JP7718172B2 - Information processing device and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device and a program.

Patent Document 1 below discloses a printing system in which, when a logged-in user sends their identification information to a print management server and issues a request to output print data corresponding to that user identification information, the print management server performs a masking process on an area of the print data determined by a mask level set for each image forming device, and outputs the data to the image forming device that issued the output request, which then prints the masked print data.

JP 2011-113153 A

The object of this invention is to enable a delivery person to print print data sent by a sender using an image forming device, and then deliver the printed matter to a designated recipient, allowing the recipient to conceal information contained in the print data.

An information processing device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes:
a processor;
The processor:
receiving, from the sender's terminal device, print data and recipient information for receiving a printed matter obtained by printing the print data;
notifying the contact information of the recipient specified by the recipient information to perform a concealment process to conceal information that the recipient wishes to conceal from third parties among the information in the received print data;
issuing identification information for identifying the print data after the concealment process has been performed by the recipient;
a delivery request including the issued identification information and the recipient information is sent to a terminal device of a delivery person who delivers the printed matter;
When the image forming device receives the identification information input by the delivery person from the image forming device, the print data after the concealment process associated with the identification information is transmitted to the image forming device.

A second aspect of the information processing device of the present invention is the information processing device of the first aspect described above, in which the processor generates connection information to a location where concealment processing is performed on the print data, notifies the recipient's contact information, and, when the recipient has completed the concealment processing, allows the delivery request to be sent to the delivery person's terminal device.

The third aspect of the information processing device of the present invention is the information processing device of the second aspect, in which the identification information is generated when the concealment process by the recipient is completed.

In a fourth aspect of the information processing device of the present invention, in the information processing device of the first aspect described above, the processor generates connection information to a location where concealment processing is performed on the print data, notifies the recipient's contact information, and prohibits the delivery request from being sent to the delivery person's terminal device if the recipient's concealment processing is not completed.

The information processing device of the fifth aspect of the present invention is the information processing device of the fourth aspect, characterized in that the identification information is not generated unless the concealment process by the recipient is completed.

In a sixth aspect of the information processing device of the present invention, in any of the second to fifth aspects, the processor also notifies the sender's terminal device of connection information to the location where the concealment process is performed, and both the recipient and the sender perform the concealment process on the print data.

The seventh aspect of the information processing device of the present invention is any of the information processing devices of the first to sixth aspects, in which, after receiving the print data, the processor identifies the portions of the print data where concealment processing should be performed and performs the concealment processing.

An eighth aspect of the information processing device of the present invention is any of the first to seventh aspects, in which the processor generates information for confirming information about the concealed portion of the print data that has been concealed.

A program according to a ninth aspect of the present invention comprises:
receiving, from a sender's terminal device, print data and recipient information for receiving a printed matter obtained by printing the print data;
a step of notifying a contact point of the recipient specified by the recipient information to perform a concealment process for concealing information that is desired to be concealed from third parties among the information of the received print data;
issuing identification information for identifying the print data after the recipient has performed the concealment process;
a step of transmitting a delivery request including the issued identification information and the recipient information to a terminal device of a delivery person who will deliver the printed matter;
When the image forming device receives the identification information entered by the delivery person from the image forming device, the computer executes a step of transmitting the print data after the concealment process corresponding to the identification information has been performed to the image forming device.

The information processing device of the first aspect of the present invention allows a delivery person to print print data sent by a sender using an image forming device, and when the printout is delivered to a designated recipient, the recipient can conceal information in the print data.

The information processing device of the second aspect of the present invention can prevent a delivery request containing identification information from being sent to a delivery person unless the concealment process by the person performing the concealment process is completed.

The information processing device of the third aspect of the present invention makes it possible to prevent delivery personnel from obtaining identification information unless the concealment process by the person performing the concealment process is completed.

According to the information processing device of the fourth aspect of the present invention, a delivery request including identification information is sent to the delivery person only after the recipient has completed the concealment process.

