JP6816639B2 - Image processing device, image processing system, image processing method, image processing program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing system, an image processing method, and an image processing program.

When a user uses an image processing device having copy, print, scan, and fax transmission / reception functions, there is an image processing device that performs login authentication in order to determine the validity of the user. For login authentication, a method of entering user identification information (hereinafter referred to as user ID) and password to perform authentication, or holding an IC card (IC: Integrated Circuit) such as an employee ID card over a card reader to perform an IC card. There is a method of authenticating based on the information stored in.

After login authentication, the function to set the information such as the user's personal destination email address, fax destination, folder destination, etc. associated with the user ID as the initial value, and send the scanned image data to the set destination. Some image processing devices have. In this image processing device, the original is scanned only by pressing the start button, and the scanned image data is transmitted to the set destination.

Further, for example, when using an image processing device under a lease contract, a fee is incurred according to the usage amount depending on the contents of the contract. When paying a fee, a customer company using this image processing device may request payment in units of departments or projects instead of units of companies. In order to meet this demand, there is an image processing device that aggregates the usage status for each department or project. This image processing device allows the user to select a department code or a project code, and records the selected code as a transfer code in a log. Since the transfer code is recorded in the log, leasing companies can aggregate and bill by department or project.

Patent Document 1 discloses a means for performing transfer billing for each department by determining the department ID associated with the user when logging in to the image processing device and leaving a log of the image processing device according to the department ID. Has been done.

Scanned images may be sent to destination email addresses, fax destinations, and folder destinations that are shared and used within departments and projects due to business circumstances within the company. In the conventional mechanism, as described above, the user's individual destination e-mail address, fax destination, folder destination, etc. are set as initial values, so each time after login authentication, the user's individual destination is entered into the department shared destination. I need to fix it. In particular, in image processing devices used in companies, there are more opportunities to use them for business than for personal use by users, so with the conventional mechanism, there are more opportunities for re-input, and complicated operations are required when using them. It will be accompanied.

Patent Document 1 also discloses a technique for setting a destination e-mail address, a fax destination, a folder destination, and the like associated with a user as initial values. As described above, according to the prior art, when the scanned image is transmitted to the destination shared within the department or the project, the problem that the destination needs to be re-entered cannot be solved.

An object of the present invention is to improve user convenience when using an image processing device.

In order to solve the above problem, one aspect of the present invention is an image processing device that executes a job for processing an image, and the image processing device accepts authentication information for determining whether or not the job can be executed. The reception unit is associated with the authentication information including the user ID that identifies the user who requests the execution of the job, and the transfer information is used as information indicating the billing address of the usage fee incurred for the execution of the job . and an initial value of parameters used in the execution of the job, one or more memorized an acquisition unit that acquires from the storage unit, the display unit the initial value changeable display of the parameters acquired by the acquisition unit And, with the parameter values displayed on the display unit, the execution unit that executes the job, the parameter values at the time of executing the job after the job is executed by the execution unit, and the transfer. A log associated with the information is generated, and the log is further associated with information indicating that the value of the parameter is changed when the job is executed with a value different from the initial value of the parameter by the execution unit. It is characterized by having a log generation unit for generating the above .

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the convenience of the user when using the image processing device.

It is a figure which shows the configuration example of the image processing system of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware configuration example of the image processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware configuration example of the log collection server of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram of the image processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram of the log collection server of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram of the authentication server of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the main part of the data used in the aspect of the conventional aspect and the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation example of 1st Embodiment, and is the sequence diagram which shows the operation example from login authentication to setting an initial value. It is a figure which shows the operation example of 1st Embodiment, and is the sequence diagram which shows the operation example from job execution to log viewing output. It is a figure which shows the correspondence relationship of the data of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the correspondence relation of the data after the user specifies the transfer code of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the log of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the log collected by the log collection server of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the login authentication screen of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the selection screen of the transfer code of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the menu screen of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the initial screen of the scan function which made the destination a folder of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram of the authentication server of the 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the data stored in the authentication information storage part of the 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation example of 2nd Embodiment, and is the sequence diagram which shows the operation example from login authentication to setting an initial value. It is a sequence diagram which shows the operation example of 3rd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, aspects of the image processing apparatus, image processing system, image processing method, and image processing program of the embodiment will be described.

(First Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the image processing system of the first embodiment. The image processing system 1 includes a log collection server 100, image processing devices 200A to 200N, an authentication server 300, a mail server 400, a file server 500, a fax server 600, and client terminals 700A to 700N. Each of these servers, image processing devices 200A to 200N, and client terminals 700A to 700N can transmit and receive data to and from each other via the network 800. Further, in the following description, when a plurality of the same devices are collectively referred to, for example, the image processing devices 200A to 200N are referred to as an image processing device 200, or when it is not necessary to specify the devices, only numerical codes are added. explain.

The log collection server 100 is a computer that collects and stores logs output by the image processing device 200. When the image processing device 200 executes a job, a log describing the execution contents of the job is transmitted to the log collection server 100. The log collection server 100 receives the log and extracts each data described in the log. The details of each data described in the log will be described later. The log collection server 100 stores each extracted data in the database system. Further, the log collection server 100 displays the log stored in the database system on the client terminal 700 used by the administrator, or outputs the log to a file in a data format such as CSV (Comma Separated Value).

The image processing device 200 is an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) having each function of copying, printing, scanning, and fax transmission / reception. The image processing device 200 receives the user ID and password from the operation panel, and transmits the received user ID and password to the authentication server 300. Alternatively, the image processing device 200 reads an IC card such as an employee ID card held over the card reader and transmits the information stored in the IC card to the authentication server 300. Information for determining whether or not the image processing device 200 can be used, such as a user ID, a password, and information stored in an IC card, is referred to as authentication information. The authentication information may be physical information unique to the person such as fingerprint data, iris data, and pronunciation data. After transmitting the authentication information to the authentication server 300, the image processing device 200 receives the authentication result from the authentication server 300. When the legitimacy of use is confirmed by the received authentication result, the image processing device 200 releases the locked state of each function and permits the use.

