JP7749953B2 - Log recording device, log recording method, and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a log recording device, a log recording method, and an image forming device.

Conventionally, a preview function has been known that allows users to view a desired document via the operation unit of an image forming device. However, if used by a malicious user, this preview function could result in information leakage. For this reason, log information (image log information) is recorded to identify users who have used the preview function.

For example, Patent Document 1 (JP 2015-050595 A) discloses an image forming system that can prevent information leakage due to preview execution. This image forming system executes a preview of an image before executing a job to form an image, and stores a log image of this preview as a history of the image in a management server. This prevents information leakage due to preview execution.

However, in conventional image forming devices, previews were not treated as jobs for which job log information was recorded. As a result, in conventional image forming devices, if a user only performed a preview without executing a job on the operation unit app, only the image log information of the executed preview was recorded, and no job log information for the preview was recorded. As such, conventional image forming devices have operations that are not recorded as job log information, which can make it difficult to track operations based on log information in the event of an information leak, etc.

Furthermore, by defining the image preview itself as a job, it is possible to record both image log information and job log information even when only the preview is performed. However, in this case, the preview job and other jobs performed after the preview, such as a print job, are treated as separate jobs. This makes it difficult to demonstrate the relationship between the two, and, again, makes it difficult to track operations based on log information in the event of an information leak, etc.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a log recording device, a log recording method, and an image forming device that improve the traceability of device operation log information.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the present invention comprises an interface unit that acquires a log recording request including identification information of the print job, the date and time when the print job was executed, and the date and time when the preview was executed when a print job is executed after an image preview has been executed, and a memory control unit that acquires the image based on the log recording request acquired by the interface unit and stores in a memory unit image log information including the image and identification information of the print job , and job log information including the identification information of the print job, the date and time when the print job was executed, and the date and time when the preview was executed .

The present invention has the effect of improving the traceability of device operation log information.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the system configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the software configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the log collection server device. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image server device. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of the log information recording operation of an image forming apparatus serving as a reference example. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an outline of the operation of recording log information in the image forming system according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of operations when the operation unit application executes a job. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of operations of the operation unit application when only a preview is performed. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of operations of the operation unit application when an image stored in a medium is previewed. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of operations of the operation unit browser when an image stored in an external server device is viewed.

The image forming system according to the embodiment will be described below with reference to the attached drawings.

(System configuration)
Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the system configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the image forming system according to an embodiment is configured by interconnecting one or more image forming apparatuses 1, at least one log collection server apparatus 2, and at least one image server apparatus 3 via a network 4. The network 4 may be a wide area network such as the Internet, or a private network such as a local area network (LAN). The log collection server apparatus 2 is an example of a storage unit (external storage unit).

The image forming device 1 has an operation unit equipped with an OS (operating system) capable of running applications. The log collection server device 2 collects operation log information and image information from the image forming device 1. The image server device 3 stores image data that can be accessed from the image forming device 1's operation unit application (reference numeral 961 in Figure 3) and operation unit browser (reference numeral 962 in Figure 3).

(Hardware configuration of image forming apparatus)
2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. As shown in this Fig. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a controller 910, a short-range communication circuit 920, an engine control unit 930, an operation unit 940, and a network I/F 950.

The controller 910 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 901, system memory (MEM-P) 902, north bridge (NB) 903, south bridge (SB) 904, ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 906, local memory (MEM-C) 907, HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 908, and HDD 909. The NB 903 and ASIC 906 are connected via an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 921.

The CPU 901 is a control unit that performs overall control of the image forming apparatus 1. The NB 903 is a bridge that connects the CPU 901 with the MEM-P 902, SB 904, and AGP bus 921. The NB 903 has a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 902, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) master, and an AGP target.

MEM-P902 has ROM902a, which is memory for storing programs or data that realize the functions of the memory controller, and RAM902b, which is used for program or data expansion and as drawing memory during memory printing. The programs stored in RAM902b may also be provided as installable or executable files recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, CD-R, or DVD.

SB904 is a bridge that connects NB903 with PCI devices and peripheral devices. ASIC906 is an integrated circuit (IC) for image processing that has hardware elements for image processing and acts as a bridge connecting AGP bus 921, PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus 922, HDD controller 908, and MEM-C 907.

