Patent Publication Number: US-2007118650-A1

Title: Data input/output system, data input/output server, and data input/output method

Description:
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-335874 filed on Nov. 21, 2005, in Japanese Patent Office, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference  
     TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to data input and output systems, data input and output servers, and data input and output methods.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      In recent years, because of the widespread use of computers, progress is being made in converting all kinds of documents into their electronic forms. Document preparation software such as word processors, etc., are used and files are prepared electronically and stored in a hard disk. In a corporate environment, servers are mutually connected by a network and very often large volumes of document files are shared among a plurality of users.  
      In general, a multi function terminal (Multi Function Peripheral, hereinafter abbreviated as MFP) has an input section such as a scanner or a fax etc., and an output section such as a printer etc., and has the function of carrying out data processing on input data such as texts or images and then printing them out. In recent years, developments have been made by which data sharing system functions are realized in MFPs so that several MFPs can be connected to each other via a network, and the text or image files that have been stored in the large capacity storage devices such as hard disks of the servers that operate in cooperation with MFPs are shared among a plurality of users.  
      In this manner, in an MFP having data sharing system functions, since a plurality of users access the information stored in the MFP, products are being supplied that provide the user registration and authentication functions in the MFP, so that the equipment cannot be used if the user is not authenticated. In addition, a method of ensuring security has been proposed (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Open to Public Inspection No. 2001-358891) by outputting image data after judging whether it is permissible or not to output the image data to that department with management information for each department being held by the MFP.  
      Furthermore, even a method has been proposed (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Open to Public Inspection No. 2003-337682) of providing security levels for each data, and to carry out output restrictions such as whether or not data can be printed out when being output.  
      However, in the method disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Open to Public Inspection No. 2001-358891, although security levels can be set for each department, a method of setting detailed security levels depending on the function of the MFP or the personal information of the user has not been proposed. Even if it is set, it is necessary to modify the processing programs of the MFP, and there was the problem that this took considerable time and effort.  
      Further, in the method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Open to Public Inspection 2003-337682, it is necessary to set the security level for each data at the time of inputting the data, and there was the problem that this subjected the user to considerable effort.  
     SUMMARY  
      The present invention was made in view of the above problems, and a purpose of the present invention is to provide a data input/output system, a data input/output server, and a data input/output method by which it is possible to carry out unitary security management in a simple manner by deciding (changing) the input/output control of data based on the security standards set for each function. In view of forgoing, one embodiment according to one aspect of the present invention is a data input/output system, comprising:  
      an input device connected to a network;  
      an output device connected to the network;  
      a server connected to the network; the server including:  
      a data storage section for storing data;  
      a data control section for controlling the data storage section;  
      a device control section; the device control section having:  
      an output device control section for converting data and outputting the converted data to the output device; and  
      an input device control section for converting data input by the input device,  
      a function control section for controlling the data control section and the device control section to execute a plurality of functions;  
      a security information storage section for storing security standards which are set for each function to be executed by the function control section ; and  
      a security management section for managing security based on the security standards,  
      wherein, the security management section conducts a judgment based on the security standards, and the function control section decides a content of the control based on a result of the judgment.  
      According to another aspect of the present invention, another embodiment is a data input/output server connected to a network, comprising:  
      a data storage section for storing data;  
      a data control section for controlling the data storage section;  
      a device control section; the device control section including:  
      an output device control section for converting data and outputting the converted data to the output device; and  
      an input device control section for converting data input by the input device,  
      a function control section for controlling the data control section and the device control section to execute a plurality of functions;  
      a security information storage section for storing security standards which are set for each function to be executed by the function control section ; and  
      a security management section for managing security based on the security standards,  
      wherein, the security management section conducts a judgment based on the security standards, and the function control section decides a content of the control based on a result of the judgment.  
      According to another aspect of the present invention, another embodiment is a data input/output method for controlling data stored in a server and an output device connected to the server, the method comprising the steps of:  
      receiving specifying information related to specifying the data stored in the server and the output device for outputting the data;  
      judging about the control of the data and a function of the output device based on the received specifying information and a security standard stored in the server; and  
      controlling the data and the function of the output device based on the judgment. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an input/output system  100  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a server  1  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 3  is an explanatory diagram for explaining the directory structure of the data stored in a data storage section  15  according to the present preferred embodiment.  
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart explaining the procedure for selecting and executing the functions of the input/output system  100  after the user logs in the input/output system  100  in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart explaining the procedure executed by the security counter measures conditions judgment routine when the user selects the application function 2 in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 6  is a flowchart explaining the procedure executed by the security counter measures conditions judgment routine when the user selects the application function 3 in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 7  is a flowchart explaining the procedure of changing the security standards in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart explaining the procedure of automatic selection of similar functions in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      A preferred embodiment of the present invention is explained in the following referring to the drawings. While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described using specific terms, such description is for illustrative purpose only, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims.  