The image processing device 200 outputs a log describing the execution contents of the job each time the job is executed. This log is output as a file inside the image processing device 200 that executed the job, and is also transmitted to the log collection server 100.

The image processing device 200 further displays a screen for designating the transfer code, and acquires the transfer code designated by the user using the screen. The image processing device 200 transmits the acquired transfer code to the authentication server 300.

The transfer code is a code indicating a billing address for charges generated by using the image processing device 200, and corresponds to transfer information. In the present embodiment, the transfer code is a code associated with the organizational division within the company. Further, as an organizational division within the company, in this embodiment, "department" is taken as an example, but it may be a business division, a department, a section, a project unit, etc., and the organizational name and scale do not matter. In addition, since it is permissible for the individual user to be the billing destination, a user ID or the like may be used as the transfer code.

The authentication server 300 is a computer that determines the legitimacy of the user using the image processing device 200. The authentication server 300 receives the authentication information from the image processing device 200, determines whether the information registered in advance and the received authentication information match, and derives the authentication result. Further, the authentication server 300 stores the transfer code and the initial value of the parameter in association with each other. The initial value of the parameter is an initial value of the parameter passed when the image processing apparatus 200 executes each job such as copying, printing, scanning, and fax transmission / reception. When the authentication server 300 receives the transfer code from the image processing device 200, the authentication server 300 returns the initial values of the parameters corresponding to the transfer code to the image processing device 200 which is the transmission source.

The mail server 400 is a computer that delivers e-mail inside or outside the company. The mail server 400 once receives an e-mail with a scanned image attached from the image processing device 200 using SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). Then, the mail server 400 forwards the e-mail to the e-mail address of the destination specified by the user by using SMTP.

The file server 500 is a computer that stores files transmitted from an image processing device 200 or a client terminal 700 by using a protocol such as SMB (Server Message Block) or CIFS (Common Internet File System). In the storage area of the file server 500, a personal folder dedicated to the user and a folder dedicated to each department are provided in advance. The file server 500 stores the scanned image transmitted from the image processing device 200 in a folder designated by the user.

The fax server 600 is a computer having a modem board connected to the public switched telephone network. The fax server 600 receives the fax data transmitted from the image processing device 200. Then, the fax server 600 transmits the fax data to the destination of the designated fax number via the public switched telephone network.

When the fax server 600 receives the fax data via the public switched telephone network, the fax server 600 converts the fax data into image data and transmits the fax data to a pre-designated image processing device 200. The image processing device 200 forms the received image data on a recording medium and discharges it. When the image processing device 200 is directly connected to the public switched telephone network, the image processing device 200 may transmit and receive fax data by itself without going through the fax server 600. ..

The client terminal 700 is a personal computer used by the user. The client terminal 700 transmits a print job including document data and image data to the image processing device 200. Further, the client terminal 700 used by the administrator accesses the log collection server 100, specifies search conditions, and gives a log collection instruction.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the image processing device 200. The image processing device 200 has a controller 201 that comprehensively controls the devices inside the image processing device 200, an operation panel 220 controlled by the controller 201, a printer engine 221 and a card reader 222 as peripheral devices.

The controller 201 is a general term for a control mechanism that controls operations when executing various jobs, and has the following configuration.

The network I / F202 (I / F: Interface) is an interface board that controls data communication performed with an external device. The program ROM 203 (ROM: Read Only Memory) is a non-volatile storage device in which a program for managing data in the controller 201 and controlling peripheral modules is stored.

The font ROM 204 is a non-volatile memory that stores various types of fonts used in the printing operation. The operation unit I / F 205 is an interface board that controls data input / output to / from the operation panel 220. The operation unit I / F 205 receives an instruction from the CPU 207 (CPU: Central Processing Unit) and causes the operation panel 220 to draw the instructed image. Further, the operation unit I / F 205 outputs the pressed coordinate data or the like received by the operation panel 220 to the CPU 207.

The HDD 206 (HDD: Hard Disk Drive) is an auxiliary storage device for storing data. The HDD 206 stores a program executed by the CPU 207 and control data, and stores image data scanned by the user on behalf of the file server 500.

The CPU 207 is a processing device that expands the program stored in the program ROM 203 or the HDD 206 into the RAM 208 and executes an operation.

The RAM 208 is a volatile memory and is a work memory when the CPU 207 processes. The RAM 208 stores programs and data to be calculated and executed by the CPU 207, and also functions as a buffer for temporarily storing print data. The print data stored in the buffer is processed by the CPU 207 and output to the printer engine 221.

The NV-RAM 209 is a non-volatile memory and stores data that needs to be continuously stored even when the power is turned off. The engine I / F 210 is an interface for controlling the printer engine 221 from the controller 201. The card reader I / F211 is an interface that outputs the authentication information read by the card reader 222 to the CPU 207.

The scanner I / F 212 outputs a scan start instruction from the CPU 207 to the scanner 223. Further, the scanner I / F 212 outputs the scanned image from the scanner 223 to the CPU 207. Under the control of the CPU 207, the scanned image is temporarily stored in the RAM 208 or the like.

The operation panel 220 is a touch panel display in which a touch panel is laminated on a flat display. The operation panel 220 displays the status of the main body of the image processing device 200, the execution status of the job, and the like, and accepts input from the user by touch operation.

The printer engine 221 supplies a recording medium from the supply unit by a control signal from the controller 201, and forms an image specified by the user on the recording medium. Then, the printer engine 221 discharges the formed recording medium to the outside of the image processing device 200.

The card reader 222 reads the information stored in the IC card held by the user in a non-contact manner. At least the identification information of the card (hereinafter referred to as a card ID) is stored in the IC card. The card reader 222 reads this card ID from the IC card. The authentication server 300 authenticates the user who possesses the IC card by using the card ID.