This ASIC 906 has a PCI target and AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that forms the core of the ASIC 906, and a memory controller that controls the MEM-C 907. The ASIC 906 also has multiple DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) that perform image rotation and other operations using hardware logic, and a PCI unit that transfers data between the scanner unit 931 and printer unit 932 via the PCI bus 922. A USB interface or an IEEE 1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) interface may also be connected to the ASIC 906.

MEM-C907 is a local memory used as a copy image buffer and code buffer. HDD909 is storage for storing image data, font data used during printing, and forms. HDD909 controls the writing and reading of data to and from HDD909 under the control of CPU901.

The HDD 909 also stores a log collection program. The CPU 901 executes this log collection program to generate job log information and image log information corresponding to each operation. The job log information and image log information are stored in a storage area for job log information (job log storage section) and a storage area for image log information (image log storage section) provided within the HDD 909, and are also transmitted to and stored in the log collection server device 2 and the image server device 3 via the network 4. The job log storage section and image log storage section of the HDD 909 are examples of storage sections (internal device storage sections).

The AGP bus 921 is a bus interface for graphics accelerator cards proposed to speed up graphics processing. The AGP bus 921 directly accesses the MEM-P 902 at high throughput, enabling the graphics accelerator card to operate at high speed.

The short-range communication circuit 920 includes a short-range communication circuit 920. The short-range communication circuit 920 is a communication circuit such as NFC (Near Field Communication) or Bluetooth (registered trademark). Furthermore, the engine control unit 930 includes a scanner unit 931 and a printer unit 932.

The operation unit 940 has a display unit 940a, such as a touch panel, that displays current settings or selection screens and accepts input from the operator. The operation unit 940 also has operation keys 940b, including a numeric keypad for entering settings for image formation conditions such as density settings, and a start key for issuing a command to start copying.

The operation unit 940 may be attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus 1, or may be detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus 1. If the operation unit 940 is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus 1, when the operation unit 940 is attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus 1, communication between the main body of the image forming apparatus 1 and the operation unit 940 is performed by wired communication via a communication interface. Furthermore, when the operation unit 940 is detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus 1, communication between the main body of the image forming apparatus 1 and the operation unit 940 is performed by wireless communication such as the above-mentioned Bluetooth (registered trademark).

The controller 910 controls the entire image forming device 1, for example, performing drawing control, communication control, and processing of input from the operation unit 940. The scanner unit 931 or printer unit 932 has image processing functions such as error diffusion processing and gamma conversion processing.

The image forming device 1 can be switched between the document box function, copy function, printer function, and facsimile function in sequence using the application switching key on the operation unit 940. When the document box function is selected, the image forming device 1 enters document box mode, and when the copy function is selected, the image forming device 1 enters copy mode. When the printer function is selected, the image forming device 1 enters printer mode, and when the facsimile mode is selected, the image forming device 1 enters facsimile mode.

The network I/F 950 is an interface for data communication using the communication network 100. The short-range communication circuit 920 and the network I/F 950 are electrically connected to the ASIC 906 via the PCI bus 922.

(Software configuration of image forming apparatus)
Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the software configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. As shown in Fig. 3, the CPU 901 executes a log collection program to realize the functions of an operation unit management module 971, an interface unit (I/F unit) 972, a job log management unit 973, an image log management unit 974, a log control unit 975, an image management module 976, and a network transmission unit 977. The I/F unit 972 is an example of an interface unit. The log control unit 975 is an example of a storage control unit.

The operation unit management module 971 manages the operation unit 940. The I/F unit 972 provides an interface that allows applications on the operation unit 940 to control the logs of the controller 910. The job log management unit 973 records and manages job log information in the job log storage unit of the HDD 909. The image log management unit 974 records and manages image log information in the image log storage unit of the HDD 909.

The log control unit 975 controls the managed job log information and image log information. The image management module 976 manages images other than image logs on the controller 910. The network transmission unit 977 transmits the job log information and image log information to the log collection server device 2 via the network 4. This allows the same log information (job log information and image log information) stored on the image forming device 1 to be stored in the log collection server device 2, facilitating tracking based on the log information by log managers, etc.