The information processing device of the fifth aspect of the present invention allows the delivery person to obtain the identification information only after the recipient has completed the concealment process.

The sixth aspect of the information processing device of the present invention allows the delivery person to use an image forming device to print only print data that has been concealed by both the recipient and the sender.

The information processing device of the seventh aspect of the present invention can reduce the time required to perform the concealment process compared to when the recipient and sender perform the concealment process on the print data.

The information processing device of the eighth aspect of the present invention makes it possible to refer to the portions of print data that have been concealed after the concealment process.

According to the program of the ninth aspect of the present invention, when a delivery person prints print data sent by a sender using an image forming device and delivers the printed matter to a designated recipient, the recipient can conceal information in the print data.

1 is an overall conceptual diagram showing an example of a document printing and delivery system. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an information processing server. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an information processing server. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing the process between the devices constituting the document print delivery system in chronological order. 7A and 7B are diagrams showing an example of concealment processing performed by a recipient, in which FIG. 7A shows manuscript data before the concealment processing, and FIG. 7B shows print data after the concealment processing, in which the concealment processing is performed on the manuscript data of FIG. 7A. FIG. 10 is an overall conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a document print delivery system according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is an overall conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a document print delivery system according to a third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a concealment processing part confirmation screen that allows the user to refer to the contents of the concealed part of print data that has been concealed.

A document printing and delivery system 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiment is intended to illustrate an information processing server 200 as an example of an information processing device according to the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention to the following embodiment.

Figure 1 is an overall conceptual diagram showing an example of a document printing and delivery system 10. As shown in Figure 1, the document printing and delivery system 10 includes a sender terminal device 100 carried by the sender, an information processing server 200, a recipient terminal device 300 carried by the recipient, a delivery person terminal device 400 carried by the delivery person, and an image forming device 500. These are all connected to each other via a network such as the Internet 600.

As will be explained later, the general flow of processing in this document printing and delivery system 10 is as follows. First, manuscript data created by the sender terminal device 100 is sent to the information processing server 200, which is an information processing device. The information processing server 200 then notifies the recipient terminal device 300 to perform concealment processing to conceal any information in the manuscript data that should be concealed from third parties. When the recipient operates the recipient terminal device 300 to connect to the manuscript data and perform concealment processing, the information processing server 200 issues identification information and sends it to the delivery person terminal device 400. When the delivery person inputs the identification information into the image forming device 500, the image forming device 500 obtains from the information processing server 200 the print data after concealment processing of the manuscript data, which is associated with the identification information, and executes printing. Finally, the delivery person delivers the printed matter to the recipient.

Note that this document printing and delivery system 10 may have multiple sender terminal devices 100, recipient terminal devices 300, delivery person terminal devices 400, and image forming devices 500, each of which may be connected to the Internet 600. However, for simplicity's sake, this first embodiment will describe a case where only one of each device is connected to the Internet 600.

The sender terminal device 100 is owned or operated by the sender requesting printing of manuscript data, and may be a portable terminal device such as a tablet computer or smartphone, a notebook personal computer, or a desktop personal computer. The sender operates the application software installed on the sender terminal device 100 to operate the user interface of the sender terminal device 100 and create manuscript data to be printed using the image forming device 500. The sender terminal device 100 transmits the created manuscript data to the information processing server 200.

Here, "original data" refers to imageable file data created by sender terminal device 100 or stored on a server (not shown) connected to sender terminal device 100 via a network such as the Internet 600. This imageable file data includes data such as document file data, image file data, and PDL-format file data converted from document files or image files for image formation, and refers to data in a state before the concealment process described below is performed. Furthermore, in the following explanation, "print data" refers to data after the recipient has performed the concealment process described below on the original data by operating the application software, or data after the recipient has confirmed that the delivery person may view the printed matter.