      Firstly, the first preferred embodiment of the present invention is explained referring to  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an input/output system  100  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
      The terminal  6  is, for example, a personal computer configured to have a keyboard, mouse, and display, not shown in the figure, and the data of text documents, images, speech, etc., is prepared in the terminal  6 . The data prepared in the terminal  6  is transmitted to the server  1  via a network  5  configured using a rooter or a hub, not shown in the figure, by a communication section, not shown in the figure, that carries out communication, for example, via Ethernet (registered trademark) or telephone lines of the terminal  6 . Further, the network  5  can be a LAN (Local Area Network) or can be the Internet.  
      The server  1  stores the data input from the terminal  6  or the MFP scanner  7 , etc., and has the function of outputting the data after converting it into output data with a prescribed format. More detailed explanations of the server will be given later.  
      The printer  2  is, for example, a Laser Beam Printer (LBP) or an ink jet printer, etc.  
      The MFP  3  is a Multi Function Peripheral (MFP), and is provided with an MFP scanner  7  that inputs text documents or images, and an MFP Printer  8  that prints out text documents or images.  
      The Printer  2  and the MFP Printer  8  receive by a communication section, not shown in the figure, the data transmitted from the server  1  via the network  5 , and prints out text documents or images. Further, the data of text documents or images scanned by the MFP scanner  7  can be transmitted to the server  1  via the network  5  and can be stored.  
      The FAX  4  is a facsimile unit that receives by a communication section, not shown in the figure, the data transmitted from the server  1  via the network  5 , and transmits to an external device the modulated data via telephone lines, not shown in the figure. Also, it has the function of receiving text document and image data and printing it out.  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a server  1  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
      The server  1  is, for example, a data server configured to have an input section  18  such as a keyboard, mouse, not shown in the figure, and a display section such as a display device, and is provided with a communication section  10  that carries out communication through Ethernet (registered trademark), etc., a CPU  11  that controls the entire server  1 , and a storage section  13  that is configured to have a RAM, a ROM, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), etc., not shown in the figure. The storage section  13  stores, for example, the OS (Operating System), a program for recording the data for the printer, application programs, printer driver, etc., and the CPU  11  executes all these programs.  
      The authentication section  31  of the CPU  11  is the authentication section of the present preferred embodiment, and carries out authentication by comparing the personal information (for example, the user ID and password) input by the user from the terminal or the input section  18  with the personal information registered in the data storage section  15 .  
      The function control section  34  is the function control section of the present invention, and executes the function defined by the function definition information stored in the function definition information storage section  28  by controlling the data control section  36  and the device control section  37 . The data control section  36  has the function of controlling the input and output of data stored in the data storage section  15 , and carries out storage and read out of data such as text document or image data in prescribed directories.  
      The function addition section  35  is the function addition section of the present invention, and has the function of adding function definitions to the function definition information storage section  28 .  
      The device control section  37  is the device control section of the present invention. The device control section  37  is provided with a printer control section  38 , an MFP scanner control section  39 , an MFP printer control section  40 , and a FAX control section  41 .  
      The printer control section  38 , the MFP printer control section  40 , and the FAX control section  41  are the output device control sections of the present invention, and respectively control the printer  2 , the MFP printer  8 , and the FAX  4 , and have the function of converting the obtained data into the prescribed format.  
      The MFP scanner control section  39  is the input device control section of the present invention, and has the function of scanning images or text documents by controlling the MFP scanner  7  and converting the obtained data into the prescribed format.  
      The security management section  32  is the security management section of the present invention, and judges, based on the security standards stored in the security information storage section  27 , judges the conditions of the security countermeasures executed for each function. As is explained in detail later, the function control section  34  decides (changes) the details of the control based on the result of judgment by the security management section  32 .  
      The security standard changing section  33  is the security standard changing section of the present invention.  
      The security standard changing section  33  reflects in the security standards the changes input, for example, from the terminal  6 , by a user having the rights to change the security standards, and stores the changes in the security information storage section  27 . Detailed explanation will be given later about changing the security standards.  
      Next, an example of the data stored in the data storage section  15  is described below.  
       FIG. 3  is an explanatory diagram for explaining the directory structure of the data stored in the data storage section  15  according to the present preferred embodiment.  
      As shown in  FIG. 3 , confidential documents, ordinary data, and personal data are present in the root directory of the data storage section  15 , and the data are classified and stored according to the level of confidentiality of the respective data. In the levels below the personal data, directories are provided for each individual such as, for example, Person A, Person B, and Person C, in which are stored the personal information and the documents for that person. The personal information includes, for example, the user ID, password, name, affiliated department, position, etc.  
