SERVER APPARATUS, MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, AND METHOD

• US 20090109477A1
• Filed: 10/28/2008
• Published: 04/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Saito, Shigemi, Oomura, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,264,721 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.150
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1222 Increasing security of the print job
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1238 Secure printing, e.g. user identification, user rights for device usage, unallowed content, blanking portions or fields of a page, releasing held jobs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1273 Print job history, e.g. logging, accounting, tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 in client-server-printer device configuration

Abstract

A server apparatus configured to manage log information corresponding to job information transmitted from a host computer to a printer includes a storage unit storing the log information received in a temporary storage area, an issue unit configured to issue identification information identifying the log information, a generation unit configured to generate authentication information based on the identification information and authenticate the identification information, a transmission unit configured to transmit the identification to the host computer, a reception unit configured to receive, from the image processing apparatus, identification information and authentication information extracted by the image processing apparatus from job information received by the image processing apparatus from the host computer, a determination unit configured to determine whether log information corresponding to the identification information is stored in the temporary storage area, and a notification unit configured to notify the image processing apparatus of the determination result.

Claims

1. A server apparatus configured to manage log information corresponding to job information transmitted from a host computer to an image processing apparatus, comprising:

a storage unit configured to store, in a temporary storage area, the log information received from the host computer;

an issue unit configured to issue identification information identifying the log information received from the host computer;

a generation unit configured to generate authentication information based on the identification information, the authentication information serving as information authenticating that the identification information issued by the issue unit is the identification information generated by the server apparatus;

a transmission unit configured to transmit the identification information issued by the issue unit and the authentication information generated by the generation unit to the host computer;

a reception unit configured to receive, from the image processing apparatus, identification information and authentication information extracted by the image processing apparatus from job information received by the image processing apparatus from the host computer;

a determination unit configured to determine whether log information corresponding to the identification information received by the reception unit is stored in the temporary storage area; and

a notification unit configured to notify the image processing apparatus of a result of the determination made by the determination unit.

2. The server apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the log information is an image log based on image data formed by the job information.

3. The server apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a retaining unit configured to retain the log information such that, if the determination unit determines that the log information corresponding to the identification information received by the reception unit from the image processing apparatus is stored in the temporary storage area, then the log information stored in the temporary storage area is retained in a storage area different from the temporary storage area.

4. The server apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, if the notification to the image processing apparatus from the notification unit indicates that the result of the determination made by the determination unit is that log information corresponding to the identification information received by the reception unit from the image processing apparatus is not stored in the temporary storage area, the image processing according to the job information is not performed by the image processing apparatus.

5. The server apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an authentication unit configured to authenticate whether the identification information is identification information issued by the server apparatus based on the authentication information, by using the identification information and the authentication information received by the reception unit, wherein

the determination unit makes the determination using the identification information authenticated by the authentication unit.

6. The server apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising an authentication information notification unit configured to, if the authentication of the identification information performed by the authentication unit fails, notify the image processing apparatus of the failure of the authentication.

7. A management system comprising:

a host computer configured to generate job information;

an image processing apparatus configured to perform image processing according to the job information received from the host computer; and

a server apparatus configured to manage log information corresponding to the job information,

wherein the host computer comprising;

a log acquisition unit configured to acquire the log information corresponding to the job information;

a log transmission unit configured to transmit the log information acquired by the acquisition means to the server apparatus; and

a job transmission unit configured to transmit identification information and authentication information received from the server apparatus to the image processing apparatus together with the job information,

wherein the server apparatus comprising;

a storage unit configured to store, in a temporary storage area, the received log information transmitted from the log transmission unit;

an issue unit configured to issue the identification information identifying the received log information transmitted from the log transmission unit;

a generation unit configured to generate the authentication information based on the identification information, the authentication information serving as information authenticating that the identification information issued by the issue unit is the identification information generated by the server apparatus;

a response unit configured to respond to the received log information transmitted from the log transmission unit by returning the identification information issued by the issue unit and the authentication information generated by the generation unit to the host computer;

a reception unit configured to receive, from the image processing apparatus, the identification information and the authentication information received by the image processing apparatus together with the job information from the host computer;

a determination unit configured to determine whether determination unit corresponding to the identification information received by the reception unit is stored in the temporary storage area; and

a notification unit configured to notify the image processing apparatus of a result of the determination made by the determination unit, and

wherein the image processing apparatus comprising;

a transmission unit configured to transmit, to the server apparatus, the identification information received together with the job information from the host computer; and

a control unit configured to control a process according to the job information, in accordance with the determination result notified by the notification unit of the server apparatus.