The sender terminal device 100 also generates recipient information by inputting information about the recipient who will receive the printed matter produced by printing the print data, or by obtaining this information from another location via the network. This recipient information includes delivery destination information used for the purpose of delivering the printed matter, such as the recipient's address to which the printed matter is to be delivered, and concealment processing notification information used for notification purposes, such as an email address or SMS contact information for notifying the recipient of connection information to the concealment processing web page described below. In addition, the sender's operation allows the sender to specify the delivery person and delivery person terminal device 400 who will deliver the printed matter produced by printing the print data to the recipient.

Note that the delivery person is actually specified by specifying the delivery company that manages the delivery person who will deliver the printed matter printed by the image forming device 500 to the recipient. Information about the delivery company specified in the sender terminal device 100 is sent to the information processing server 200, which then selects the delivery person who will deliver the printed matter. Alternatively, when the information processing server 200 sends a delivery request to a delivery company server (not shown), the delivery company server selects a delivery person and identifies the delivery person terminal device 400 carried by the delivery person. However, for simplicity's sake, this embodiment will be described assuming that the sender directly specifies the delivery person and the delivery person terminal device 400.

The information processing server 200, which will be described later, notifies the recipient to perform concealment processing on the original data received from the sender terminal device 100, issues identification information to identify the print data after concealment processing, sends a delivery request including this identification information and delivery destination information to the delivery person terminal device 400, and upon receiving identification information from the image forming device 500, sends the print data after concealment processing associated with the identification information to the image forming device 500.

The recipient terminal device 300 is held or operated by the recipient of the printed material, and may be a portable terminal device such as a tablet computer or smartphone, a notebook personal computer, or a desktop personal computer. The recipient operates application software installed on the recipient terminal device 300 to receive connection information from the information processing server 200 to a concealment processing webpage for performing the concealment processing. The recipient operates the recipient terminal device 300 based on this connection information, connects to the concealment processing webpage, and performs the concealment processing described below on the manuscript data.

The delivery person terminal device 400 is carried or operated by the delivery person who prints the print data using the image forming device 500 and delivers the item to the recipient. It is a portable terminal device such as a tablet computer or smartphone, a notebook personal computer, or a desktop personal computer. The delivery person terminal device 400 receives a delivery request from the information processing server 200. This delivery request includes identification information for identifying the print data after the concealment process and delivery destination information. The delivery person inputs this identification information into the image forming device 500 to print the print data, and then delivers the printed concealed print data to the recipient according to the delivery destination information.

Image forming device 500 is installed in a convenience store or a printing agency. As will be described later, image forming device 500 accepts input of identification information by a delivery person and transmits the input identification information to information processing server 200. If the transmitted identification information is correct, information processing server 200 transmits print data that has been concealed and associated with the identification information. Image forming device 500 prints the received print data. The delivery person then delivers the printed matter to the recipient.

Next, the information processing server 200 will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. Figure 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the information processing server 200, and Figure 3 is a functional block diagram of the information processing server 200. As shown in Figure 2, the information processing server 200 includes a CPU 201, memory 202, storage device 203, and communication interface 204, each of which is connected to a control bus 205.

The CPU 201 is a control microprocessor that controls the operation of each part of the information processing server 200 based on a control program stored in the storage device 203.

Memory 202 temporarily stores manuscript data, recipient information, and delivery person information received from the sender terminal device 100.

The storage device 203 is configured with a hard disk drive (abbreviated as HDD) or a solid state drive (abbreviated as SDD), and stores control programs for controlling each part of the information processing server 200. The storage device 203 also stores manuscript data received from the sender terminal device 100 and print data after concealment processing by the recipient. The storage device 203 also stores recipient information, delivery person information, and identification information (described below) in association with the manuscript data and print data.