      In the present preferred embodiment, personal information such as that shown in the example in Table 1 is stored.  
                               TABLE 1                                   Person A   Person B   Person C                                                    Position   Department   Section Manager   Ordinary           Manager       Employee       Name   Noboru Asama   Isogashi   Tarou Nippon               Bonkure       User ID   asama   bonkure   nippon       Password   noboru   isogashi   tarou                  
 
      The entries Person A, Person B, and Person C in the first line of Table 1 are the names of the directories for each person, and the position, name, user ID, and password are stored in the respective directories. For example, in the directory of Person A, the personal information is stored in which the position is ‘Department Manager’, the name is ‘Noboru Asama’, the user ID is ‘asama’, and the password is ‘noboru’.  
      Next, the flow of data processing in the present preferred embodiment is described below using FIGS.  4  to  6 .  
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart explaining the procedure for selecting and executing the functions of the input/output system  100  after the user has logged in the input/output system  100  in the present preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
      S 101 : This is the step in which the user inputs the personal information.  
      The user operates the terminal  6  and inputs the personal information (for example, user ID and password) (Step S 101 ). The personal information input by the user is transmitted to the server  1  via the network  5 . Further, although, to make it easy to understand, the following explanations are given assuming, for example, that the user has carried out the input operations in the terminal  6 , it goes without saying that it is not necessary to restrict to this.  
      S 102 : This is the step in which the personal information input by the user is checked to see whether or not it matches with the personal information stored in the data storage section  15 .  
      The authentication section  31  verifies whether the personal information received by the communication section  10  and transmitted from the terminal  6  matches with the personal information stored in the data storage section  15  (Step S 102 ).  
      S 103 : This is the step of obtaining the result of the check in Step S 102  and judging whether or not to authenticate.  
      When the personal information input by the user does not match with the personal information stored in the data storage section  15  (No in Step S 103 ), the denial of authentication is posted to the terminal  6 , and the operation is ended.  
      When the personal information input by the user matches with the personal information stored in the data storage section  15  (Yes in Step S 103 ), the personal information is stored in the storage section  13 , and the operation moves on to Step S 104 .  
      S 104 : This is the step in which the function definition information is transmitted to the terminal  6 .  
      The function control section  34  transmits to the terminal  6  the function definition information stored in the function definition information storage section  28  from the communication section  10  via the network  5  (Step S 104 ). The function definition information is described using Table 2. Table 2 is a table for explaining an example of the function definition information in the present preferred embodiment.  
                                   TABLE 2                                   Application           Application           function 1   Application   Application   function 4           Document   function 2   function 3   Document           copying   Data input   Data output   copying                                                        Details of   The data read   The data   The specified   The data       function   in from the   input from   data is   input from           MFP scanner   the specified   output to the   the specified           is output to   device is   specified   device is           the MFP   stored in the   device.   output to the           printer.   specified       specified               directory.       device.       Input   None   Input device   Data path   Input device       parameter       1       Input   None   Directory of   Output device   Output       parameter       the data       device       2       storage               section                  
 
      The first line in this table is the function number assigned sequentially for each function such as Application Function 1, Application Function 2, Application Function 3, and Application Function 4. The second line in this table gives the name of the function to be executed, such as Document copying, Data input, and Data output. The third line gives the description of the function, the fourth line gives the input parameter 1, and the fifth line gives the input parameter 2. The input parameter 1 and the input parameter 2 are the parameters to be specified later in Step S 107 . The details of the function and the input parameter are described below for each function.  
      The detailed function of the application function 1 is “The data read in from the MFP scanner  7  is output to the MFP printer  8 ”, and this is a function used at the time of copying a document. Since the input device and the output device have been set beforehand as the MFP scanner and the MFP printer, respectively, the input parameter 1 and input parameter 2 to be input by the user are “None”.  
      The detailed function of the application function 2 is “The data input from the specified device is stored in the specified directory”, and this is a function used at the time of storing a document in the server. It is necessary to specify the input device as the input parameter 1 and the directory in the data storage section  15  as the input parameter 2. For example, the user specifies, by operating the terminal  6 , the MFP scanner  7  as the input device and the directory of the confidential document in the storage section  15  as the directory in which to store the data read in from the MFP scanner  7 .  
      The detailed function of the application function 3 is “The specified data is output to the specified device”, and this is a function used, for example, at the time of printing out the document stored in the server  1  in the printer  2 . It is necessary to specify the data path as the input parameter 1 and the output device as the input parameter 2. For example, the user specifies, by operating the terminal  6 , the document B- 2  of the person B in the personal data directory in the data storage section  15  as the data path. In addition, the user specifies the printer  2  as the output device.  