The operation unit 940 has an operation unit application program (operation unit app) 961 and an operation unit browser 962 that run on a general-purpose OS such as Android (trademark). The operation unit app 961 and operation unit browser 962 are examples of application programs.

The operation unit 940 is equipped with a storage medium, such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory 963 or card-type memory 964, which stores image data accessible by each application.

(Hardware configuration of the log collection server device)
Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the log collection server device 2. As shown in Fig. 4, the log collection server device 2 includes a CPU 501, a ROM 502, a RAM 503, a HDD 504, a HDD controller 505, and a display 506. The log collection server device 2 also includes an external device connection I/F 508, a network I/F 509, a media I/F 516, and a keyboard 511. The CPU 501, the display 506, the external device connection I/F 508, the network I/F 509, the keyboard 511, and the media I/F 516 are all interconnected via a bus line 510.

The CPU 501 controls the overall operation of the log collection server device 2. The ROM 502 stores programs used to drive the CPU 501, such as the IPL (Initial Program Loader). The RAM 503 is used as a work area for the CPU 501. The HDD 504 stores various data such as programs, and log information (job log information and image log information) received from the image forming device 1. The HDD controller 505 controls the writing and reading of various data to the HDD 504 under the control of the CPU 501. The display 506 displays various information such as a cursor, menu, window, text, or image.

The external device connection I/F 508 is an interface for connecting various external devices, such as a USB memory or a printer. The network I/F 509 is an interface for performing data communication with the image forming device 1 via the network 4.

The keyboard 511 has multiple keys and is used to input characters, numbers, various instructions, etc. The media I/F 516 controls the writing (storage) and reading of data to a recording medium 515 such as a flash memory (registered trademark).

(Hardware configuration of image server device)
Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image server device 3. As shown in Fig. 5, the image server device 3 includes a CPU 601, a ROM 602, a RAM 603, a HDD 604, a HDD controller 605, and a display 606. The image server device 3 also includes an external device connection I/F 608, a network I/F 609, a media I/F 616, and a keyboard 611. The CPU 601 to the display 606, the external device connection I/F 608, the network I/F 609, the keyboard 611, and the media I/F 616 are all interconnected via a bus line 610.

The CPU 601 controls the overall operation of the image server device 3. The ROM 602 stores programs used to drive the CPU 601, such as IPL. The RAM 603 is used as a work area for the CPU 601. The HDD 604 stores various data such as programs, and image data that can be read from the image forming device 1. The HDD controller 605 controls the writing and reading of various data to the HDD 604 under the control of the CPU 601. The display 606 displays various information such as a cursor, menu, window, text, or image.

The external device connection I/F 608 is an interface for connecting various external devices, such as a USB memory or a printer. The network I/F 609 is an interface for communicating data with the image forming device 1 via the network 4.

The keyboard 611 has multiple keys for inputting characters, numbers, various instructions, etc. The media I/F 616 controls the writing (storage) and reading of data to a recording medium 615 such as a flash memory (registered trademark).

(Reference example)
Here, the operation of an image forming apparatus according to a reference example will be described, which is capable of recording both image log information and job log information even when only a preview is executed by defining the image preview itself as a job. Figure 6 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of the log information recording operation of this image forming apparatus according to the reference example.

In FIG. 6, when the user operates the preview button on the operation unit 991, the operation unit application 992 detects this (step S101) and sends a request to the image management module 994 via the I/F unit 993 to obtain a preview image (steps S102 and S103). Upon receiving the request to obtain a preview image, the image management module 994 records job log information and image log information (steps S104 and S105).

After recording each piece of log information, the image management module 994 sends a preview image to the operation unit application 992 via the I/F unit 993 (steps S106 and S107). The operation unit application 992 displays the received preview image on the display unit (step S108).

Next, assume that the user specifies execution of a print job via the operation unit 991 (step S109). When execution of this print job is specified, the operation unit application 992 sends a request to execute the print job to the job execution module 995 via the I/F unit 993 (steps S110 and S111). The job execution module 995 records job log information and image log information corresponding to the print job (steps S112 and S113).