The communication interface 204 controls communication with the sender terminal device 100, recipient terminal device 300, delivery person terminal device 400, and image forming device 500, which are connected via the Internet.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the information processing server 200 executes a control program stored in the storage device 203 to perform the functions of a data receiving unit 211, a data storage unit 212, a concealment processing unit 213, a delivery request unit 214, a print request unit 215, and a billing unit 216.

The data receiving unit 211 receives from the sender terminal device 100 manuscript data, which is print data before the concealment process described below, created or acquired by the sender terminal device 100, recipient information that will receive the printed matter printed with the print data after the concealment process described below, and delivery person information, and stores these in the data storage unit 212.

The data storage unit 212 stores the manuscript data, recipient information, and delivery person information received by the data receiving unit 211, in association with each other. The data storage unit 212 also stores the print data after the concealment process described below has been performed, and identification information that identifies the print data, in association with each other.

The concealment processing unit 213 notifies the recipient's contact information specified by the recipient information to perform concealment processing to conceal information that should be concealed from third parties from among the information in the manuscript data, which is the print data before concealment processing, received by the data receiving unit 211. Specifically, the concealment processing unit 213 generates connection information for connecting to the location where the manuscript data, which is the print data to be concealed, is stored, or the location where the concealment processing will be performed on the manuscript data, which is the print data to be concealed, and sends and notifies this connection information to the recipient's contact information, such as an email address or SMS contact, included in the concealment processing notification destination information. The connection information is, for example, a URL that specifies the location where the manuscript data is stored, or the location on the network where the concealment processing will be performed on the manuscript data.

The concealment processing unit 213 also accepts a connection from the recipient terminal device 300 and accepts concealment processing for the manuscript data to be concealed. The concealment processing will be described later. Once the concealment processing for the manuscript data is complete, it is saved in the data storage unit 212 as post-concealment print data.

In addition, the concealment processing unit 213 prevents the above identification information from being generated if the recipient's concealment process has not been completed.

When the recipient operates the recipient terminal device 300 to connect to the information processing server 200 and the concealment processing unit 213 completes the concealment processing, the delivery request unit 214 issues identification information that identifies the print data after the recipient has concealed it. The identification information is print data identification information, such as a reservation number, reservation code, or two-dimensional code, that uniquely identifies the print data after the concealment processing. The identification information may also include authentication information such as a password.

The delivery request unit 214 prints the print data after the concealment process and sends a delivery request to the delivery person terminal device 400 carried by the delivery person who will deliver the printed material. When the recipient has completed the concealment process described below, the delivery request unit 214 allows the delivery request to be sent to the delivery person terminal device 400. This delivery request includes identification information issued by the delivery request unit 214 and the delivery destination information included in the recipient information. The delivery request may be sent using email or SMS, or may be notified using specific application software.

In addition, the delivery request unit 214 may prohibit the delivery request from being sent to the delivery person terminal device 400 if the recipient has not completed the concealment process described below.

The print request unit 215 waits to receive identification information from the image forming device 500. When the print request unit 215 receives the identification information entered by the delivery person at the image forming device 500 from the image forming device 500, the print request unit 215 obtains the concealed print data associated with the identification information stored in the data storage unit 212, sends it to the image forming device 500 that sent the identification information, and requests printing.

When the print request unit 215 sends print data to the image forming device 500, the billing unit 216 performs a billing process for the sender. Specifically, the billing unit 216 calculates a fee determined based on the amount of manuscript data and the recipient's delivery address information, and sends billing information including this fee information to the sender terminal device 100. Alternatively, the billing unit 216 accumulates information on print delivery requests made by the sender over a certain period of time, calculates an amount corresponding to this, and bills the sender.

Next, the image forming apparatus 500 will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus 500, and Figure 5 is a functional block diagram of the image forming apparatus 500. As shown in Figure 4, the image forming apparatus 500 includes a CPU 501, memory 502, storage device 503, input device 504, display device 505, image forming unit 506, and communication interface 507, each of which is connected to a control bus 508.

