IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS

• US 20190196756A1
• Filed: 12/21/2018
• Published: 06/27/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Original Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Inventors: UTSUMI, Daisuke
• Granted Patent: US 10,642,546 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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 3/1253 Configuration of print job parameters, e.g. using UI at the client
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1258 by updating job settings at the printer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1285 Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/129 in server-printer device-client configuration, e.g. print flow goes from server to printer and then bidirectional from printer to client, i.e. the client does not communicate with the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00 Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes: a storage portion which stores first data and second data and which stores permission information for determining whether or not permission conditions are satisfied; an image reading portion; a print portion; and a control portion in which when it is determined that a first data output printed material obtained by printing based on the second data is read and the permission conditions are satisfied, printing based on the first data is performed whereas when the permission conditions are not satisfied, the printing based on the first data is prevented from being performed.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

a storage portion which stores first data and second data associated with the first data and which stores permission information for determining whether or not a permission condition for permitting output of the first data is satisfied;

an image reading portion which reads an image;

a print portion which prints an image; and

a control portion in which whether or not a first data output printed material that is a printed material obtained by printing based on the second data is read by the image reading portion is determined, and in which when it is determined that the first data output printed material is read by the image reading portion and the permission condition is satisfied, the print portion is made to perform printing based on the first data corresponding to the second data whereas when the permission condition is not satisfied, the print portion is prevented from performing the printing based on the first data corresponding to the second data.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the permission information includes information indicating a setting value of a setting item,

the image forming apparatus includes an operation panel which receives setting of the setting item when the reading is performed by the image reading portion and

when a setting value of the setting item which is set when the first data output printed material is read by the image reading portion is different from the setting value of the setting item indicated in the permission information, the control portion determines that the permission condition is not satisfied.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the image reading portion includes a transport reading contact glass and a placement reading contact glass, reads, in a transport reading mode, an original document which is automatically transported to the transport reading contact glass and reads, in a placement reading mode, an original document which is placed on the placement reading contact glass,

the permission information includes information indicating a permission reading mode of the transport reading mode and the placement reading mode and

when image reading portion reads the first data output printed material in a mode different from the permission reading mode, the control portion determines that the permission condition is not satisfied.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

an operation panel which receives an instruction to perform user authentication,

wherein the permission information includes information indicating a permission user, and

when after the image reading portion reads the first data output printed material, the operation panel receives the instruction to perform the user authentication, the control portion performs the user authentication whereas when a user who provides the instruction to perform the user authentication is not the permission user, the control portion determines that the permission condition is not satisfied.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein when after the image reading portion reads the first data output printed material, the operation panel does not receive the instruction to perform the user authentication within a predetermined time, the control portion determines that the permission condition is not satisfied.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the permission information includes information indicating an expiration date, and

when the first data output printed material is read by the image reading portion, if a current date and time exceeds the expiration date, the control portion determines that the permission condition is not satisfied.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the permission information includes information indicating an upper limit of a number of times, and

when the number of times a job involving the reading of the first data output printed material is performed reaches the upper limit of the number of times, the control portion determines that the permission condition is not satisfied.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the permission information includes information indicating a position of a check region, and

when the image reading portion reads the first data output printed material, the control portion performs processing for detecting a predetermined image from the check region of image data of the first data output printed material obtained by the reading and when the control portion cannot detect the predetermined image, the control portion determines that the permission condition is not satisfied.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the permission information includes information indicating reading turns, and

when the first data output printed material is read by the image reading portion, if continuous reading which continuously reads a plurality of sheets of original document including the first data output printed material is performed, the control portion determines that the permission condition is not satisfied whereas even when the continuous reading is performed, if the reading turn of the first data output printed material in the continuous reading is different from the reading turn indicated in the permission information, the control portion determines that the permission condition is not satisfied.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the permission information includes determination image data, and

when a degree of similarity between image data of the sheets of original document other than the first data output printed material read in the continuous reading and the determination image data falls below a predetermined threshold value, the control portion determines that the permission condition is not satisfied.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein when the control portion determines that the permission condition is not satisfied, the control portion performs processing for deleting the second data.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

an operation panel which receives an instruction to set a first data output mode on,

wherein when the operation panel receives the instruction to set the first data output mode on and then the image reading portion reads an original document, the control portion determines whether or not the image reading portion reads the first data output printed material, and when the control portion determines that the image reading portion reads the first data output printed material, if a waiting time after the operation panel receives the instruction to set the first data output mode on until the reading of the first data output printed material by the image reading portion is started exceeds a predetermined threshold time, the control portion performs processing for deleting the second data.

13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the storage portion stores a notification destination associated with the first data,

the image forming apparatus includes a communication portion which is connected to the notification destination so as to be able to communicate with the notification destination and

when the control portion determines that the permission condition is not satisfied, the control portion transmits, to the notification destination, through the communication portion, notification information indicating that the first data output printed material is read.

14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the control portion includes, in the notification information, details of a job involving the reading of the first data output printed material.

15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein when the control portion performs a copy job for copying an image of the first data output printed material on a sheet, the control portion changes part of image data of the first data output printed material obtained by the reading of the image reading portion and makes the print portion perform printing based on the changed image data.

16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

an operation panel which receives an instruction to set a first data storage mode on and which receives an operation,

wherein the control portion acquires, as the first data, image data obtained by reading of an original document with the image reading portion in a state where the first data storage mode is set on, and when the control portion acquires the first data, the control portion makes the operation panel receive a production operation of producing the second data and a setting operation of setting the permission information, stores the first data and the second data in the storage portion such that the first data and the second data are associated with each other, stores the permission information in the storage portion such that the permission information is associated with the first data and makes the print portion perform printing based on the second data.

17. The image forming apparatus according to claim 16, comprising:

a communication portion which is connected to a server so as to be able to communicate with the server,

wherein the control portion stores the first data and the second data in the server portion such that the first data and the second data are associated with each other, and stores the permission information in the server such that the permission information is associated with the first data.