      The detailed function of the application function 4 is “The data input from the specified device is output to the specified device”, and this is a function used, for example, at the time of outputting to the FAX  4  the data read in from the MFP scanner  7 . It is necessary to specify the input device in the input parameter 1 and the output device in the input parameter 2. For example, the user specifies, by operating the terminal  6 , the MFP scanner  7  as the input device and the FAX  4  as the output device.  
      S 105 : This is the step of displaying the function selection menu.  
      The terminal  6 , based on the received function definition information, displays the function selection menu in the display not shown in the figure (Step S 105 ). For example, in the example of Table 1, the application functions 1 to 4 are displayed.  
      S 106 : This is the step in which the user selects the function.  
      The user operates the terminal  6  and selects the function (Step S 106 ). The terminal  6  transmits the information of the selected function to the server  1 .  
      S 107 : This is the step in which the user inputs the parameters.  
      The user operates the terminal  6  and inputs the necessary parameters (Step S 107 ). As has been described above, for example, in the case of the application function 2, the user operates the terminal  6  and specifies the MFP scanner  7  as the input device, and specifies the directory of the confidential document as the directory in the data storage section  15 . For example, in the case of the application function 1, the operation proceeds automatically to the next step because it is not necessary to input any parameters.  
      The terminal  6  transmits the parameters that have been input to the server  1 .  
      S 200 : This is the step in which the server judges the conditions for security countermeasures.  
      The security management section  32  that has received from the terminal  6  the information of the function selected by the user and parameters, when necessary, executes the security countermeasures conditions judgment routine based on the security standards (Step S 200 ).  
      The security standards are explained below referring to Table 3.  
                                   TABLE 3                                   Application   Application       Application           function 1   function 2   Application function 3   function 4           Document   Data   Data   Document           copying   input   output   copying                                                            Input   MFP   No security   No security   Not used   No security       device   Scanner   counter-   counter-       counter-       control       measures are   measures are       measures are               taken   taken       taken       Output   Printer   Not used   Not used   The data to which the   No security       device               information of conditional   counter-       control               output permission has been   measures are                       assigned is output after adding   taken                       to it the personal information                       of the user as a tint block           MFP   No security   Not used   The data to which the   No security           Printer   counter-       information of conditional   counter-               measures are       output permission has been   measures are               taken       assigned is output after adding   taken                       to it the personal information                       of the user as a tint block           FAX   Not used   Not used   Outputting the data to which   Data output                       the information of conditional   is prohibited                       output permission has been                       assigned is prohibited       Data   Confidential   Not used   Data storage is   Data output is prohibited when the   Not used       control   document       prohibited if the   user is not of a managerial rank.                   user is of a rank   In the case of users of a                   lower than of   managerial rank, the information of                   equal to   conditional output permission is                   department   added to the data.                   manager           Ordinary   Not used   No security   No security countermeasures are   Not used           data       counter-measures   taken                   are taken           Personal   Not used   Data storage is   Data output is prohibited if the   Not used           data       prohibited if the   personal information of the user                   personal   does not match with the personal                   information of   information recorded in the data                   the user does not                   match with the                   personal                   information                   recorded in the                   data                  
 
      The security standards in the present preferred embodiment are described below referring to Table 3. Table 3 is a table of the security standards set for each function in the present preferred embodiment.  
      To begin with, the security standards of the application function 1 given in Table 3 is explained below.  
      The input device control is the security standard related to the control of the input device. In the input/output system  100  of the present preferred embodiment, the input device is only the MFP scanner  7 , and the security standard related to the MFP scanner has been shown as “No security countermeasures are taken”.  
      The output device control is the security standard related to the control of the output device. In the input/output system  100  of the present preferred embodiment, the output device used in the application function 1 is only the MFP printer  8 , and the printer  2  and the FAX  4  are not used. Although the security standards have been shown for the different devices in Table 3, the security standard related to the MFP printer  8  used in the application function 1 has been shown as “No security countermeasures are taken”.  
      The row of data control shows the security standards related to the input and output control of the data stored in the data storage section  15 . In the input/output system  100  of the present preferred embodiment, data is handled after classifying into confidential data, ordinary data, and personal data. Although the security standards related to the different data classes have been shown in Table 3, since no data input and output is made with respect to the data storage section  15  in the case of the application function 1, all entries have been shown as “Not used”.  
      In the case of the application function 1, since the security countermeasure has been entered as “No security countermeasures are taken” in the above manner, the security countermeasures conditions judgment routine does nothing and the operation proceeds to the next Step S 300 .  
      On the other hand, the application function 4 is the function of document copying in which the data input from the specified device is output to the specified device, and basically the security standards are also the same. However, in the present preferred embodiment, output to the FAX  4 , which is likely to output data to an outside destination, has been prohibited.  