The CPU 501 is a control microprocessor that controls the operation of each part of the image forming device 500 based on a control program stored in the storage device 503.

Memory 502 temporarily stores print data to be printed by the image forming unit 506 of this image forming device 500.

The storage device 503 is composed of a hard disk drive (abbreviated as HDD) or a solid state drive (abbreviated as SDD), and stores control programs for controlling each part of the image forming device 500.

The input device 504 is a touch panel formed on the surface of the display device 505, which will be described later. The delivery person can operate the touch panel to accept input of identification information by the delivery person and to perform menu operations when forming an image. In addition to the touch panel, the input device 504 may also include a mechanical input device such as an input keyboard or input buttons that are provided on the image forming device 500 or arranged separately.

The display device 505 is a liquid crystal display provided on the image forming device 500, and displays various screens including messages for delivery personnel, as well as menu screens for operating the image forming device 500.

The image forming unit 506 executes the printing process for the document data sent from the information processing server 200, and prints the print data to be delivered by the delivery person onto a recording medium such as paper.

The communication interface 507 controls communication with the information processing server 200 connected via the Internet 600, either through a LAN cable (not shown) or via a wireless LAN.

Also, as shown in FIG. 5, the image forming device 500 performs the functions of a print standby unit 511, a print data request unit 512, a data receiving unit 513, and an image forming unit 514 by executing a control program stored in the storage device 503.

The print standby unit 511 displays a standby screen and a menu screen on the display device 505 and waits for the delivery person to operate the input device 504 to input identification information.

When the delivery person operates the input device 504 to input identification information, the print data request unit 512 sends the identification information to the information processing server 200 and requests print data.

The data receiving unit 513 receives the post-concealment print data associated with the above identification information from the information processing server 200 and temporarily stores it in the memory 502.

The image forming section 514 controls the image forming unit 506 to print the post-concealment print data obtained from the information processing server 200 onto a recording medium such as paper.

Next, the overall processing flow of the document print delivery system 10 will be explained with reference to Figure 6. Note that Figure 6 is a sequence diagram showing the processing between each device that makes up the document print delivery system 10 in chronological order.

First, the sender operates the sender terminal device 100 to create or acquire manuscript data. The sender also inputs or specifies recipient information, including delivery destination information and concealment processing notification destination information, into the sender terminal device 100.

In step S601 of FIG. 6, the sender terminal device 100 transmits the manuscript data, recipient information, and delivery person information to the information processing server 200.

In step S602, the information processing server 200 associates and stores the manuscript data, recipient information, and delivery person information received from the sender terminal device 100, and the concealment processing unit 213 generates connection information to the location where the manuscript data is stored, such as location information on the network, such as a URL.

In step S603, the concealment processing unit 213 of the information processing server 200 notifies the recipient's contact information identified by the recipient information to perform concealment processing. For example, the concealment processing unit 213 notifies the recipient's contact information of connection information to a location where concealment processing will be performed on the manuscript data to be concealed, as generated in step S602. The connection information to the location where manuscript data will be concealed is location information on the network where the manuscript data is stored, as described above, but it may also be location information of an editing location set up separately from the manuscript data storage location for concealing the manuscript data, and specifically includes a URL indicating the location information. The recipient's contact information is also notified by sending the location information to the recipient's email address and SMS contact information. Alternatively, specific application software may be used to notify the recipient terminal device 300 itself within the application software that concealment processing is possible, allowing the recipient to operate the application software in accordance with the notification to perform concealment processing.

Once the recipient has obtained the connection information for performing the concealment process, in step S604, they operate the recipient terminal device 300 and use the connection information to connect to the location where the manuscript data is stored and perform the concealment process. The method for the concealment process will be described later.

When the recipient's concealment process is complete, in step S605, the delivery request unit 214 of the information processing server 200 issues identification information associated with the print data after the manuscript data has been concealed. The delivery request unit 214 may monitor the status of the concealment process and may not issue identification information unless the recipient's concealment process is complete.