8. The management system according to claim 7, wherein

the image processing apparatus further comprising an authentication unit configured to authenticate whether the received identification information is the identification information issued by the server apparatus based on the authentication information, by using the identification information and the authentication information received together with the job information from the host computer, and

the transmission unit transmits the identification information authenticated by the authentication unit to the server apparatus.

9. The management system according to claim 7, wherein the control unit of the image processing apparatus is configured such that, if the result of the determination notified by the notification unit of the server apparatus indicates that log information corresponding to the identification information received by the reception unit is not stored in the temporary storage area, the control unit acquires the log information corresponding to the job information, transmits the acquired log information to the server apparatus, and performs the image processing according to the job information.

10. A method for management in a server apparatus configured to manage log information corresponding to job information transmitted from a host computer to an image processing apparatus, the method comprising:

storing, in a temporary storage area, the log information received from the host computer;

issuing identification information identifying log information received from the host computer;

generating authentication information based on the identification information, the authentication information serving as information authenticating that the issued identification information is the identification information generated by the server apparatus;

transmitting the issued identification information and the authentication information to the host computer;

receiving, from the image processing apparatus, identification information and authentication information extracted by the image processing apparatus from job information received by the image processing apparatus from the host computer;

determining whether the log information corresponding to the identification information is stored in the temporary storage area; and

notifying the image processing apparatus of the determination result.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the log information is an image log based on image data produced from the job information.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising, if the determination result indicates that the log information corresponding to the identification information received from the image processing apparatus is stored in the temporary storage area, then retaining the log information stored in the temporary storage area in a storage area different from the temporary storage area.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein, if the notification to the image processing apparatus indicates that the determination result is that the log information corresponding to the identification information received from the image processing apparatus is not stored in the temporary storage area, the image processing according to the job information is not performed by the image processing apparatus.

14. The method according to claim 10, further comprising authenticating whether the identification information is the identification information issued by the server apparatus based on the authentication information, by using the identification information and the authentication information;

and

making the determination based on the authenticated identification information.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising, if the authentication of the identification information fails, notifying the image processing apparatus of the failure of the authentication.

16. A method for managing a management system including a host computer configured to generate job information, an image processing apparatus configured to perform image processing according to the job information received from the host computer, and a server apparatus configured to manage log information corresponding to the job information, the method comprising:

acquiring, by the host computer, the log information corresponding to the job information;

transmitting, by the host computer, the acquired log information to the server apparatus; and

transmitting, by the host computer, identification information and authentication information received from the server apparatus to the image processing apparatus together with the job information;

storing, by the server apparatus, in a temporary storage area, the received log information;

issuing, by the server apparatus, identification information identifying the received log information;

generating, by the server apparatus, authentication information based on the identification information, the authentication information serving as information authenticating that the issued identification information is the identification information generated by the server apparatus;

responding, by the server apparatus, to the received log information, by returning the identification information and the authentication information to the host computer;

receiving, from the image processing apparatus, the identification information and the authentication information received by the image processing apparatus together with the job information the from host computer;

determining, by the server apparatus, whether the log information corresponding to the identification information is stored in the temporary storage area; and

notifying, by the server apparatus, the image processing apparatus of the determination result; and

transmitting, by the image processing apparatus, to the server apparatus, the identification information received together with the job information from the host computer; and

controlling, by the image processing apparatus, the job information in accordance with the determination result of the server apparatus.

17. The method according to claim 16, the method further comprising:

authenticating, by the image processing apparatus, whether the identification information is identification information issued by the server apparatus based on the authentication information, by using the identification information and the authentication information together with the job information from the host computer; and

transmitting, by the image processing apparatus, the authenticated identification information to the server apparatus.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the image processing apparatus includes, if the determination result of the server apparatus indicates that log information corresponding to the identification information received by the reception unit is not stored in the temporary storage area, acquiring the log information corresponding to the job information, transmitting the acquired log information to the server apparatus, and performing the image processing according to the job information.

19. A computer-readable storage medium have a computer-executable program stored thereon for causing a computer to executes a method for management in a server apparatus configured to manage log information corresponding to job information transmitted from a host computer to an image processing apparatus, the method comprising:

storing, in a temporary storage area, the log information received from the host computer;

issuing identification information identifying log information received from the host computer;

generating authentication information based on the identification information, the authentication information serving as information authenticating that the issued identification information is the identification information generated by the server apparatus;

transmitting the issued identification information and the authentication information to the host computer;

receiving, from the image processing apparatus, identification information and authentication information extracted by the image processing apparatus from job information received by the image processing apparatus from the host computer;

determining whether the log information corresponding to the identification information is stored in the temporary storage area; and

notifying the image processing apparatus of the determination result.