      Because of this, the security standard for the FAX  4  has been entered as “Data output is prohibited” in the case of application function 4 of Table 3. When the user specifies output to the FAX  4 , the security management section  32  judges that the data output is to be prohibited as per the security standards.  
      The security standards conditions judgment routine executed in the cases of the application function 2 and the application function 3 will be described in detail later.  
      S 300 : This is the step of executing the function specified by the user.  
      The function control section  34  executes the function based on the result of judgment of the security countermeasures conditions of Step S 200  (Step S 300 ).  
      For example, even when the user has selected. the application function 2 of data input, if the result of judgment in Step S 200  is “data storage prohibited”, the function control section  34  does not instruct the data control section  36  to store in the data storage section  15  the data specified by the user to the data control section  36 , but posts the result of judgment to the terminal  6  and ends the processing.  
      Further, for example, in the case of the application function 3 of data output, if the result of judgment in Step S 200  is “conditional data output permission”, the security management section  32  assigns the information of conditional data output permission to the data read out by the function control section  34  by issuing an instruction to the data control section  35 . The function control section  34 , in the case of data to which has been assigned the information of conditional data output permission, outputs the data along with the personal information of the user to, for example, the printer control section  38  of the device control section  37 , and instructs the printer control section  38  to output the data after synthesizing the personal information of the user as the tint block with the data.  
      Further, if the result of judgment is “No security countermeasures are taken”, the function control section  34  does not carry out any particular security countermeasure related operations, but executes the functions defined in the function definition information.  
      In the manner described above, the function control section  34  is deciding (changing) the control of the data control section  36  and the device control section  37  based on the result of the security countermeasures conditions judgment routine.  
      Next, the security standards conditions judgment routine executed in the case of the application function 2 is described below.  
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart explaining the procedure executed by the security countermeasures conditions judgment routine when the user selects the application function 2 in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
      S 210 : This is the step of acquiring the security standards.  
      The security management section  32  acquires the security standards for the application function 2 selected by the user from the security standards stored in the security information storage section  27  (Step S 210 ).  
      The security standards for the application function 2 given in Table 3 are explained below.  
      Similar to the application function 1, the security standard related to the MFP scanner  7  which is the input device has been shown as “No security countermeasures are taken”.  
      No output device is used because the application function 2 is that of data input.  
      Data control is the security standard related to the input and output control of data stored in the data storage section  15 . In the following steps, the security standards in Table 3 related to confidential documents, ordinary data, and personal data are explained.  
      S 211 : This is the step of acquiring the personal information.  
      The security management section  32  acquires the personal information of the user stored in the directory of the personal data in the data storage section  15  (Step S 211 ).  
      The user inputs the personal information (for example, user ID and password) by operating the terminal  6 . The personal information input by the user is transmitted to the server via the network  5 . Further, although, to make it easy to understand, the following explanations are given assuming, for example, that the user has carried out the input operations in the terminal  6 , it goes without saying that it is not necessary to restrict to this.  
      S 212 : This is the step of judging whether the directory of the data storage section  15  input by the user in the input parameter 2 is a confidential document or not. The security standard for the application function 2 is given in Table 3 as “Data storage is prohibited if the-user is of a rank lower than or equal to department manager”, and a judgment is made as to whether or not the data is a confidential document.  
      The security management section  32  judges whether or not the input parameter 2 transmitted from the terminal  6  and received by the communication section  10  is the directory of a confidential document in the data storage section  15  (Step S 212 ).  
      S 220 : The security management section  32 , if the result of judgment in Step S 212  is that the directory is not that of a confidential document (No in Step S 212 ), judges whether or not that directory is a directory of personal data (Step S 220 ).  
      Similar to the security standard of the application function 2 given in Table 3, since the security countermeasures are different for personal data from that for ordinary data, a judgment is made in this step as to whether or not the data is a directory of personal data. The security management section  32  judges whether or not the input parameter 2 transmitted from the terminal  6  and received by the communication section  10  is the directory of a personal data in the data storage section  15 .  
      S 224 : The security management section  32  returns to the original route without carrying out any security countermeasures if the result of judgment in Step S 212  indicates that the data is not a directory of personal data (No in Step S 220 ) (Step S 224 ).  
      If the data is not a directory of personal data, that is, if it is an ordinary data, since the security standard given in Table 3 is “No security countermeasures are taken”, no security countermeasures are taken and the operation returns to the original routine.  
      S 221 : The security management section  32 , if the result of judgment in Step S 220  indicates that the data is a directory of the personal data (Yes in Step S 220 ), carries out a judgment as to whether the personal information transmitted from an authenticated terminal  6  matches with the personal information stored in the directory of the data storage section  15  specified in the input parameter 2 (Step S 221 ).  