In step S606, the delivery request unit 214 of the information processing server 200 includes the issued identification information and the delivery destination information included in the recipient information in a delivery request and sends it to the delivery person terminal device 400. The delivery request unit 214 may not send this delivery request to the delivery person terminal device 400 unless the above-mentioned concealment process by the recipient is completed.

In step S607, the delivery person operates the input device 504 of the image forming device 500 to input the identification information included in the delivery request.

In step S608, the print data request unit 512 of the image forming device 500 sends the input identification information to the information processing server 200 and requests print data.

In step S609, when the print request unit 215 of the information processing server 200 receives the identification information from the image forming device 500, it identifies the post-concealment print data corresponding to the identification information from the data storage unit 212. Then, in step S610, the print request unit 215 of the information processing server 200 sends the identified print data to the image forming device 500 that sent the identification information, and requests printing.

In step S611, when the data receiving unit 513 of the image forming device 500 receives the print data after the concealment process, the image forming unit 514 prints the print data on paper. The delivery person then places the printed matter in an envelope or the like and delivers it to the recipient's delivery address indicated by the delivery address information included in the delivery request.

In step S612, the billing unit 216 of the information processing server 200 calculates the fee corresponding to the print data sent to the image forming device 500, charges the sender terminal device 100, and ends the process.

Next, referring to Figure 7, we will explain the concealment process that the concealment processing unit 213 of the information processing server 200 executes after accepting a connection from the recipient terminal device 300. Note that Figure 7 shows an example of the concealment process performed by the recipient, with Figure 7(A) showing the manuscript data before the concealment process, and Figure 7(B) showing the print data after the concealment process, in which the manuscript data of Figure 7(A) has been concealed.

As shown in Figure 7 (A), manuscript data 710 includes a main text 711 and confidential information 712. The confidential information 712 includes a password 713, an address 714, a telephone number 715, a name 716, a company name 717, and an email address 718.

As shown in FIG. 7(B), the recipient operates the recipient terminal device 300 to control the concealment processing unit 213 of the information processing server 200 to perform concealment processing to make at least a portion of the confidential information 712 unreadable when printed. The concealment processing is a masking process in which all of the password 713, address 714, telephone number 715, name 716, company name 717, and email address 718 are redacted, blacked out, or converted to different characters or symbols, making the relevant portions unreadable. Alternatively, the concealment processing may maintain the item names of the password 713, address 714, telephone number 715, name 716, company name 717, and email address 718 in the original data state, while masking only the actual confidential data portions to make them unreadable, or may perform masking processing to make only portions of the actual confidential data unreadable.

In addition to the confidential information 712 described above, the recipient may optionally specify and conceal any content that they would be embarrassed to have seen by a third party, such as a delivery person.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figure 8. Figure 8 is an overall conceptual diagram showing an example of a document printing and delivery system 10A of the second embodiment. When comparing the document printing and delivery system 10A of the second embodiment with the document printing and delivery system 10 of the first embodiment, the two have the same configuration, except that the sender can perform concealment processing in addition to the recipient. In other words, in the second embodiment, both the recipient and the sender perform concealment processing on manuscript data, which is print data before concealment processing. Therefore, the following description will use the same reference numerals for components that are similar to those of the first embodiment.

When the information processing server 200 receives the manuscript data from the sender terminal device 100, it notifies the sender terminal device 100 of the connection information to the location where the concealment processing is performed, which is generated by the concealment processing unit 213, as well as the recipient's email address and SMS contact information. The connection information may be notified to the sender terminal device 100 itself, or may be sent to the sender's email address and SMS contact information.