In the case of this reference example image forming device, the job log information for the preview job (step S104) and the job log information for other jobs, such as print jobs, performed after the preview (step S112) are treated as separate jobs (managed with separate jog identification numbers). This makes it difficult to show the relationship between the two, and makes it difficult to track operations based on the log information in the event of an information leak, etc.

(Overview of image forming system according to embodiment)
For this reason, in the image forming system according to the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7 , the operation unit application 961 of the operation unit 940 includes an I/F unit 972 that enables recording of arbitrary log information. The operation unit application 961 uses the I/F unit 972 to record log information when a job is executed after a preview. At this time, parameters related to the preview are included. This allows the log control unit 975 to record, in the job log information, log information indicating, for example, that a preview was performed before the execution of a print job, and the pages that were previewed, for example. In addition, a job ID that associates a job that includes the preview execution results is recorded as bibliographic information in the image log information. This improves traceability based on the log information.

(Operation of the control panel app when a print job is executed after previewing)
This will be explained in detail below. Fig. 8 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of operations performed by the operation unit application 961 when a job is executed. In Fig. 8, when the user operates the preview button, the operation unit application 961 detects this (step S1) and transmits a request to obtain a preview image to the image management module 976 of the controller 910 via the I/F unit 972 (steps S2 and S3). The image management module 976 transmits the preview image and the image ID assigned to the preview image to the operation unit application 961 via the I/F unit 972 (steps S4 and S5). As a result, the operation unit application 961 displays the preview image obtained from the image management module 976 (step S6).

Next, when the user issues an instruction to execute a job, such as a print job, the operation unit application 961 detects this instruction to execute the job (step S7). The operation unit application 961 then issues a print job execution request to the job execution module 998 on the controller 910, which executes the print job, via the I/F unit 972 (steps S8 and S9). After executing the print job, the job execution module 998 sends the execution result, along with the job ID, to the operation unit application 961 via the I/F unit 972 (steps S10 and S11).

Next, the operation unit application 961 sends a log recording request to the log control unit 975 on the controller 910 via the I/F unit 972 at any timing, such as after the job has been executed (steps S12 and S13). At this time, the operation unit application 961 includes various parameters required for recording job log information and image log information in the log recording request and sends them. Specifically, the operation unit application 961 includes information indicating that a preview was performed before the job was executed, information indicating the pages viewed in the preview, and the like in the log recording request and sends them to the log control unit 975. Table 1 below shows an example of parameters sent from the operation unit application 961 to the log control unit 975 when a user with user ID "12345" executes a print job after a preview.

The example shown in Table 1 indicates that a "job ID" of 000015, a "job type" indicating that document printing was executed, "job execution date and time information" indicating that the job was executed at 15:03 on December 20, 2019, and a "user ID" of 12345 were sent as parameters to the log control unit 975. The example shown in Table 1 also indicates that a "document ID" of the previewed document such as 6789, "preview date and time information" of the document such as 15:00 on December 20, 2019, and "preview page information" indicating pages 1, 2, etc. of the previewed document were sent as parameters to the log control unit 975.

Next, the log control unit 975 obtains image data associated with the document ID included in the parameters from the image management module 976 as shown in Table 1 (step S14). Then, based on the above parameters, the log control unit 975 records job log information in the job log storage unit of the HDD 909 via the job log management unit 973 (step S15). The log control unit 975 also transmits and records the job log information to the log collection server device 2 via the network transmission unit 977 (step S15). Specifically, based on the example of Table 1, the job log information recorded includes "Type: Document Print," "Job ID," "User ID," "Job Execution Date and Time," "Document ID," "Preview Date and Time Information," and "Preview Page Information."

The log control unit 975 also treats the job ID associated with the job as bibliographic information, includes it in the image log information, and records it in the image log storage unit via the image log management unit 974 (step S16). The log control unit 975 also transmits the image log information to the log collection server device 2 via the network transmission unit 977 and records it (step S16). Specifically, based on the example in Table 1, the image log information recorded includes the "entire document," "document ID," and "job ID."