      S 222 : The security management section  32  prohibits storage of data, if the result of judgment in Step S 221  indicates that there is no match of the personal information (No in Step S 221 ) (Step S 222 ).  
      The Step S 222  is the case of personal data, and the security management section  32  prohibits the storage of that data according to the security standard of “Data storage is prohibited if the personal information of the user does not match with the personal information recorded in the data” given in Table 3, and returns to the original routine.  
      S 223 : The security management section  32 , if the result of judgment in Step S 221  indicates that there is a match of personal information (Yes in Step S 221 ), returns to the original routine without taking any security countermeasures (Step S 223 ).  
      S 213 : The security management section  32 , if the result of judgment in Step S 212  indicates that it is the case of a confidential document (Yes in Step S 212 ), refers to the personal information of the user, and checks whether or not the rank of the user is lower than or equal to a department manager (Step S 213 ).  
      S 214 : If the result of judgment made by the security management section  32  in Step S 213  is that it is a case of a user with a rank lower than or equal to a department manager (Yes in Step S 213 ), the security management section  32  prohibits the storage of that data according to the security standard “Data storage is prohibited if the user is of a rank lower than or equal to department manager” given in Table 3, and returns to the original routine (Step S 214 ).  
      S 215 : The security management section  32 , if the result of judgment in Step S 213  indicates that the rank of the user is not lower than or equal to a department manager (No in Step S 221 ), returns to the original routine without taking any security countermeasures. In such a case, for example, it is possible that the rank of the user is of a executive level and there is no problem in security even if that user accesses a confidential document (Step S 215 ).  
      The explanation of the security countermeasures conditions judgment routine executed in the case of the application function 2 has been narrated above.  
      Next, the security standards conditions judgment routine executed in the case of the application function 3 is described below.  
       FIG. 6  is a flowchart explaining the procedure executed by the security counter measures conditions judgment routine when the user selects the application function 3 in the present preferred embodiment of the present invention. However, in the following, the same numbers are assigned to the steps having the same functions as in  FIG. 5  and their explanations are omitted.  
      S 210 : This is the step of acquiring the security standards.  
      S 211 : This is the step of acquiring the personal information.  
      S 212 : This is the step of judging whether the directory of the data storage section  15  input by the user in the input parameter 2 is a confidential document or not.  
      The security management section  32  judges whether or not the input parameter 2 transmitted from the terminal  6  and received by the communication section  10  is the directory of a confidential document in the data storage section  15  (Step S 212 ).  
      The security standard for the application function 3 is given in Table 3 as “Data output is prohibited when the user is not of a managerial rank. In the case of users of a managerial rank, the information of conditional output permission is added to the data”, and a judgment is made as to whether or not the data is a confidential document.  
      S 220 : The security management section  32 , if the result of judgment in Step S 212  is that the directory is not that of a confidential document (No in Step S 212 ), judges whether or not that directory is a directory of personal data (Step S 220 ).  
      Similar to the security standard of the application function 2 given in Table 3, since the security countermeasures are different for personal data from that for ordinary data, a judgment is made in this step as to whether or not the data is that of a directory of personal data.  
      The security management section  32  judges whether or not the input parameter 2 transmitted from the terminal  6  and received by the communication section  10  is the directory of a personal data in the data storage section  15 .  
      S 224 : The security management section  32  returns to the original route without carrying out any security countermeasures if the result of judgment in Step S 212  indicates that the data is not that of a directory of personal data (No in Step S 212 ) (Step S 224 ).  
      S 221 : The security management section  32 , if the result of judgment in Step S 212  indicates that the data is a confidential document (Yes in Step S 212 ), carries out a judgment as to whether the personal information transmitted from an authenticated terminal  6  matches with the personal information stored in the directory of the data storage section  15  specified in the input parameter 2 (Step S 221 ).  
      S 233 : The security management section  32  prohibits output of data, if the result of judgment in Step S 221  indicates that there is no match of the personal information (No in Step S 221 ) (Step S 233 ).  
      The Step S 222  is for the case of personal data, and the security management section  32  prohibits the output of that data according to the security standard of “Data output is prohibited if the personal information of the user does not match with the personal information recorded in the data” given in Table 3, and returns to the original routine.  
      S 223 : The security management section  32 , if the result of judgment in Step S 221  indicates that there is a match of personal information (Yes in Step S 221 ), returns to the original routine without taking any security countermeasures (Step S 223 ).  
      S 230 : The security management section  32 , if the result of judgment in Step S 212  indicates that it is the case of a confidential document (Yes in Step S 212 ), refers to the personal information of the user, and checks whether or not the rank of the user is of a managerial level (Step S 230 ).  