The scanner 223 reads a document placed on a glass plate by using an image pickup device such as a CCD image sensor. The read scanned image is temporarily stored in the RAM 208 or the HDD 206 via the scanner I / F 212. After that, the scanned image is transmitted to the destination specified by the user via the network I / F202.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the log collection server 100. The log collection server 100 is a conventional computer, and has a network I / F 102, a program ROM 103, an HDD 106, a CPU 107, a RAM 108, and an NV-RAM 109.

The HDD 106 is an auxiliary storage device for holding data. The HDD 106 stores an OS (Operating System) and a program for executing the operations described below. Further, the HDD 106 has a database system for accumulating logs transmitted from each of the image processing devices 200A to 200N, and it is possible to insert, update, delete, and search the logs. ing.

The network I / F 102, the program ROM 103, the CPU 107, the RAM 108, and the NV-RAM 109 have the same functions as the units of the same name having the configuration shown in FIG. Further, the authentication server 300, the mail server 400, the file server 500, and the fax server 600 shown in FIG. 1 are also conventional computers, and have the same hardware configuration as shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the image processing device 200. The image processing device 200 includes an authentication request reception unit 251, a transfer code display reception unit 252, a function execution unit 253, a log generation unit 257, a system control unit 256, a communication unit 255, and a log storage unit 258. Each of these functional units is realized by the CPU 207 calculating and executing the program stored in the program ROM 203.

The authentication request receiving unit 251 receives the authentication information necessary for using the image processing device 200. The authentication information may be a user ID or password entered on the operation panel 220, or may be a card ID read from the card reader 222.

The transfer code display reception unit 252 displays the transfer code selection screen via the operation panel 220, and causes the user to specify the transfer code.

The system control unit 256 comprehensively controls the functions and modules of the entire image processing device 200. The system control unit 256 controls, for example, to display the initial values of the parameters on the operation panel 220 when the job is executed. In this case, the configuration of the operation panel 220 and the system control unit 256 corresponds to the display unit. Further, the system control unit 256 instructs the execution of the job with the same value as the parameter value displayed on the operation panel 220.

The function execution unit 253 is an execution unit for providing functions that can be executed by the image processing device 200, such as copying, printing, scanning, and fax transmission / reception. The log generation unit 257 generates logs according to jobs such as copying, printing, scanning, and fax transmission / reception. The log storage unit 258 stores the log generated by the log generation unit 257. The communication unit 255 transmits / receives information to / from the outside. The communication unit 255 receives the print job from the client terminal 700. The communication unit 255 transmits the authentication information to the authentication server 300, and receives the authentication result, the transfer code, and the initial values of the parameters from the authentication server 300. In this way, the communication unit 255 corresponds to the acquisition unit that acquires the initial values of the parameters corresponding to the transfer code. Further, the communication unit 255 transmits the log to the log collection server 100.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the log collection server 100. The log collection server 100 includes a log output unit 152, a communication unit 155, a system control unit 156, and a log storage unit 158. These are realized by the CPU 107 calculating and executing the program stored in the program ROM 103 and the HDD 106.

The communication unit 155 transmits / receives information to / from the outside. For example, the communication unit 155 receives a log from the image processing device 200, receives a log collection instruction from the client terminal 700, and returns the collected log to the client terminal 700 of the transmission source.

The system control unit 156 comprehensively controls the functions and modules of the entire log collection server 100. The log storage unit 158 stores the identification information of the image processing device 200 in association with the log generated by the image processing device 200. Further, the log storage unit 158 has introduced a database system that enables data insertion, update, deletion, and search, and manages each data described in the log in the database system.

The log output unit 152 collects the logs stored in the log storage unit 158 based on the search conditions specified by the administrator. The log output unit 152 formats the collected data into a format such as a CSV file or an HTML file for a Web screen. The formatted file is transmitted to the client terminal 700 used by the administrator via the communication unit 155.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the authentication server 300. The authentication server 300 includes a communication unit 355, a system control unit 356, an authentication control unit 357, an authentication information storage unit 358, and a transfer code information storage unit 359. These are realized by the CPU of the authentication server 300 calculating and executing the program stored in the program ROM or the HDD.

The communication unit 355 transmits / receives information to / from the outside. The communication unit 355 receives the authentication information from the image processing device 200, for example, and returns the authentication result to the image processing device 200 of the transmission source. The authentication information storage unit 358 stores the user ID, password, and card ID in association with each other.

The transfer code information storage unit 359 is a storage unit that stores the transfer code and the initial value of the parameter in association with each other. The image processing device 200 acquires the initial values of the parameters from the transfer code information storage unit 359. The initial value of the parameter includes information on the destination of the scanned image, such as the destination email address, fax destination, and folder destination. In addition to this, the present embodiment also includes parameters for forming an image on the recording medium, such as color / monochrome distinction, single-sided / double-sided distinction, and size of the recording medium.

The authentication information storage unit 358 and the transfer code information storage unit 359 may be implemented as a directory service or a database system so that they can be inserted, updated, deleted, and searched. ..

The authentication control unit 357 authenticates the user based on the authentication information. The authentication control unit 357 authenticates the user by determining whether the authentication information obtained via the communication unit 355 matches the information stored in the authentication information storage unit 358. Further, the authentication control unit 357 acquires a set of the transfer code and the initial value of the parameter stored in the transfer code information storage unit 359. When a plurality of pairs of the transfer code and the initial value of the parameter are acquired, the authentication control unit 357 lists them.

The one or more transfer codes acquired by the authentication control unit 357 are returned to the image processing device 200 that has transmitted the authentication information. The image processing device 200 displays these transfer codes so that they can be selected, and the user specifies one of the displayed transfer codes.

The system control unit 356 comprehensively controls the functions and modules of the entire authentication server 300.

Here, the outline of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7 in comparison with the conventional embodiment. Here, the process of sending the scanned data to the folder associated with the transfer code instead of the user's individual folder will be described as an example. As described above, in the present embodiment, the transfer code is information associated with the department of the company. In the example of FIG. 7, the folder associated with the individual user is "\\ server \ userA", and the folder associated with the transfer code is "\\ server \ 001" or the like.

