JP2011192117A - Image forming system and user manager server device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To select automatically a language for an operation screen suitable for a log-in user, in an image forming device. <P>SOLUTION: A user manager server device 3 stores as user personal data 54 including an operation screen language of the optimum image forming device, relative to each user, and transmits the user personal data 54 relative to a log-in user to composite machines 1A, 1B. The composite machines 1A, 1B receive the user personal data 54 from the user manager server device 3, and display by a language designated by the user personal data 54, when displaying the operation screen. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system and a user manager server device.

  In recent years, directory services such as an active directory and an e directory have been introduced to manage users and devices in a network system. Some image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers, and multifunction machines have a network function, and currently users and groups (departments) can be managed using such a directory service. When performing user management with a directory service, user authentication of a user who has performed a login operation on an image forming apparatus is usually performed by a server apparatus of the directory service.

  On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus, an authorization process may be performed in which only a function permitted to the login user among various functions can be used. Normally, in the authorization process, for each user, authorization information that designates a function that is permitted to be used (or a function that is prohibited to be used) is preset in the image forming apparatus, and is used by the login user in accordance with the authorization information. Function to be limited. In addition, there is also a system that provides the login user authorization information to the image forming apparatus using an intermediate server device having authorization information for each user (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  There is also an image forming apparatus that reads a user setting file via a network and sets the size of buttons and characters in an operation screen based on the user setting file (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2008-140067 A JP 2001-306204 A

  In some image forming devices, the language of the text displayed on the operation screen can be selected from multiple languages such as English and Japanese, and the setting values for that language are stored in the image forming device and are set at startup. Refers to the value and displays the operation screen in the language specified by the set value. Thus, the language of the operation screen is set for each image forming apparatus.

  Usually, the language of the operation screen is set to the language of the country to which the image forming apparatus is shipped. Therefore, for most users, this setting causes no problem. However, when users from various countries such as international companies are active at the same base, it may be difficult for a user who is not fluent in the language of the installation location of the image forming apparatus. With the above-described technique, the layout of the operation screen can be set for each user, but it is difficult to set the display content such as the language for each user. In addition, it is conceivable to let the user select a language at the time of user login, but doing so makes such an operation indispensable every time the apparatus is used, which is inconvenient.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an image forming system that automatically selects a language of an operation screen suitable for a logged-in user, and a user manager server device that can be used in the image forming system. For the purpose.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows.

  An image forming system according to the present invention provides an image forming apparatus connected to a network and authorization information for specifying the function that is connected to the network and is permitted to be used by a login user of the image forming apparatus. A user manager server device. The user manager server device stores, for each user, the language setting value of the operation screen of the image forming device as user personal data, transmits user personal data regarding the logged-in user to the image forming device, and the image forming device The personal data is received from the user manager server device, and the operation screen in the language specified by the user personal data is displayed.

  Thereby, the language of the operation screen suitable for the login user is automatically selected.

  A user manager server apparatus according to the present invention includes a network interface connected to a network, a user authentication processing unit that authenticates a login user of an image forming apparatus connected to the network using the network interface, and user authentication. An authorization processing unit that transmits authorization information about a successful login user to the image forming apparatus using a network interface, and a setting value of a language of an operation screen of the image forming apparatus for the login user who has succeeded in user authentication A personal data transmission unit that transmits user personal data to the image forming apparatus using a network interface.

  Thereby, the language of the operation screen suitable for the login user is automatically selected.

  In addition to the above user manager server device, the user manager server device according to the present invention may be as follows. In this case, the user manager server device acquires the login user attribute information from the directory server device, specifies a language suitable for the login user from the attribute information, and sets the language screen setting value of the operation screen Is provided. The user authentication processing unit authenticates the login user with the directory server device.

  Accordingly, the language of the operation screen can be automatically specified from the attribute information registered in the directory server device without inputting the language setting.