      S 232 : If the result of judgment made by the security management section  32  in Step S 230  is that it is a case of a user with a rank other than a managerial level (No in Step S 230 ), the security management section  32  prohibits the output of that data according to the security standard “Data output is prohibited when the user is not of a managerial rank. In the case of users of a managerial rank, the information of conditional output permission is added to the data” given in Table 3, and returns to the original routine (Step S 232 ).  
      S 231 : If the result of judgment made by the security management section  32  in Step S 230  is that it is a case of a user with a rank of a managerial level (Yes in Step S 230 ), the security management section  32  attaches the information of conditional data output permission to the data, for example, in the header part of the data.  
      The explanation of the security countermeasures conditions judgment routine executed in the case of the application function 3 has been narrated above.  
      Thus, in the above, although explanations have been given of the security standards in the present preferred embodiment shown in Table 3, the preferred embodiment is not to be limited to this example, and it is possible to set in detail the security standards according to the workplace of the organization. For example, it is possible to realize easily that the user rank that unconditionally permits data output can be changed depending on the workplace, and changes can be done so that tint block of personal information is added to all the data outputs, by changing the security standards.  
      Next, the procedure for changing the security standards is explained below.  
       FIG. 7  is a flowchart explaining the procedure of changing the security standards in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Since the steps S 101  to S 105  have the same functions as those described in  FIG. 4 , the same numbers have been assigned, and a part of the explanations is omitted.  
      S 101 : This is the step in which the user inputs the personal information.  
      S 102 : This is the step in which the personal information input by the user is checked to see whether or not it matches with the personal information stored in the data storage section  15 .  
      S 103 : This is the step of obtaining the result of the check in Step S 102  and judging whether or not to authenticate.  
      When the personal information input by the user does not match with the personal information stored in the data storage section  15  (No in Step S 103 ), the denial of authentication is posted to the terminal  6 , and the operation is ended.  
      When the personal information input by the user matches with the personal information stored in the data storage section  15  (Yes in Step S 103 ), the personal information is stored in the storage section  13 , and the operation moves on to Step S 104 .  
      S 104 : This is the step in which the function definition information is transmitted to the terminal  6 .  
      When the user has the rights to change the security standards, the function control section  34  transmits the function definition information including the function of changing the security standards (Step S 104 ).  
      S 105 : This is the step of displaying the function selection menu.  
      The function of changing the security standards is displayed in the function selection menu (Step S 105 ).  
      S 506 : This is the step in which the user selects the function.  
      The user selects the function by operating the terminal  6 . The terminal  6  transmits the information of the selected function to the server  1 . Here, it is assumed that the function of changing the security standards has been selected (Step S 506 ).  
      S 507 : This is the step of displaying the security standards.  
      The security standards received from the security standard modification section  33  are displayed in the display of the terminal  6  (Step S 507 ).  
      S 508 : This is the step of inputting the changes in the security standards.  
      The user inputs the changes in the security standards from the terminal  6  (Step S 508 ).  
      S 509 : This is the step of changing the security standard and storing in the security information storage section.  
      The security standard modification section  33  changes the security standards stored in the security information storage section  27 , based on the information of changes in the security standards received from the terminal  6 , and stores them in the security information storage section  27 .  
      The procedure of changing the security standards is as above.  
      Next, in case of adding a function, the procedure of automatically selecting the security standards for the function to be added is explained below.  
      In the present preferred embodiment, an implementation example of adding the application function 5 to the four functions described in Table 2 is explained below.  
      Table 4 shows the function definition information including the application function 5.  
                                       TABLE 4                                   Application   Application   Application       Application           function 1   function 2   function 3   Application function 4   function 5           Document   Data   Data   Document   Document           copying   input   output   copying   copying                                                            Details of   The data read   The data input   The specified   The data input from   The data read in       function   in from the   from the   data is output   the specified device   from the MFP           MFP scanner   specified   to the   is output to the   scanner is           is output to   device is   specified   specified device   output to the           the MFP   stored in the   device       specified device           printer   directory       Parameter 1   None   Input device   Data path   Input device   Output device       Parameter 2   None   Directory of   Output device   Output device   None               the data               storage               section                  
 
      The application function 5 is explained using Table 4. However, since the application functions 1 to application function 4 are the same as in Table 2, their explanation will be omitted. The function name of the application function 5 is document copying which is the same as that of application function 1 and application function 4. The detail of the function is “The data read in from the MFP scanner is output to the specified device”, the input parameter 1 is “Output device”, and the input parameter 2 is “None”.  
      Next, the procedure of automatically selecting a function similar to the application function 5 to be added is explained below using  FIG. 8 .  
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart explaining the procedure of automatic selection of similar functions in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
      S 401 : Extract the application function having the same function name as the function name of the function to be added.  