First, a conventional aspect will be described. Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 7A, a data table associated with a user ID, a transfer code, a destination e-mail address, a fax destination, a folder destination, and the like is referred to.

Moreover, the conventional operation is illustrated below.
(ACT001) A user having an ID of "User A" logs in to the image processing device. Login methods include inputting a user ID and password, and holding an IC card such as an employee ID card.
(ACT002) The image processing device displays a list of transfer codes corresponding to the logged-in user on the operation panel. Here, the transfer codes of "0001", "0002", and "0003" illustrated in FIG. 7A are displayed.
(ACT003) The user specifies a transfer code from the displayed list. Here, it is assumed that the transfer code of "0001" is specified.
(ACT004) The image processing device sets the specified transfer code "0001" and the user's individual destination e-mail address, fax destination, and folder destination associated with the user as initial values of the parameters, and uses the image processing device. Allow. Here, "userA @ mail" shown in FIG. 7A is set as the destination e-mail address, "123-456-000" is set as the fax destination, and "\\ server \ userA" is set as the folder destination. Will be done.
(ACT005) The user switches to the screen of the scan function. Here, it is assumed that the scanned image is stored in the folder.
(ACT006) The image processing device displays a scan setting screen with "\\ server \ userA" as the initial value of the parameter. That is, a screen is displayed in which the folder name associated with the user is set as the initial setting value.
(ACT007) The user re-enters the folder destination dedicated to the department in order to carry out the work in the department. The user changes the setting value to "\\ server \ 001", which is a folder dedicated to the department.
(ACT008) The user executes a scan transmission. As a result, the scanned image is stored in the "\\ server \ 001" folder.
As described above, in the conventional aspect, since the personal folder destination associated with the user is set as the initial value of the parameter, it is necessary to respecify it as the department folder destination in the case of business use.

Next, the outline of the present embodiment will be described. Here, as shown in FIG. 7B, a data table in which a user ID and a transfer code are associated with each other and a destination e-mail address, a fax destination, a folder destination, etc. are associated with each transfer code is referred to. It shall be.

In the aspect of this embodiment, it is performed in the following order. Further, here, it is assumed that the image processing device 200A is operated.
(ACT101) A user having an ID of "User A" logs in to the image processing device 200A. Login methods include inputting a user ID and password, and holding an IC card such as an employee ID card.
(ACT102) The image processing device displays a list of transfer codes corresponding to the logged-in user on the screen of the operation panel 220. Here, the transfer codes of "0001", "0002", and "0003" illustrated in FIG. 7B are displayed.
(ACT103) The user specifies a transfer code from the displayed list. Here, it is assumed that the transfer code of "0001" is specified.
(ACT104) The image processing device sets the specified transfer code "0001" and the destination e-mail address, fax destination, and folder destination associated with the specified transfer code "0001" as the initial values of the parameters. , The use of the image processing apparatus 200 is permitted. Here, "0001 @ mail" shown in FIG. 7B is set as the destination e-mail address, "123-456-001" is set as the fax destination, and "\\ server \ 0001" is set as the folder destination. Set.
(ACT105) The user switches to the screen of the scan function. Here, it is assumed that the scanned image is stored in the folder.
(ACT106) The image processing apparatus displays a scan setting screen with "\\ server \ 0001" as the initial value of the parameter. That is, a screen is displayed in which the folder name associated with the transfer code is set as the initial setting value.
(ACT107) The user executes a scan transmission. As a result, the scanned image is stored in the "\\ server \ 0001" folder. When sending to the user's personal folder, a button defined in advance or the like is pressed as described later.
As described above, in the embodiment of the present embodiment, the initial values of the parameters corresponding to the transfer codes are also stored so as to be associated with each user. Then, when the user is specified by the authentication process, the transfer code that can be specified by the user is specified. Then, the initial value of the parameter associated with the transfer code specified by the user from the specified transfer code is set as the initial value as it is. The mode in which the user is associated with the initial value of the transfer code or the parameter will be described in detail in the second embodiment. With this implementation, scan transmission can be performed to the target destination without changing the folder destination.

Hereinafter, the detailed operation of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an operation example from login authentication to setting the initial value of the parameter, and FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an operation example from job execution to log collection by the administrator. is there. Further, FIGS. 10 to 17 show examples of various data and display screens. These FIGS. 10 to 17 are referred to with reference to the description of FIGS. 8 and 9. Further, here, it is assumed that the image processing device 200A is operated.

First, the sequence diagram of FIG. 8 will be described. The authentication request receiving unit 251 of the image processing device 200A acquires the authentication information from the user via the operation panel 220 (S801). A display example of the operation panel 220 at this time is shown in FIG. After the login button 1401 on the screen is pressed, the authentication request receiving unit 251 displays the authentication dialog 1402 and waits for the input from the user. The user inputs the user ID given to him / herself, inputs the password, and presses the execute button 1403. As a result, the authentication request receiving unit 251 accepts the entered user ID and password as authentication information. The card reader 222 may be an authentication method for reading the information on the IC card.

Returning to the description of FIG. Next, the authentication request receiving unit 251 transmits the obtained authentication information to the authentication server 300 via the communication unit 255, and makes an authentication request (S802). The authentication control unit 357 of the authentication server 300 performs an authentication process by comparing and collating the received authentication information with the information stored in the authentication information storage unit 358 (S803, S804). Here, the data stored in the authentication information storage unit 358 will be described with reference to FIG. 10A. As shown in FIG. 10A, a user ID, a password, a card ID, and a user name are associated with the authentication information storage unit 358. The initial value of the parameter for each user may also be associated with the user ID shown in FIG. 10 (A).