  The user manager server device according to the present invention may be configured as follows in addition to any of the user manager server devices described above. In this case, the language setting unit specifies a language suitable for the login user from the country of the login user among the attribute information of the login user.

  The user manager server device according to the present invention may be configured as follows in addition to any of the user manager server devices described above. In this case, the language setting unit specifies a language suitable for the login user from the name of the login user among the attribute information of the login user.

  The user manager server device according to the present invention may be configured as follows in addition to any of the user manager server devices described above. In this case, the user manager server device includes a language designation table indicating the correspondence between the value of the attribute information of the login user and the language. The language setting unit identifies a language suitable for the login user from the attribute information of the login user with reference to the language designation table.

  The user manager server device according to the present invention may be configured as follows in addition to any of the user manager server devices described above. In this case, the language setting unit receives the setting value of the language specified by the login user from the image forming apparatus, sets the received setting value in the user personal data, and the setting value of the language specified by the login user is When the user personal data is not set, the attribute information of the login user is acquired from the directory server device, the language suitable for the login user is specified from the attribute information, and the setting value of the language of the operation screen is set.

  Thereby, even before a user sets a language, the language suitable for the user is selected.

  According to the present invention, the language of the operation screen suitable for the login user is automatically selected in the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the multifunction machine in FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the user manager server apparatus in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the authorization policy data in FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the directory server device in FIG. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of each device when a user logs in to the multifunction machine in the system shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the system shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of multifunction peripherals 1 </ b> A and 1 </ b> B and a printer 1 </ b> C are connected to a network 2, and a user manager server device 3 and a directory server device 4 are connected to the network 2.

  The multifunction device 1A has a printer function, a scanner function, a copy function, a facsimile function, and the like, and executes various jobs with the above-described functions in accordance with commands from the operation panel on the multifunction device 1A, a host device connected to the network 2, and the like. An image forming apparatus. On the operation panel, an operation screen such as a setting screen for each function is displayed. The multifunction machine 1B is a similar device. The printer 1C is also an image forming apparatus like the multifunction machines 1A and 1B, but does not have a scanner function, a copy function, and a facsimile function. In the following, the case where the multifunction peripherals 1A and 1B function as image forming apparatuses will be mainly described. However, the printer 1C can also function as an image forming apparatus.

  The user manager server device 3 is a server device that accepts user authentication requests from the multifunction peripherals 1A and 1B and provides authorization information for users logged in to the multifunction peripherals 1A and 1B. The directory server device 4 is a server device that provides directory services such as an active directory and an e directory.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the multifunction machine 1A in FIG. The multifunction machine 1B has a similar configuration. The multi-function device 1A includes an operation panel 21, a modem 22, a network interface 23, a printer 24, a scanner 25, and a control device 26.

  The operation panel 21 is installed in the housing of the multifunction machine 1A, and includes a display device 21a that displays various types of information to the user and an input device 21b that receives user operations. The display device 21a is, for example, a liquid crystal display or various indicators. The input device 21b is, for example, a touch panel or a key switch.

  The modem 22 can be connected to a subscriber telephone network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and is a communication device that transmits and receives facsimile data.

  The network interface 23 can be connected to a wired or wireless computer network 2 and performs data communication with other devices (server device 3, host device not shown) connected to the network 2. Device.

  The printer 24 is an internal device that prints on a sheet according to a print request and discharges the printed matter. In the case of the electrophotographic method, after charging the photosensitive drum, the printer 24 emits a light source based on the print data to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum, and this electrostatic latent image is Development is performed with toner, the toner image is transferred and fixed on a sheet, and the sheet is discharged as a printed matter.

  The scanner 25 irradiates light on one or both sides of a document fed by an automatic document feeder or a document placed by a user and receives reflected light or the like to read an image of the document. It is an internal device that outputs as image data.