      The function addition section  35  extracts from the function definition information the application function having the same function name as the function name of the function to be added (Step S 401 ).  
      In the example of Table 4, the application functions having the same function name of “Document copying” as the application function 5 are the application function 1 and the application function 4 .  
      S 402 : This is the step of judging whether the extracted application function is only one or more (Step S 402 ).  
      The function addition section  35  proceeds to Step S 403  if the result of extraction in Step S 402  indicates two or more application functions (No in Step S 402 ).  
      The authentication section  22 , when only one application function has been extracted (Yes in Step S 402 ), proceeds to Step S 408  because an application function has been selected. Further, since the function name of the application function to be added is selected from the function names that have been prepared earlier, always one function name will match.  
      S 403 : Application functions are extracted in the order of the larger number of matching input parameters (Step S 403 ).  
      In the example of Table 4, the input parameter of the application function 5 is “Output device”, one input parameter of application function 4 matches with this application function. Since no parameter matches with the application function 1, the order of the larger number of matching input parameters is—application function 4, application function 1.  
      S 404 : This is the step of judging whether the number of extracted application functions is only one (Step S 404 ).  
      The function addition section  35  proceeds to Step S 405  if two or more application functions have been extracted as a result of extraction in Step S 403  (No in Step  404 ).  
      The authentication section  22 , when only one application function has been extracted (Yes in Step S 404 ), proceeds to Step S 408  because an application function has been selected. In the example of Table 4, the application function with the larger number of matching input parameters is application function 4 which is selected in this step.  
      S 405 : Extracts the application function in the order of larger number of matching words.  
      The application function is extracted in the order of larger number of matching words in the entered details of function (Step S 405 ).  
      S 406 : This is the step of judging whether the number of extracted application functions is only one (Step S 406 ).  
      The function addition section  35  proceeds to Step S 407  if two or more application functions have been extracted as a result of extraction in Step S 405  (No in Step S 405 ).  
      The authentication section  22 , when only one application function has been extracted (Yes in Step S 406 ), proceeds to Step S 408  because an application function has been selected.  
      S 407 : The application function that has been registered latest is extracted.  
      The application function that has been registered latest is extracted from among those extracted in Step S 405 .  
      Using the steps up to this point, one application function has been extracted that is closest to the application function to be added.  
      S 408 : The security standards of the extracted application function are copied and set as the security standards of the function being added (Step S 408 ).  
      In the example of Table 4, the application function with the larger number of matching input parameters is application function 4, and the application function 4 has been extracted in Step S 404 . In Step S 408 , the function addition section  35  copies the security standards of the application function 4. and adds them as the security functions of the application function 5 which the additional function.  
      Table 5 is a table of security standards to which the security standards of the application function 5 have been added.  
                                       TABLE 5                                  Application   Application       Application   Application               function 1   function 2   Application function 3   function 4   function 5               Document   Data   Data   Document   Document               copying   input   output   copying   copying               Input   MFP   No security   No security   Not used   No security   No security       device   Scanner   counter-   counter-       counter-   counter-       control       measures   measures       measures are   measures are               are taken   are taken       taken   taken       Output   Printer   Not used   Not used   *1   No security   No security       device                   counter-   counter-       control                   measures are   measures are                           taken   taken           MFP   No security   Not used   *1   No security   No security           Printer   counter-           counter-   counter-               measures           measures are   measures are               are taken           taken   taken           FAX   Not used   Not used   Outputting the data to   Data output   Data output                       which the information of   is prohibited   is prohibited                       conditional output                       permission has been                       assigned is prohibited                 *1: The data to which the information of conditional output permission has been assigned is output after       adding to it the personal information of the user as a tint block                                         Data   Confidential   Not used   Data storage   Data output is   Not used   Not used       control   document       is   prohibited when                   prohibited   the user is not                   if the user   of a managerial                   is of a rank   rank.                   lower than   In the case of                   of equal to   users of a                   department   managerial rank,                   manager   the information                       of conditional                       output permission                       is added to the                       data.           Ordinary   Not used   No security   No security   Not used   Not used           data       counter-   countermeasures                   measures are   are taken                   taken           Personal   Not used   *1   *2   Not used   Not used           data                         *1: Data storage is prohibited if the personal information of the user does not       match with the personal information recorded in the data       *2: Data output is prohibited if the personal information of the user does not match       with the personal information recorded in the data          
 
      As is shown in Table 5, the security standards of the application function 4 have been copied and have become the security standards of the application function 5 which is the additional function.  
      In the above manner, according to the present preferred embodiment, it is possible to provide a data input/output system, a data input/output server, and a data input/output method in which it is possible to implement unitary security management in a simple manner using a security management section that can change the input and output control of data based on the security standards provided for each function.