PRINTING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND PRINTING MANAGEMENT METHOD

• US 20070103715A1
• Filed: 11/02/2006
• Published: 05/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Nakata, Hiroaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,199,356 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.140
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/606 by securing the transmission between two devices or processes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6209 to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1203 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. print management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1222 Increasing security of the print job
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1239 Restricting the usage of resources, e.g. usage or user levels, credit limit, consumables, special fonts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1273 Print job history, e.g. logging, accounting, tracking

Abstract

According to this invention, a printing management system which manages a log of a print job includes a creation unit which creates log information for specifying a print job on the basis of issued print job data, a save unit which saves the log information created by the creation unit in a save location corresponding to the log information in a storage unit, a determination unit which determines, in accordance with a request to access the log information saved in the save unit, whether to permit or reject the access request, and an access unit which reads log information subjected to the access request when the determination unit determines to permit the access request.

Claims

1. A printing management system which manages a log of a print job, comprising:

a creation unit which creates log information for specifying a print job on the basis of issued print job data;

a save unit which saves the log information created by said creation unit in a save location corresponding to the log information in a storage unit;

a determination unit which determines, in accordance with a request to access the log information saved in said save unit, whether to permit or reject the access request; and

an access unit which reads log information subjected to the access request when said determination unit determines to permit the access request.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said creation unit extracts at least part of print data contained in the print job data as print content information, and associates the print job with the print content information and log information containing information on an issuing source and output device of the print job, thereby generating the log information.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said determination unit permits the access request when a right to access the save location of the log information is set in correspondence with a user ID of a requesting user of the access request.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein

said save unit encrypts the log information and saves the encrypted log information in the save location of the storage unit, and

said determination unit has a decryption unit which reads out and decrypts the encrypted log information, and permits the access request when decryption by the decryption unit is successful.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the decryption unit determines whether to encrypt the log information in accordance with the save location corresponding to the log information, said save unit encrypts log information corresponding to a predetermined save location, and another log information is saved in a corresponding save location without encrypting the other log information.

6. The system according to claim 1, further comprising an input unit which inputs log setting information containing designation of a creation method of the log information,

wherein said creation unit creates the log information in accordance with the creation method contained in the log setting information.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein

the log setting information further contains designation of a save location where said save unit stores the log information, and

said save unit saves the log information in accordance with the save location contained in the log setting information.

8. A program which is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium and causes a computer to execute a method of managing a log of a print job, the method comprising:

a creation step of creating log information for specifying a print job on the basis of issued print job data;

a save step of saving the log information created in the creation step in a save location corresponding to the log information in a storage unit; and

an access step of reading log information subjected to an access request when the request to access the log information saved in the save step is permitted.

9. The program according to claim 8, wherein in the creation step, at least part of print data contained in the print job data is extracted as print content information, and the print job is associated with the print content information and log information containing information on an issuing source and output device of the print job, thereby generating the log information.

10. The program according to claim 8, wherein in the access step, when a right to access the save location is set in correspondence with a user ID of a requesting user of the access request, the access request is permitted to read the log information.

11. The program according to claim 8, wherein

in the save step, the log information is encrypted and the encrypted log information is saved in the save location of the storage unit, and

the access step comprises a decryption step of reading out and decrypting the encrypted log information, and the access request is permitted when decryption in the decryption step is successful.

12. The program according to claim 11, wherein in the decryption step, whether to encrypt the log information is determined in accordance with the save location corresponding to the log information, in said save step, log information corresponding to a predetermined save location is encrypted, and another log information is saved in a corresponding save location without encrypting the other log information.

13. A printing management method of managing a log of a print job, comprising:

a creation step of creating log information for specifying a print job on the basis of issued print job data;

a save step of saving the log information created in the creation step in a save location corresponding to the log information in a storage unit;

a determination step of determining, in accordance with a request to access the log information saved in the saving step, whether to permit or reject the access request; and

an access step of reading log information subjected to the access request when the access request is determined in the determination step to be permitted.

14. A printing system which manages a log of a print job, comprising:

a print job issued from a user who prints;

a printer which prints the print job;

a log information creation unit which creates log information for specifying the print job on the basis of data of the print job;

a user identification unit which identifies, from the log information, a user who has issued the print job or a group to which the user belongs;

an encryption unit which encrypts the log information with a public key of the user who has issued the print job or the group to which the user belongs, in correspondence with a result of said user identification unit; and

a storage unit which stores the log information encrypted by said encryption unit in a predetermined storage area.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the log information contains a management information log including at least one of a user ID, a computer name, a printing date &

time, and a print file name, and a print data log including at least one of a print image, a reduced image of the print image, and a text in print data.

16. A printing method of managing a log of a print job, comprising:

a print job issued from a user who prints;

a printer which prints the print job;

a log information creation step of creating log information for specifying the print job on the basis of data of the print job;

a user identification step of identifying, from the log information, a user who has issued the print job or a group to which the user belongs;

an encryption step of encrypting the log information with a public key of the user who has issued the print job or the group to which the user belongs, in correspondence with a result of the user identification step; and

a storage step of storing the log information encrypted in the encryption step in a predetermined storage area.