Printing apparatus, printing method, and storage medium

• US 9,075,550 B2
• Filed: 02/19/2014
• Issued: 07/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Kakutani, Naoya
• Primary Examiner(s): SINGH, SATWANT K
• Application Number:
  US14/184,564
• Publication Number:
  US 20140233053A1
• Time in Patent Office: 503 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 3/1285 Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00233 details of image data reproduction, e.g. network printing or remote image display using an image reproducing device as a local output from a computer H04N1/00238; digital output from computer to printer unit G06F3/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32128 attached to the image data, e.g. file header, transmitted message header, information on the same page or in the same computer file as the image for information embedded in the image H04N1/32144
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4413 involving the use of passwords, ID codes or the like, e.g. PIN
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/444 to a particular document or image or part thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0082 Image hardcopy reproducer H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3246 of data relating to permitted access or usage, e.g. level of access or usage parameters for digital rights management [DRM] related to still images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3278 Transmission

Abstract

A printing apparatus includes a storage unit configured to store print data including a password upon receipt of the print data, a receiving unit configured to receive a print instruction for the stored print data from a user, an authentication unit capable of performing user authentication, and a printing unit configured to perform printing without causing an authenticated user to enter a password in a case where an owner of the print-instructed print data matches the authenticated user, and to perform printing in response to a match between a password received from a user and the password included in the print data in a case where the owner of the print-instructed print data differs from the authenticated user, or in a case where a print instruction is received without user authentication by the authentication unit.

Claims

1. A printer comprising:

a selection unit configured to, in accordance with an authentication user'"'"'s operation and a non-authentication user'"'"'s operation, select a print job to which a job password is set, the authentication user having been authenticated when logging in to the printer, the non-authentication user having skipped authentication when logging in to the printer, the job password being used for starting a print process of the print job; and

a control unit configured to, in a case where the print job has been selected by the selection unit in accordance with the authentication user'"'"'s operation, control the printer to start the print process of the print job without requesting the authentication user to input the job password,

wherein the control unit is configured to, in a case where the print job has been selected by the selection unit in accordance with the non-authentication user'"'"'s operation, request the non-authentication user to input the job password so as to start the print process of the print job.

2. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit configured to display a plurality of print jobs so as to cause the selection unit to select a print job from the plurality of print jobs, the plurality of print jobs corresponding to different users,

wherein the control unit is configured to, in a case where the authentication user has logged in to the printer, control the display unit to display a print job corresponding to the authentication user from among the plurality of print jobs, and

wherein the control unit is configured to, in a case where the non-authentication user has logged in to the printer, control the display unit to display all of the plurality of print jobs.

3. The printer according to claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to, in a case where the authentication user has an administrator authority, control the display unit to display all of the plurality of print jobs, even if the authentication user has logged in to the printer.

4. The printer according to claim 2, further comprising a setting unit configured to set a display condition for displaying print jobs,

wherein the control unit is configured to control, based on the display condition set by the setting unit, whether to control the display unit to display all of the plurality of print jobs or control the display unit to display a print job corresponding to the authentication user.

5. The printer according to claim 4, wherein the control unit is configured to, in a case where a job owner of the print job selected by the selection unit matches a user who has logged in to the printer, determine whether or not the selected print job is an encrypted print job for printing data encrypted using the job password, and in a case where it is determined that the selected print job is the encrypted print job, request the user to input the job password even if the logged-in user is the authentication user and the print job has been selected by the selection unit in accordance with the authentication user'"'"'s operation.

6. The printer according to claim 4, wherein the control unit is configured to, in a case where the control unit requests input of the password, determine whether a password input by the authentication user or the non-authentication user matches the job password, and start the print process of the print job based on determination that the input password matches the job password.

7. The printer according to claim 4, wherein the printer is connected to a host computer over a network, and

wherein a job owner name of the print job is a user name of a user who uses the host computer.

8. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to, in a case where a job owner of the print job selected by the selection unit is different from a user who has logged in to the printer, request the user to input the job password even if the logged-in user is the authentication user and the print job has been selected by the selection unit in accordance with the authentication user'"'"'s operation.

9. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the non-authentication user is a guest user.

10. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a setting storage unit configured to store setting information indicating whether or not input of the job password is allowed to be skipped,

wherein the control unit is configured to, even if the print job has been selected by the selection unit in accordance with the authentication user'"'"'s operation, request the authentication user to input the job password so as to start the print process of the print job in a case where the setting information indicates that input of the job password is not allowed to be skipped.

11. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to display a password enter screen so as to request input of the job password.

12. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the job password is a password input via a host computer when a print job is transmitted to the printer.

13. A method comprising:

selecting, in accordance with a user'"'"'s operation, a print job to which a job password is set, the job password being used for starting a print process of the print job;

in a case where the print job has been selected in accordance with an authentication user'"'"'s operation, controlling a printer to start the print process of the print job without requesting the authentication user to input the job password, the authentication user having been authenticated when logging in to the printer; and

in a case where the print job has been selected in accordance with a non-authentication user'"'"'s operation, requesting the non-authentication user to input the job password so as to start the print process of the print job, the non-authentication user having skipped authentication when logging in to the printer.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

selecting, in accordance with a user'"'"'s operation, a print job to which a job password is set, the job password being used for starting a print process of the print job;

in a case where the print job has been selected in accordance with an authentication user'"'"'s operation, controlling a printer to start the print process of the print job without requesting the authentication user to input the job password, the authentication user having been authenticated when logging in to the printer; and

in a case where the print job has been selected in accordance with a non-authentication user'"'"'s operation, requesting the non-authentication user to input the job password so as to start the print process of the print job, the non-authentication user having skipped authentication when logging in to the printer.