In this way, the operation unit application 961 records log information in the image forming apparatus 1 and the log collection server device 2 via the I/F unit 972 at the timing of job execution after the preview. At this time, log information including parameters related to the preview is recorded. This allows the log control unit 975 to record job log information including information indicating that a preview was performed before the job and information indicating the previewed page. In addition, a job ID that associates the job including the preview execution results can be recorded as bibliographic information together with the image log information.

In addition, by recording log information in the same format as the log information recorded on the image forming device 1 side on the log collection server device 2 and image server device 3, the log administrator's ability to track log information can be improved.

(Operation of the control panel app when only preview is performed)
Next, Fig. 9 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of operations of the operation unit application 961 when only a preview is performed. In Fig. 9, the operations from step S1 to step S6, from when the preview button is operated by the user until the preview image is displayed, are the same as those described above. Note that a preview is an example of a job.

To end such a preview, the user operates the preview end button on the operation unit 940. When the operation unit application 961 detects the operation of the preview end button (step S21), it controls to end the display of the preview screen (step S22). Then, the operation unit application 961 sends a log recording request to the log control unit 975 on the controller 910 via the I/F unit 972 (steps S23 and S24). At this time, the operation unit application 961, as described above, sends the log recording request including various parameters necessary for recording job log information and image log information. If only a preview is performed, a job such as printing is not executed, so information regarding job execution is not included in the parameters. In this case, information indicating the date and time the preview was performed and the page of the previewed document, etc., is included in the parameters and sent to the log control unit 975.

In other words, when only a preview is performed, the operation unit app 961 includes information indicating that only a preview has been performed, information indicating the previewed page, etc. in a log recording request and sends this to the log control unit 975. Table 2 below shows an example of parameters sent from the operation unit app 961 to the log control unit 975 when a user with user ID "12345" performs only a preview.

The example shown in Table 2 indicates that a "User ID" of 12345, a "Document ID" of 6789, "Preview date and time information" of 15:00 on December 20, 2019, and "Preview page information" indicating the previewed document pages 1, 2, etc. were sent to the log control unit 975 as parameters. Note that at least the "Document ID," "Preview date and time information," and "Preview page information" are examples of specific information.

Next, the log control unit 975 acquires image data from the image management module 976 based on the document ID and preview page information included in the parameters as shown in Table 2 (steps S25 and S26). Then, the log control unit 975 records the preview job log information in the job log storage unit of the HDD 909 via the job log management unit 973 based on the above parameters (step S27). The log control unit 975 also transmits the job log information to the log collection server device 2 via the network transmission unit 977 and records it (step S27). Specifically, based on the example of Table 2, the job log information records the following information: "Type: Preview," "Job ID," "User ID," "Job Execution Date and Time," "Image ID," "Preview Date and Time," and "Preview Page."

The log control unit 975 also treats the job ID associated with the job as bibliographic information, includes it in the image log information, and records it in the image log storage unit via the image log management unit 974 (step S28). The log control unit 975 also transmits the image log information to the log collection server device 2 via the network transmission unit 977 and records it (step S28). Specifically, based on the example in Table 2, the image log information recorded includes the "previewed image," "image ID," and "job ID."

In this way, the operation unit application 961 records log information via the I/F unit 972 when the preview ends. At this time, the log information recorded includes parameters related to the preview. This allows the log control unit 975 to record information indicating that only a preview was performed and information indicating the previewed page in the job log information, and to record only the target page as an image log.

(Operation of the control panel app when previewing images stored on media)
10 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of operations of the operation unit application 961 when an image stored in a medium is previewed. To preview an image stored in a medium, the user inserts a medium such as a USB memory 963 or a card-type memory 964 into the operation unit 940 as shown in FIG. 3 (step S31). The user then operates the operation unit 940 to specify a preview of an image stored in the medium. When the operation unit application 961 detects an operation to specify a preview of an image stored in the medium (step S32), it reads the specified image from the medium and displays a preview (step S33).

