless communication unit 191. As described above, examples of data to be transmitted to the multifunction peripheral 100 include a call history, a mail history, a WEB browsing history, a movement history, and the like.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a personal information protection procedure performed by the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The procedure starts, for example, when a user inputs a copy instruction through the operation panel 171 as a trigger. Note that the user has placed the document on the document table 103 before inputting the copy instruction.

  In response to the input of a copy instruction by the user, the image reading unit 120 starts reading an image of a document (step S401). When the image reading by the image reading unit 120 is completed, the personal information detecting unit 301 determines whether or not the personal information is included in the image data held in the image holding unit 311 by the above-described method (step S402). If personal information is included, the personal information detection unit 301 notifies the determination unit 302 to that effect (Yes in step S402).

  In response to the notification, the determination unit 302 acquires the above-described information regarding the user in use and crime information regarding the location of the own device (step S403). In the present embodiment, at this time, the determination unit 302 displays a guidance screen indicating that the user's mobile terminal 190 is brought close to the apparatus-side wireless communication unit 181 on the display included in the operation panel 171. When the user brings the mobile terminal 190 close to the apparatus-side wireless communication unit 181 in accordance with the guidance screen, the determination unit 302 can acquire the information regarding the user in use. According to such a configuration, even a user who is not good at operating electronic devices can easily transmit information to the multifunction device 100.

  Note that it is also conceivable that the user has set the mobile terminal 190 to prohibit data transmission. In this case, a configuration may be employed in which the determination unit 302 displays a screen for requesting data transmission permission from the user on the display screen of the mobile terminal 190 and acquires information when the user approves.

  The determination unit 302 that has completed the information acquisition checks whether there is any suspicious point in the information regarding the user in use by the above-described method. Further, it is confirmed whether or not the above-mentioned crime has occurred in the surrounding area of the location of the multifunction device 100 (step S404). When the occurrence of an unnatural point or a crime can be confirmed, the determination unit 302 prohibits printing of the image data held in the image holding unit 311 (Yes in step S404). At this time, the determination unit 302 notifies the additional data request unit 303 to that effect.

  In response to the notification, the additional data request unit 303 requests the user to acquire additional image data related to the determination (step S405). For example, the request is implemented by displaying on the display of the operation panel 171 a display such as “Please place a submission request form from the personal information submission destination on the manuscript table and press the start button”.

  In response to the request, when the user places the request form on the document table 103 and presses the start button, the image data of the request form is held in the image holding unit 311 (step S406). At this time, the additional data requesting unit 303 additionally confirms whether or not there is an unnatural point in the request for personal information by the request form by the above-described method. If there is no unnatural point, the additional data request unit 303 notifies the determination unit 302 to that effect.

  Receiving the notification, the determination unit 302 permits printing of image data including personal information held in the image holding unit 311 (Yes in step S407). At this time, the determination unit 302 instructs the image forming unit 140 to print image data including personal information held in the image holding unit 311. In response to the instruction, the image forming unit 140 prints image data including personal information held in the image holding unit 311 (step S408). If there is no notification from the additional data request unit 303, the determination unit 302 continues to prohibit printing of the image data held in the image holding unit 311 (No in step S407). When printing is completed or when the user cancels the operation, the determination unit 302 completely deletes the information acquired from the mobile terminal 190.

  On the other hand, when the personal information is not included in the image data (No in step S402), or when the occurrence of an unnatural point and a crime cannot be confirmed (No in step S404), the image forming unit 140 is held in the image holding unit 311. The image data being printed is printed (step S408).

  As described above, in the MFP 100, when the user tries to acquire image data including personal information, the image data of the original including personal information based on the situation of the user who is requested to copy (duplicate). Can be determined. That is, as described above, there is an unnatural point in the call history, mail history, WEB browsing history, movement history, etc. of the mobile terminal possessed by the user, or in the surrounding area where the MFP 100 is located, When a crime such as a case or a transfer fraud case has occurred, it is possible to prevent output of image data of a manuscript including personal information. Accordingly, the personal information can be prevented from leaking without impairing the convenience of use for the user, as in the case where printing is uniformly prohibited when personal information is included.

  In addition, since the multifunction device 100 includes the notification unit 304, for example, when the image reading apparatus is installed in a convenience store, a warning can be notified to a clerk or the like. Such a configuration is particularly suitable for preventing the leakage of personal information of elderly people who are likely to be victims of this type of incident.

  In the above-described embodiment, the printing is prohibited when the leakage of personal information is suspected. In this case, the output (copying) of image data including personal information to a portable storage medium may also be prohibited. preferable. Also, instead of completely prohibiting output, first, an alarm is notified, and when another person such as a store clerk confirms the situation and determines that there is no unnatural point, the operation panel 171 etc. is used. It may be configured to enable output by an instruction.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the additional data requesting unit 303 is configured to request additional data when there is an unnatural point or the like. However, the configuration that requests the above additional data even when there is no unnatural point. It may be.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the alarm is notified to a person near the multifunction peripheral 100, such as a convenience store clerk, but, for example, an e-mail or the like is transmitted to a contact stored in the mobile terminal 190 It may be configured to. In this case, for example, an alarm can be notified to a relative if the destination is a speed dial or a destination to which a group name “family” is assigned. Further, in this case, when it is confirmed from the call history, the mail history, or the like that the contact is weak, an email indicating that the contact is urged may be transmitted to the destination.

  The above-described embodiments do not limit the technical scope of the present invention, and various modifications and applications other than those already described are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration including the additional data request unit 303 and the notification unit 304 is illustrated as a particularly preferable mode, but these are optional components and are not essential components of the present invention. Even in a configuration that does not include these components, it is possible to obtain the effect of preventing the leakage of personal information.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, the order of the steps can be changed as appropriate within a range in which equivalent actions can be achieved. For example, the information is acquired from the portable terminal 190 after the personal information is detected, but the information may be acquired from the portable terminal 190 first. In this case, the determination unit 302 may detect personal information in the image data based on owner information registered in the mobile terminal 190.

  In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is embodied as a digital multi-function peripheral. However, the present invention is not limited to this apparatus, and may be applied to any image reading apparatus or image forming apparatus having an image reading function such as a scanner, a facsimile, and a copying machine. It is also possible to apply the present invention.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not to output image data of a document including personal information based on the situation of a user who is requested to copy, which is useful as an image reading apparatus and an image forming apparatus.

100 MFP (image forming device)
120 Image reading unit (image reading device)
140 Image Forming Unit 301 Personal Information Detection Unit 302 Determination Unit 303 Additional Data Request Unit 304 Notification Unit

Claims (6)

An image reading unit that reads an image of a document and obtains image data;
A personal information detection unit for detecting personal information included in the image data acquired by the image reading unit;
When the personal information detection unit detects personal information, a determination unit that determines whether or not the image data can be output based on information on a user in use or crime information on the location of the device,
An image reading apparatus comprising:   The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an additional data request unit that requests acquisition of additional image data related to the determination by the determination unit.   The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a notifying unit that notifies a warning to a person other than the user in use when the determining unit determines that the image data cannot be output.   The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information related to the user in use is information stored in a mobile terminal held by the user.   The image reading apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the information stored in the portable terminal is a call history, a mail history, a WEB browsing history, or a movement history. An image reading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An image forming unit that prints a document image acquired by the image reading device on a transfer medium;
An image forming apparatus comprising:

Images