Returning to the description of FIG. When the authentication result is conforming, the authentication control unit 357 refers to the transfer code information storage unit 359 and acquires the transfer code and the initial value of the parameter associated with the transfer code (S805, S806). Here, the data stored in the transfer code information storage unit 359 will be described with reference to FIG. 10B. The transfer code is associated with the transfer code name and also with the initial value of the parameter. The initial values of the parameters include information on the destination e-mail address, fax destination, and folder destination, which are the destinations after the scan process. The initial values of the parameters include color / monochrome distinction information, single-sided / double-sided distinction information, aggregated information that defines the number of pages per side of the recording medium, and the size of the recording medium, which are used in copy processing and print processing. is there. In addition to these, initial values of scan resolution and print quality parameters may be associated with the transfer code. Further, as the initial value of the parameter of the FAX transmission function, a telephone directory list or the like may be associated with the transfer code.

Returning to the description of FIG. The authentication control unit 357 requests the image processing device 200A to display the selection screen via the communication unit 355 (S807). At this time, the authentication control unit 357 acquires all the records stored in the transfer code information storage unit 359 and makes a list, and the list of the user ID and the transfer code is sent to the image processing device 200A via the communication unit 355. Send.

The transfer code display reception unit 252 of the image processing device 200A displays the received transfer code on the operation panel 220 and waits for the user's operation (S808). A display example at this time is shown in FIG. The transfer code display reception unit 252 displays the transfer code specification dialog 1501 and causes the user to specify the transfer code. In the example of FIG. 15, it is shown that the transfer code “0002” corresponding to “Sales 2G” is specified. When the user operates the slide button 1502, the list moves up and down. By operating the slide button 1502, the transfer code that was hidden because it did not fit in the display area is slid and displayed. Further, in the present embodiment, it is possible to set the initial value of the individual parameter by pressing the button 1503. In this case, the initial value of the parameter directly associated with the user ID is set.

Returning to the description of FIG. When the user specifies the transfer code (S809) and presses the execution button 1504 shown in FIG. 15, the designated transfer code is transmitted to the authentication server 300 (S810). Here, the authentication control unit 357 of the authentication server 300 transmits a login permission notification to the image processing device 200A as an authentication result (S811). At this time, the authentication control unit 357 acquires the transfer code specified by the user and the initial values of the parameters associated with the transfer code from the transfer code information storage unit 359 and transmits the transfer code to the image processing device 200A. (S811).

An example of the information transmitted in S811 is shown in FIG. The authentication control unit 357 transmits the initial values of the parameters corresponding to the selected transfer code to the image processing device 200A. Here, as the initial values of the parameters, each initial value of the destination e-mail address, the fax destination, the folder destination, the color / monochrome distinction, the single-sided / double-sided distinction, the aggregated information, and the size of the recording medium is transmitted. Although authentication information such as a user ID, password, and card ID is also shown in FIG. 11, these may not be transmitted.

Returning to the description of FIG. The system control unit 256 of the image processing device 200A stores the information shown in FIG. 11 in the RAM 208. Then, the system control unit 256 sets the initial values of the acquired parameters to the values passed to each function executed by the function execution unit 253 (S812, S813). This setting process is, for example, a process of writing the initial values of the parameters to the shared memory area or the shared file that can be accessed by both the system control unit 256 and the function execution unit 253.

Then, the system control unit 256 unlocks the image processing device 200A and permits its use (S814).

A display example at this time is shown in FIG. The system control unit 256 of the image processing device 200A controls the operation panel 220 to display a menu screen in which the function buttons of the copy button 1601, the scan button 1602, the print button 1603, and the FAX button 1604 are arranged. When each function button is pressed, a setting screen related to the corresponding function is displayed.

In FIG. 16, when the FAX button 1604 is pressed, a dialog including a telephone directory, a dialog including a numeric keypad button for directly designating a telephone number, and the like are displayed. As for the telephone directory, the operation panel 220 can display the telephone directory corresponding to the transfer code by associating the transfer code with the telephone directory dedicated to the department and storing it in the transfer code information storage unit 359. Further, when the setting button 1605 is pressed, it is possible to reset the initial value of the parameter. In this case, the logged-in user needs to be granted the authority to change settings.

FIG. 17 is a display example when the scan button 1602 is pressed from the buttons shown in FIG. The system control unit 256 of the image processing device 200A controls the operation panel 220 to display the screen shown in FIG. By operating tab 1701, the user can select whether the destination is a folder destination, a fax destination, or a destination e-mail address. FIG. 17 shows a situation in which the destination of the scanned image is a folder. The system control unit 256 acquires the initial values of the parameters output to the shared memory area and the shared file, and displays them in the display field 1704.

The user can change the folder destination from the initial value by pressing the destination input button 1702. In this way, the display unit of the present embodiment displays each value so that it can be changed by the operation of the user. When the parameter value is changed, the system control unit 256 changes the shared memory area and the shared file value as well as the parameter value displayed on the screen.

When the user presses the read setting button 1705, a dialog containing parameters applied during the read operation, such as resolution and color / monochrome distinction information, is displayed. Initial values corresponding to the transfer code are also set for the parameters displayed in the dialog. When the user changes the resolution or the color / monochrome distinction value, the shared memory area or shared file value is changed as well as the parameter value displayed on the screen. When the back button 1706 is pressed, the screen returns to the menu screen shown in FIG.

When the start button 1703 shown in FIG. 17 is pressed, the scan job is executed with the same value as the parameter value displayed on the operation panel 220, that is, with the parameter value currently set. If the default value is not changed, the scanned image is sent to the default value folder. When the user changes the initial value, the scanned image is sent to the folder specified by the user according to the contents displayed on the operation panel 220.

In this way, by using a value frequently used in business as the initial value of the parameter and storing it in association with the transfer code, it is possible to reduce the trouble of changing the parameter when executing the job.

Subsequently, an operation example of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 shows an operation example after the start button 1703 shown in FIG. 17 is pressed.

The function execution unit 253 of the image processing device 200A receives a scan execution instruction (S901). The function execution unit 253 creates a scanned image and stores the scanned image in a designated folder (S902). The function execution unit 253 is a recording medium that is finally written in the shared memory area or the shared file, specified by the user, or placed on the platen according to the initial resolution and the color / monochrome distinction value. To read. Further, the function execution unit 253 stores the scanned image in the folder specified by the user or the default value written in the shared memory area or the shared file.