Next, when a preview of an image stored on the media is displayed, the operation unit application 961 sends a log recording request to the log control unit 975 on the controller 910 via the I/F unit 972 at a predetermined timing (steps S34 and S35). At this time, the operation unit application 961, as described above, includes various parameters required for recording job log information and image log information in the log recording request and sends it. In this case, the previewed image, image ID, date and time the preview was performed, etc. are included in the parameters and sent to the log control unit 975.

The log control unit 975 requests the image management module 976 to register the image previewed from the media, which is the image included in the parameters and transmitted (step S36). The image management module 976 records the image previewed from the media in the image log storage unit via the image log management unit 974. The image management module 976 also transmits the image previewed from the media to the image server device 3 via the network transmission unit 977 and records it. Once the image management module 976 has completed registering the image previewed from the media, it transmits the image ID assigned to the registered image to the log control unit 975 (step S37).

Next, the log control unit 975 records job log information, including "Type: Preview," "Job ID," "User ID," "Job execution date and time," "Image ID," and "Preview date and time," in the job log storage unit of the HDD 909 via the job log management unit 973 (step S38). The log control unit 975 also transmits and records this job log information to the log collection server device 2 via the network transmission unit 977 (step S38).

The log control unit 975 also records image log information including the "previewed image," "image ID," and "job ID" in the image log storage unit via the image log management unit 974 (step S39). The log control unit 975 also transmits and records this image log information to the log collection server device 2 via the network transmission unit 977 (step S39).

In this way, the operation unit app 961 records log information via the I/F unit 972 when a media image is previewed. At this time, log information including preview-related parameters and image data previewed from the media is recorded. This allows the log control unit 975 to record job log information including information indicating that a media image has been previewed and the image ID of the previewed media image, as well as image log information including the previewed media image.

(Operation of the browser on the operation unit when viewing images on an external server device)
11 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of operations of the operation unit browser 962 when viewing an image (an example of network display information) stored in the external server device 999. In this case, the user operates the operation unit 940 to perform a display operation of the image stored in the external server device 999 (step S41). As a result, the operation unit browser 962 obtains and displays a web (World Wide Web) page from the external server device 999 (steps S42 and S43).

Next, at a predetermined timing, the operation unit browser 962 sends a log recording request, including a request for a screen capture of the currently displayed web page, to the log control unit 975 on the controller 910 via the I/F unit 972 (steps S44 and S45). The log control unit 975 requests the operation unit management module 971 to capture the screen of the currently displayed web page (step S46). As a result, the operation unit management module 971 performs a screen capture of the currently displayed web page, and sends image data of the captured web page screen to the log control unit 975 (step S47).

Next, the log control unit 975 records job log information, including "Type: Browsing," "Job ID," "User ID," "Job execution date and time," "Image ID of the captured image," and "Preview date and time," in the job log storage unit of the HDD 909 via the job log management unit 973 (step S48). The log control unit 975 also transmits and records this job log information to the log collection server device 2 via the network transmission unit 977 (step S48).

The log control unit 975 also records image log information including the "captured image," "image ID," and "job ID" in the image log storage unit via the image log management unit 974 (step S49). The log control unit 975 also transmits and records this image log information to the log collection server device 2 via the network transmission unit 977 (step S49).

In this way, when a web page is displayed, the operation unit browser 962 records log information via the I/F unit 972. At this time, the log information recorded includes parameters related to the display of the web page and a captured image of the viewed web page. This allows the log control unit 975 to record job log information related to the display of the web page and record the captured image of the web page as image log information.

(Effects of the embodiment)
As is clear from the above description, the image forming system according to the embodiment is provided with an I/F unit 972 for recording log information, which allows the application (operation unit app 961 or operation unit browser 962) of the operation unit 940 of the image forming apparatus 1 to record log information of any image and operation at any timing. This allows the log collection server device 2 and the image server device 3 to record log information in the same format as the log information recorded on the image forming apparatus 1 side, while ensuring the flexibility of the operation unit app 961 for recording log information, thereby improving the traceability of the log information by the log manager.

For example, even if only a preview was performed on an image where information leakage occurred, by referencing the log information recorded in the log collection server device 2 for the period in which information leakage is predicted to occur, it is possible to easily identify the date and time of the information leakage, the user who previewed the image where information leakage occurred, the page that was previewed, etc.