The concealment processing unit 213 accepts connections from both the recipient terminal device 300 and the sender terminal device 100, and performs concealment processing on the manuscript data to be concealed. Note that connections from the recipient terminal device 300 and the sender terminal device 100 may be accepted separately or simultaneously. In other words, a connection from the sender terminal device 100 may be accepted first, and only after the sender has performed concealment processing, a connection from the recipient terminal device 300 may be accepted, and concealment processing by the recipient may be performed. Conversely, a connection from the recipient terminal device 300 may be accepted, and only after the recipient has performed concealment processing, a connection from the sender terminal device 100 may be accepted, and concealment processing by the sender may be performed. Alternatively, connections from both the recipient terminal device 300 and the sender terminal device 100 may be accepted simultaneously, allowing both the recipient and the sender to perform concealment processing simultaneously.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figure 9. Figure 9 is an overall conceptual diagram showing an example of a document printing and delivery system 10B of the third embodiment. When comparing the document printing and delivery system 10B of the third embodiment with the document printing and delivery system 10 of the first embodiment, they are the same except that when manuscript data is sent from the sender terminal device 100 to the information processing server 200, a mechanical concealment process is performed before the recipient performs the concealment process. Therefore, the following description will use the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment for each component.

The data receiving unit 211 of the information processing server 200 receives manuscript data from the sender terminal device 100. After the data receiving unit 211 receives the manuscript data, which is print data before concealment processing, the concealment processing unit 213 analyzes the contents of the manuscript data, identifies the parts of the manuscript data that should be concealed, and performs the concealment processing. The parts that should be concealed are parts that contain confidential information such as passwords, addresses, telephone numbers, and names. When the concealment processing unit 213 identifies the parts that should be concealed, it performs the concealment processing on those parts. This concealment processing is performed in the same way as in embodiment 1.

Once the mechanical concealment process is complete, the concealment processing unit 213 generates connection information and sends it to the recipient's email address and SMS contact information.

The recipient can then operate the recipient terminal device 300 to add concealment processing or cancel the concealment processing to make the original content visible, thereby ending the concealment process.

Next, a modified example of the first to third embodiments will be described with reference to FIG. 10. FIG. 10 shows an example of a concealment processing part confirmation screen that allows the contents of the concealed parts to be referenced for print data that has been concealed. In this modified example, the concealment processing part 213 of the information processing server 200 generates information for confirming information about the concealed parts for the print data after concealment processing has been performed.

Specifically, when the recipient completes the concealment process, the concealment processing unit 213 of the information processing server 200 generates the concealment process location confirmation screen 1000 shown in FIG. 10 and stores it in the data storage unit 212. Then, location information where this concealment process location confirmation screen 1000 is stored, i.e., connection information for viewing the concealment process location confirmation screen 1000, is sent to the recipient's contact information identified by the concealment process notification destination information included in the recipient information described above.

The concealment processing area confirmation screen 1000 includes a print image 1010 of what the print data will look like after concealment processing, and a list of the contents of the concealment processing areas 1020. The print image 1010 shows the concealment processing performed by the recipient and/or sender in a redacted state, making them illegible. Each concealment processing area is marked with a reference symbol [1] to [N].

The list of concealment processing area contents 1020 shows that each of concealment processing areas [1] to [N] contains confidential information that was originally written in the manuscript data, such as a password, address, telephone number, name, company name, and email address. The recipient can understand the original content of the concealment processing area by visually checking this concealment processing area confirmation screen 1000.

The connection information to the concealment processing location confirmation screen 1000 may be sent to the recipient's contact information when the concealment processing is completed, or when the print data is obtained from the information processing server 200 by the delivery person operating the image forming device 500. A validity period during which the concealment processing location confirmation screen 1000 can be accessed, or a storage period during which the concealment processing location confirmation screen 1000 is stored, may be set, and the concealment processing location confirmation screen 1000 may be accessible using the connection information to the concealment processing location confirmation screen during the validity period or storage period, and may become unavailable upon expiration of the validity period or storage period, or the data for the concealment processing location confirmation screen itself may be deleted. The connection information to the concealment processing location confirmation screen 1000 may also be sent to the sender's terminal device, allowing the sender to view the concealment processing location confirmation screen 1000.