After executing the job, the function execution unit 253 requests the log generation unit 257 to generate a log (S903). The system control unit 256, which has received the execution completion notification from the function execution unit 253, may request the generation of the log.

The log generation unit 257 generates a log in which at least the transfer code and each parameter value at the time of execution are associated with each other (S904). Then, the log generation unit 257 saves the current log in the log storage unit 258 by additionally writing to the specified log file (S905).

FIG. 12 shows an example of the log stored in the log storage unit 258 of the image processing device 200A. In this embodiment, in addition to the transfer code and each parameter value at the time of execution, the job ID, operation date and time, user ID, type of executed job (denoted as "operation" in the figure), transfer code name, and user name are also included. The associated log is generated and accumulated. Further, as shown in FIG. 12, in the case of the scanning operation, the log generation unit 257 also leaves the data size of the scanned image as a log.

The log generation unit 257 makes a log transmission request to the communication unit 255 (S906). The communication unit 255 that has received this request acquires the log for one record obtained this time stored in the log storage unit 258 (S907, S908) and transmits it to the log collection server 100 (S909). When the transmission to the log collection server 100 is completed normally, the corresponding record stored in the log storage unit 258 may be deleted.

The communication unit 155 of the log collection server 100 stores the received log in the log storage unit 158 (S910). At this time, the communication unit 155 extracts the data described in the log, adds each data described later, and stores the data in the database system. By storing it in the database system, it is possible to easily update and delete logs and collect data according to the search conditions. Further, this storage process may be performed by the system control unit 156.

By repeating the series of operations S801 to S910, logs are accumulated in the image processing devices 200A to 200N and the log collection server 100.

FIG. 13 is a log stored in the log collection server 100. The log stored in the log collection server 100 is added with a model name and a change flag in addition to the log information stored in the image processing devices 200A to 200N. The model name is identification information that identifies the image processing devices 200A to 200N that are the transmission sources of the log. The change flag is flag data indicating whether or not the parameter has been changed from the initial value. When the change flag is 1, it indicates that the parameter of the job has been changed from the initial value, and when it is 0 (zero), it indicates that the parameter has not been changed. The system control unit 156 compares the log transmitted from the image processing devices 200A to 200N with the initial value of the parameter associated with the transfer code shown in FIG. 10B, and thus whether or not the parameter value is changed. Is judged, and the judgment result is written in the change flag. This change flag is used when calculating the billed amount.

Here, a value that makes it possible to determine only whether or not the value has been changed from the initial value is written in the change flag. In addition to this, the system control unit 156 may be able to determine whether the billing amount will be increased or decreased. This implementation example will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 (B) and 13. In the log shown in FIG. 13, referring to the log record in which the job ID is "10001" (the log record in which the transfer code column is "0001"), it is found that the A3 size storage medium was used. It has become. On the other hand, the transfer code "0001" has an initial value of A4 size with reference to FIG. 10 (B). That is, it can be seen that a recording medium having a size larger than the initial value was used. In this case, the system control unit 156 assigns a value indicating that the billing amount is increased, for example, a numerical value 1 to the change flag column.

Further, in the case of the log record in which the job ID is "10004" (the log record in which the transfer code column is "0061") shown in the log of FIG. 13, images are formed on both sides of the storage medium. ing. On the other hand, referring to FIG. 10B, the initial value of the transfer code "0061" is set to form an image on one side of the storage medium. That is, it can be seen that the amount of storage medium used has been reduced from the initial value. In this case, the system control unit 156 assigns a value indicating that the billing amount is reduced, for example, a numerical value 2 to the change flag column.

In this way, when it is possible to distinguish whether the amount has been increased or decreased from the initial value, information indicating the magnitude relationship of the amount of money for each value is stored in the HDD 106. This information is referred to as parameter amount information here. Specific examples of the parameter amount information include "single-sided> double-sided", "color> monochrome", "A3 size> A4 size> B5 size", "1200 dpi> 600 dpi> 300 dpi", and information indicating this magnitude relationship is provided. , Stored in HDD 106. The system control unit 156 compares the contents of the log shown in FIG. 13 with the data information shown in FIG. 10B, and refers to the parameter amount information for parameters having different values to determine whether to increase or decrease. Give the indicated value to the change column.

Subsequently, the log collection operation of the administrator will be described with reference to FIG. This log collection operation is performed asynchronously with the above operation.

The log collection server 100 receives a log output request from the client terminal 700 used by the administrator (S911). At this time, the administrator specifies, for example, a period as a search condition or a transfer code as a search condition. In addition to this, the administrator can specify the value or range of each column shown in FIG. 13 as a search condition, and can give a log output instruction by combining a plurality of search conditions with each other.

The log output unit 152 extracts the log stored in the log storage unit 158 under the search conditions specified by the administrator (S912, S913). The log output unit 152 outputs the acquired log in a format specified by the administrator (S914). For example, when displaying on a Web screen, the log output unit 152 outputs in HTML format and transmits it to the client terminal 700 used by the administrator. When the CSV format is specified, the log output unit 152 outputs a CSV file in which each data is separated by a comma symbol and transmits the CSV file to the client terminal 700 used by the administrator.

The administrator calculates the billing amount for each transfer code based on the logs collected in this way. In the collected logs, if the number of records for which the change flag is increased is larger than the number of records for which the change flag is decreased, the billing amount is calculated to increase, and in the opposite case, billing is performed. The amount is calculated so that it tends to decrease.

In the above embodiment, the log collection server 100 gives the change flag, but the image processing device 200 may give it. The image processing device 200 stores both the initial value of the parameter received from the authentication server 300 and the parameter value for display, and by comparing these, it is possible to determine whether or not there has been a change. Further, when the image processing device 200 stores the above-mentioned parameter amount information, not only the information on whether or not the parameter has been changed but also the value indicating whether the amount has been increased or decreased can be added to the change column.