In addition, previews can be recorded in association with subsequent print jobs and other jobs, making it easier to track down information leaks, etc.

In addition, when images displayed by the operation unit 940 without going through the controller 910 (such as media prints, documents on an external server device 999 displayed on the operation unit browser 962, etc.) are displayed on the operation unit 940, the controller 910 cannot record them as logs, making it difficult to track information leaks.

However, in the image forming system of the embodiment, images displayed without going through the controller 910 can be captured and recorded along with the date and time of viewing, user information, etc. This makes it easy to track down any information leaks.

Furthermore, in the case of operation panel applications developed by third parties, while it is possible to record log information for job-related functions of the controller 910, it is difficult to record log information for arbitrary operations. As a result, it is necessary to develop a unique log function (a function for sending logs from the operation panel application to a server on the network), which poses problems such as reduced ease of development and log manageability.

However, in the image forming system of the embodiment, log information for any image and operation can be recorded at any time. Therefore, even if the operation unit app 961 is developed by a third vendor, there is no need to develop a function for sending logs from the operation unit app 961 to the log collection server device 2 on the network, thereby improving ease of development and log manageability.

Finally, the above-described embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. This novel embodiment may be embodied in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the embodiments and modifications of each embodiment are within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also within the scope of the invention and its equivalents as set forth in the claims.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Log collection server apparatus 3 Image server apparatus 4 Network 901 CPU
909 HDD
940 Operation unit 961 Operation unit application 962 Operation unit browser 963 USB memory 964 Card type memory 971 Operation unit management module 972 I/F unit 973 Job log management unit 974 Image log management unit 975 Log control unit 976 Image management module 977 Network transmission unit

JP 2015-050595 A

Claims (7)

an interface unit that acquires, at a timing when a print job is executed after an image preview has been executed, a log recording request including identification information of the print job, the date and time when the print job was executed, and the date and time when the preview was executed;
a storage control unit that acquires the image based on the log recording request acquired by the interface unit, and stores in a storage unit image log information including the image and identification information of the print job, and job log information including the identification information of the print job, the date and time when the print job was executed, and the date and time when the preview was executed ;
A logging device having: the interface unit executes a preview of an image based on an application program, and when the preview ends, acquires a log recording request including a date and time when the preview was executed and identification information of the image;
the storage control unit acquires the image based on the log recording request acquired by the interface unit, and stores, in the storage unit, image log information including the image and identification information of the image , and job log information including the date and time when the preview was executed and the identification information of the image ;
The log recording device according to claim 1 . the interface unit acquires a log recording request including an image and a date and time when the image read from the medium is displayed based on an application program;
the storage control unit acquires identification information of the image based on the log recording request acquired by the interface unit, and stores image log information including the image and the identification information of the image , and job log information including the date and time when the display was executed and the identification information of the image , in the storage unit;
The log recording device according to claim 1 . a capture image generating unit that generates a capture image of an acquired image acquired from a server device on the network ;
the interface unit acquires, based on an application program, a log recording request at a timing when the acquired image is displayed, the log recording request including a date and time when the display is executed and a request to generate a capture image of the acquired image;
the storage control unit acquires, based on the log recording request acquired by the interface unit, a capture image of the acquired image generated by the capture image generation unit and identification information of the capture image, and stores, in the storage unit, image log information including the capture image and the identification information of the capture image, and job log information including the date and time when the display was executed and the identification information of the capture image ;
The log recording device according to claim 1 . The log recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the storage control unit stores the job log information and the image log information in an internal storage unit of the device to which the log recording device is applied and in an external storage unit of a server device on a predetermined network, respectively. an acquisition step in which an interface unit acquires, at a timing when a print job is executed after an image preview is executed, a log recording request including identification information of the print job, a date and time when the print job was executed, and a date and time when the preview was executed;
a storage control step in which a storage control unit acquires the image based on the log recording request acquired in the acquisition step, and stores in a storage unit image log information including the image and identification information of the print job , and job log information including the identification information of the print job, the date and time when the print job was executed, and the date and time when the preview was executed ;
A logging method having: An image forming apparatus having the log recording device described in any one of claims 1 to 5.