In the above embodiment, the delivery request unit 214 of the information processing server 200 sends delivery destination information when sending a delivery request to the delivery person terminal device 400, and the delivery person delivers the printed matter to the recipient based on that information. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, when the print request unit 215 sends print data to the image forming device 500, the delivery destination information may be sent to the image forming device 500, and the delivery destination information may be printed together with the print data on the image forming device 500.

In each of the above embodiments, the term "processor" refers to a processor in a broad sense, and includes general-purpose processors (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit, etc.) and dedicated processors (e.g., GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic device, etc.).

Furthermore, the processor operations in each of the above embodiments may not only be performed by a single processor, but may also be performed by multiple processors located in physically separate locations working together. Furthermore, the order of the processor operations is not limited to the order described in each of the above embodiments, and may be changed as necessary.

10, 10A, 10B Document printing and delivery system 100 Sender terminal device 200 Information processing server 202 Memory 203 Storage device 204 Communication interface 205 Control bus 211 Data receiving unit 212 Data accumulation unit 213 Concealment processing unit 214 Delivery request unit 215 Print request unit 216 Billing unit 300 Recipient terminal device 400 Delivery person terminal device 500 Image forming device 502 Memory 503 Storage device 504 Input device 505 Display device 506 Image forming unit 507 Communication interface 508 Control bus 511 Print standby unit 512 Print data request unit 513 Data receiving unit 514 Image forming unit 600 Internet

Claims (9)

a processor;
The processor:
receiving, from the sender's terminal device, print data and recipient information for receiving a printed matter obtained by printing the print data;
notifying the contact information of the recipient specified by the recipient information to perform a concealment process to conceal information that the recipient wishes to conceal from third parties among the information in the received print data;
issuing identification information for identifying the print data after the concealment process has been performed by the recipient;
a delivery request including the issued identification information and the recipient information is sent to a terminal device of a delivery person who delivers the printed matter;
When the image forming device receives the identification information input by the delivery person from the image forming device, the print data after the concealment process associated with the identification information is transmitted to the image forming device.
Information processing device. The processor:
generating connection information to a location where a concealment process is performed on the print data, and notifying the recipient of the connection information;
2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein when the concealment process by the recipient is completed, the delivery request is permitted to be transmitted to the terminal device of the delivery person. The information processing device described in claim 2, wherein the identification information is generated when the concealment process by the recipient is completed. The processor:
generating connection information to a location where a concealment process is performed on the print data, and notifying the recipient of the connection information;
2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein if the concealment process by the recipient is not completed, the delivery request is prohibited from being sent to the terminal device of the delivery person. The information processing device described in claim 4, wherein the identification information is not generated if the concealment process by the recipient is not completed. An information processing device described in any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the processor also notifies the sender's terminal device of connection information to the location where the concealment processing is performed, and both the recipient and the sender perform the concealment processing on the print data. 7. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein, after receiving the print data, the processor identifies a portion of the print data where concealment processing should be performed , performs the concealment processing, and, after the concealment processing is completed, notifies the recipient to perform further concealment processing . An information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the processor generates information for confirming information about the concealed portion of the print data on which the concealment process has been performed. receiving, from a sender's terminal device, print data and recipient information for receiving a printed matter obtained by printing the print data;
a step of notifying a contact point of the recipient specified by the recipient information to perform a concealment process for concealing information that is desired to be concealed from third parties among the information of the received print data;
issuing identification information for identifying the print data after the recipient has performed the concealment process;
a step of transmitting a delivery request including the issued identification information and the recipient information to a terminal device of a delivery person who will deliver the printed matter;
When the image forming device receives the identification information input by the delivery person from the image forming device, transmitting the print data after the concealment process associated with the identification information to the image forming device;
A program that causes a computer to execute the following.