In addition to the above aspects, the collected logs are also used, for example, for investigation when a failure occurs. It is also used to investigate the frequency of use of each function.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to suppress the work of changing parameters and improve the convenience of the user. Further, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to count the charges in units of transfer codes.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the information about the user such as the authentication information shown in FIG. 10A and the information about the initial values of the transfer code and the parameter shown in FIG. 10B are not associated with each other. In the second embodiment, associating these two pieces of information will be described.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a functional block of the authentication server 300 in the second embodiment. The authentication server 300 of the second embodiment has an authentication information storage unit 358A. The authentication information storage unit 358A stores both the data stored in the authentication information storage unit 358 of the first embodiment and the data stored in the transfer code information storage unit 359 in association with each other. For the system configuration other than this, the hardware configuration of each device, and the block diagram, the configuration described in the first embodiment is used.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a data table stored in the authentication information storage unit 358A. The authentication information storage unit 358A stores the user ID and the transfer code in association with each other. Further, the authentication information storage unit 358A stores the transfer code and the initial value of the parameter in association with each other.

For example, it is assumed that the user to which the ID of "user001" is given belongs to "Sales 1G", "Sales 2G", and "Human Resources Department". In the first embodiment, since the user ID and the transfer code are not associated with each other, the transfer code display reception unit 252 displays the "general affairs department", "accounting department", and the like so as to be selectable for the user. It will be. In the second embodiment, by associating the user ID with the transfer code, it is possible to suppress the selection of the transfer code not related to the user.

Further, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10B, the destination e-mail address associated with the transfer code "0001" is "sales1 @ mail". Therefore, for any user, when the transfer code "0001" is selected, the initial value is uniformly "sales1 @ mail". On the other hand, some departments, such as "user001.sales1@mail" and "user002.sales1@mail", adopt an address system in which addresses are further assigned to each user. In this case, in the first embodiment, the user needs to change from "sales1 @ mail" to "user001.sales1 @ mail" or "user002.sales1 @ mail". In the second embodiment, as shown in the destination e-mail address in FIG. 19, it is possible to set different initial values of the parameters for each user.

Also, as in the record of the transfer code "0001" in FIG. 19, the destination email address may be the personal address "user001.sales1@mail" and the folder destination may be the department-dedicated folder "\\ server \ sales1". It is possible. In this way, both the setting item with the personal value as the initial value and the setting item with the department-specific value as the initial value can be mixed in association with the same transfer code.

FIG. 20 is a sequence diagram showing an operation example of the second embodiment from login authentication to setting the initial value of the parameter. S801 to S803 are the same as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG. In the second embodiment, when the authentication result is conforming, the authentication control unit 357 outputs the transfer code associated with the user ID and the initial value of the parameter associated with the transfer code from the authentication information storage unit 358A. Acquire (S2001). When there are a plurality of transfer codes associated with the user ID, the authentication control unit 357 acquires the initial values of all the plurality of transfer codes and parameters associated with the user ID. Subsequent operations are the same as those of S807 to S814 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Further, the operation described with reference to FIG. 9 can also be applied to the second embodiment.

By associating the authentication information with the transfer code in this way, it is possible to prevent the transfer code not related to the user from being selected. In addition, it is possible to define the initial value of the parameter by mixing the initial value for personal use and the initial value for department for each setting item.

(Third Embodiment)
In the third embodiment, a mode in which the transfer code is switched in conjunction with the change of the parameter value by the user will be described. The configuration described in the first embodiment is used for the system configuration, the hardware configuration of each device, and the block diagram.

FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram showing an operation example of the third embodiment. FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram after the operation after the initial values of the parameters are set, that is, after the operation shown in FIG. The user changes the displayed value via the operation panel 220 (S2101). For example, the user presses the destination input button 1702 shown in FIG. 17 to change the displayed value. In FIG. 21, it is assumed that the folder destination is changed, but other parameters may be changed.

When the function execution unit 253 accepts the change of the folder destination, it notifies the system control unit 256 that the folder destination has been changed and hands over the changed folder name (S2102). This delivery may be a process of writing the changed value to the shared memory area or the shared file. The system control unit 256 transmits the changed folder destination to the authentication server 300 (S2103). The transfer code information storage unit 359 extracts the transfer code corresponding to the changed folder destination name from the stored data table, and returns the extracted transfer code to the image processing device 200A of the transmission source (). S2104).

The system control unit 256 of the image processing device 200A acquires the transfer code returned from the authentication server 300, notifies the function execution unit 253 of the transfer code change, and delivers the acquired transfer code (S2105). The function execution unit 253 changes the set transfer code to the acquired transfer code (S2106).

Subsequent job execution processing, log generation processing, accumulation processing, and aggregation processing are the same as the operations shown in FIG. 9 of the first embodiment. When the parameter is changed, the transfer code is also changed. Therefore, the log generation unit 257 generates the log shown in FIG. 12 by using the changed transfer code.

When one of the parameters is changed from the initial value, only the transfer code is changed in S2106, but some or all of the other parameters may be changed. When changing a part or all of the other parameters, in S2104, in addition to the changed transfer code, the initial value of the parameter corresponding to the changed transfer code is also transmitted.

For example, when the same scanned image is sent to a plurality of departments, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, after the scanned image is sent to one department, the user logs out from the screen of FIG. 17 and then logs in and authenticates again. Then you need to specify a different transfer code. In order to get the regular billing amount for each transfer code, it is necessary to start over from the beginning like this. Since the transfer code is also changed according to the change of the parameter value as in the third embodiment, the transfer code can be switched without performing login authentication or the like again. That is, by changing the setting value displayed on the screen of FIG. 17, the transfer code can also be changed without switching the screen.

Further, in the third embodiment, when one of the parameters is changed, there may be a plurality of transfer codes corresponding to the changed value. For example, when the parameter for distinguishing single-sided / double-sided is changed from single-sided to double-sided, referring to FIG. 10B, there are a plurality of transfer codes with both sides as initial values. When there are a plurality of transfer codes in this way, the implementation may be specified by the user by displaying a list of the corresponding transfer codes as in the screen shown in FIG.

