Image forming apparatus that communicates with a portable terminal device, and information processing system

• US 8,749,823 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2010
• Issued: 06/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Kato, Yoshinaga
• Primary Examiner(s): Zheng, Jacky X
• Application Number:
  US13/148,067
• Publication Number:
  US 20110292445A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,547 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 358/1.14, 358/1.16, 455/41.1, 455/41.2
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• 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 3/1292 Mobile client, e.g. wireless printing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00222 details of image data generation or reproduction, e.g. scan-to-email or network printing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00307 with a mobile telephone apparatus constructional features of portable telephone sets H04M1/0202; mobile radio systems H04W84/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0053 Optical, e.g. using an infrared link
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0055 By radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/006 Using near field communication, e.g. an inductive loop

Abstract

An image processing apparatus includes a near field communication (NFC) unit that establishes, when a portable terminal device comes near the NFC unit, wireless communication with the portable terminal device; a short-range communication unit that has a larger wireless communication coverage than that of the NFC unit, establishes, after the wireless communication has been established and connection setting information has been received via the NFC unit, wireless communication with the portable terminal device by using the connection setting information; a data processing unit that performs data processing on data received via the short-range communication unit; a printer unit that prints out the processed data; and a control unit that controls, when the data received via the short-range communication unit is determined to contain data about image processing control, processing performed by the data processing unit or the printer unit in accordance with the data about image processing control.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus the can communicate with a portal terminal device, the image forming apparatus comprising:

a near field communication (NFC) unit that establishes, when the portable terminal device comes near the NFC unit, wireless communication with the portable terminal device;

a short-range communication unit that has a larger wireless communication coverage than a wireless communication coverage of the NFC unit and that establishes wireless connection with the portable terminal device by using connection setting information received via the NFC unit;

a data processing unit that performs data processing on data received from the portable terminal device via the short-range communication unit;

a printer unit that prints out the processed data;

a transmitting unit that transmits, to the portable terminal device via the short-range communication unit, function setting information defining whether each setting item of the image forming apparatus is applicable or not, so as to cause the portable terminal device to update setting items, which have been displayed on a printer setting window of the portable terminal device before the NFC unit establishes the wireless communication with the portable terminal device, such that an unavailable setting item is changed in display; and

a control unit that controls, when the data received via the short-range communication unit is determined to contain data about image processing control, processing performed by at least one of the data processing unit and the printer unit in accordance with the data about image processing control.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the data about image processing control is determined to contain data that indicates that copying is disabled, the control unit instructs the printer unit not to print out the processed data.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the data about image processing control is determined to contain data that indicates that copying is disabled, the control unit instructs the data processing unit to replace the data to be printed with other data, and instructs the printer unit to print out the replaced data.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the data about image processing control is determined to contain data that indicates that copying is disabled, the control unit instructs the data processing unit to damage data to be printed, and instructs the printer unit to print the damaged data.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the data about image processing control is determined to contain data that indicates that copying is disabled, the control unit instructs the data processing unit to superimpose an image pattern indicating that copying of data to be printed is prohibited, and instructs the printer unit to print the superimposed data.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a scanner unit that scans in an original to acquire image data, wherein when the image data acquired by the scanner unit is determined to contain the image pattern, the control unit controls at least one of the data processing unit and the printer unit to inhibit copying.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein when the image data acquired by the scanner unit is determined to contain the image pattern, the control unit instructs the printer unit not to print out the processed data.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein when the image data acquired by the scanner unit is determined to contain the image pattern, the control unit instructs the data processing unit to replace data to be printed with other data, and instructs the printer unit to print the replaced data.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein when the image data acquired by the scanner unit is determined to contain the image pattern, the control unit instructs the data processing unit to damage data to be printed, and instructs the printer unit to print the damaged data.

10. An information processing system comprising:

a portable terminal device; and

an image forming apparatus, wherein

the portable terminal device includes;

a location-information acquiring unit that acquires physical location information about the portable terminal device;

a first near field communication (NFC) unit that establishes wireless communication with the image forming apparatus by being brought near the image forming apparatus;

a first short-range communication unit that has a larger wireless communication coverage than a wireless communication coverage of the first NFC unit and establishes wireless communication with the image forming apparatus by using connection setting information received via the first NFC unit;

a receiving unit that receives, from the image forming apparatus via the first short-range communication unit, function setting information defining whether each setting item of the image forming apparatus is applicable or not, so as to cause the portable terminal device to update setting items, which have been displayed on a printer setting window of the portable terminal device before the first NFC unit establishes the wireless communication with the portable terminal device, such that an unavailable setting item is changed in display; and

a print control unit that transmits an instruction indicating whether to enable or disable print processing control based on the location information to the image forming apparatus via the first short-range communication unit, and

the image forming apparatus includes;

a second NFC unit that establishes, when the portable terminal device comes near the second NFC unit, wireless communication with the portable terminal device;

a second short-range communication unit that has a larger wireless communication coverage than a wireless communication coverage of the second NFC unit and that establishes wireless communication with the portable terminal device by using the connection setting information received via the second NFC unit;

a data processing unit that receives data transmitted from the portable terminal device via the second short-range communication unit, performs data processing on the data;

a printer unit that prints out the data processed by the data processing unit;

a transmitting unit that transmits, to the portable terminal device via the second short-range communication unit, the function setting information, so as to cause the portable terminal device to update setting items, which have been displayed on the printer setting window of the portable terminal device before the second NFC unit establishes the wireless communication with the portable terminal device, such that an unavailable setting item is changed in display; and

a control unit that controls processing performed by at least one of the data processing unit and the printer unit in accordance with the instruction indicating whether to enable or disable print processing control contained in the data received via the second short-range communication unit.