Although the above description of the third embodiment is based on the first embodiment, it can also be applied to the second embodiment. When applied to the second embodiment, the transfer code information storage unit 359 shown in FIG. 21 becomes the authentication information storage unit 358A.

In the third embodiment, the transfer code can be easily switched, and the convenience can be further improved as compared with the first embodiment and the second embodiment.

In each of the above embodiments, the authentication server 300 is provided, and the authentication server 300 stores the authentication information, the transfer code, and the initial values of the parameters associated with the transfer code, but the embodiment is not limited to this. For example, one or a plurality of image processing devices 200A to 200N may be implemented to store the data having the above-mentioned correspondence relationship and have the function of the authentication server 300. When a plurality of image processing devices 200 are provided with the function of the authentication server 300, the image processing devices 200 synchronize data with each other.

Further, the function of the log collection server 100 may be provided to any of the image processing devices 200A to 200N. The first server having the function of the authentication server 300 and the second server having the function of the log collection server 100 may be combined into one housing.

In each of the above embodiments, the client terminal 700 can perform a part of the operation performed by the image processing device 200. When the image processing device 200 executes a print job, the client terminal 700 displays the images 14 to 17 and communicates with the authentication server 300. The client terminal 700 can perform a part of the operation performed by the image processing device 200 by the CPU executing a calculation of the printer driver program previously installed in the client terminal 700.

As described in detail above, according to each embodiment, it is possible to improve the convenience of the user by reducing the work of the user when using the image processing device.

1: Image processing system, 100: Log collection server, 101: Controller,
102: Network I / F, 103: Program ROM, 106: HDD,
107: CPU, 108: RAM, 109: NV-RAM, 152: log output unit,
155: Communication unit, 156: System control unit, 158: Log storage unit,
200, 200A-200N: Image processing device, 201: Controller,
202: Network I / F, 203: Program ROM, 204: Font ROM,
205: Operation unit I / F, 206: HDD, 207: CPU, 208: RAM,
209: NV-RAM, 210: Engine I / F, 211: Card Reader I / F,
220: Operation panel, 221: Printer engine, 222: Card reader,
251: Authentication request reception unit, 252: Transfer code display reception unit, 253: Function execution department,
255: Communication unit, 256: System control unit, 257: Log generation unit,
258: Log storage unit, 300: Authentication server, 355: Communication unit,
356: System control unit, 357: Authentication control unit, 358, 358A: Authentication information storage unit,
359: Transfer code information storage unit, 400: Mail server, 500: File server,
600: Fax server, 700, 700A-700N: Client terminal,
800: Network.

Japanese Patent No. 4326380

Claims (4)

An image processing device that executes jobs that process images.
A reception unit that receives authentication information for determining whether or not the job can be executed in the image processing device, and
The transfer information and the execution of the job are associated with the authentication information including the user ID that identifies the user who requests the execution of the job, and indicate the billing destination of the usage fee incurred for the execution of the job. an acquisition unit that acquires the initial values of the parameters, from one or more the stored storage unit for use in,
A display unit for changeable displays the initial value of the parameter acquired by the acquisition unit,
With the parameter values displayed on the display unit, the execution unit that executes the job and the execution unit
After the job is executed by the execution unit, a log in which the value of the parameter at the time of execution of the job is associated with the transfer information is generated, and the value different from the initial value of the parameter is generated by the execution unit. A log generation unit that generates the log by further associating information indicating that the value of the parameter has been changed when the job is executed in
An image processing device characterized by having . Information that is associated with a user ID that identifies a user who requests execution of the job in an image processing device that executes a job that processes an image, and indicates a billing address for a usage fee incurred for the execution of the job. includes a transfer information, the associated data and the initial value of parameters used in the execution of the job, a storage unit for one or more storage,
Receiving said user ID, and the initial value of the parameters corresponding to the transfer information associated with the user ID, and transmits the acquired from the storage unit, and the first server,
A reception unit that receives authentication information including the user ID for determining whether or not the job can be executed in the image processing device.
Anda display unit for changeable displays the initial value of the parameters transmitted from the first server,
The job is executed with the value of the parameter displayed on the display unit ,
After the job is executed, when a log is generated in which the value of the parameter at the time of executing the job and the transfer information are associated with each other and the job is executed with a value different from the initial value of the parameter. One or more image processing devices that generate the log by further associating information indicating that the value of the parameter has been changed .
Image processing system with. An image processing method for an image processing device that executes a job that processes an image.
The image processing device receives authentication information for determining whether or not the job can be executed, and receives the authentication information.
The transfer information and the execution of the job are associated with the authentication information including the user ID that identifies the user who requests the execution of the job, and indicate the billing destination of the usage fee incurred for the execution of the job. and an initial value of parameters used in, obtained from one or more the stored storage unit,
Changeable displays the acquired initial value of the parameter,
Execute the job with the displayed parameter values ,
After the job is executed, when a log is generated in which the value of the parameter at the time of executing the job and the transfer information are associated with each other and the job is executed with a value different from the initial value of the parameter. The log is generated by further associating information indicating that the value of the parameter has been changed.
An image processing method characterized by that. An image processing program that can be executed in an image processing device that executes a job that processes an image .
A reception process for receiving authentication information for determining whether or not the job can be executed in the image processing device, and
The transfer information and the execution of the job are associated with the authentication information including the user ID that identifies the user who requests the execution of the job, and indicate the billing destination of the usage fee incurred for the execution of the job. an obtaining process for obtaining the initial values of the parameters, from one or more the stored storage unit for use in,
A display process of changeable displays the initial value of the parameters Oite acquired on the acquisition process,
Including the execution process of executing the job with the value of the parameter displayed in the display process .
After the job is executed by the execution process, a log in which the value of the parameter at the time of executing the job is associated with the transfer information is generated, and the value different from the initial value of the parameter in the execution process. A log generation process for generating the log by further associating information indicating that the value of the parameter was changed when the job was executed in
An image processing program characterized by having .

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