  The control device 26 is a device that controls each unit in the multifunction peripheral 1A and performs data processing. The control device 26 is configured as a computer having, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. In the control device 26, the CPU implements various processing units by loading a program stored in the ROM or other storage device (flash memory or the like) into the RAM and executing it. In the control device 26, a FAX communication unit 31, a network communication unit 32, a control unit 33, and a determination unit 34 are realized.

  The FAX communication unit 31 is a processing unit that controls the modem 22 and receives facsimile data. When receiving the facsimile data, the FAX communication unit 31 supplies a print request to the determination unit 34.

  The network communication unit 32 is a processing unit that controls the network interface 23 and performs data communication with devices on the network 2 using various communication protocols. For example, the network communication unit 32 transmits the user name (user ID) and password input to the operation panel 21 at the time of user login to the user manager server device 3 and receives the login user authorization information from the user manager server device 3. . For example, the network communication unit 32 receives a print request (such as PDL (Page Description Language) data) from the host computer, and supplies the print request to the control unit 33.

  The control unit 33 reads the operation screen data in the language specified by the language setting from a storage device (not shown), displays the operation screen on the operation panel 21 based on the data, and requests a job request by the user operation on the operation panel 21. Is a processing unit that receives a job request received from the host device by the network interface 23 and the network communication unit 32, controls each unit in the multifunction peripheral 1A, and executes a job corresponding to the job request. The job request includes a print request, a scan request, a facsimile transmission request, and the like. In addition, when there is a login operation, the control unit 33 uses the network communication unit 32 to request user authentication, authorization information, and the like from the user manager server device 3. In addition, the control unit 33 uses the network communication unit 32 to receive user personal data of the logged-in user, and displays an operation screen in a language specified by the user personal data.

  Based on the authorization information about the login user received from the user manager server device 3 by the network interface 23 and the network communication unit 32, the determination unit 34 uses the login user among the functions of the MFP 1A. It is a processing unit that specifies a function to be prohibited (or a function to be permitted) and stores data indicating whether or not to permit use of each function on, for example, a RAM. The control unit 33 refers to the data and restricts the use of the MFP 1A by the login user. For example, when the use of the color copy function is restricted for the logged-in user, a copy function menu is displayed on the operation panel 21 so that the color copy cannot be selected (for example, selecting a color from monochrome / color). Button is grayed out).

  In this way, the multifunction peripherals 1A and 1B are configured.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the user manager server device 3 in FIG. The user manager server device 3 includes a storage device 41, a network interface 42, and an arithmetic processing device 43.

  The storage device 41 is a device that stores programs and data. As the storage device 41, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, a hard disk drive, or the like is used. The storage device 41 stores authorization policy data 51, local user data 52, local group data 53, and user personal data 54.

  The authorization policy data 51 is data including authorization information used for specifying a function that is permitted to be used by the login user of the multifunction peripheral 1A, 1B. The authorization policy data 51 can include authorization information for users and authorization information for groups. Authorization information for a user is authorization information applied to the user, and authorization information for a group is authorization information applied to users belonging to the group. The authorization policy data 51 includes authorization information for a domain user registered in the directory server device 4 and authorization information for a local user registered in the user manager server device 3 as authorization information for the user. And can be included. The authorization policy data 51 includes authorization information for a domain group registered in the directory server device 4 and authorization information for a local group registered in the user manager server device 3 as authorization information for the group. And can be included. The authorization information for a user includes a user ID and information on a function that is permitted (or prohibited) for the user (for example, a function ID). The authorization information for a group includes a group ID and information on a function that is permitted (or prohibited) for a user belonging to the group (for example, a function ID). For example, functions permitted (or prohibited) to be used include large items such as printing, scanning, copying, and facsimile transmission, and small items (for example, a color / monochrome selection function) associated with each large item.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the authorization policy data 51 in FIG.

  In the authorization policy data 51 shown in FIG. 4, the domain group A includes domain users A, B, C, and D, and the local group A includes local users A and B and domain users B and D. An authorization policy # 1 (policy data including authorization information) is set for the domain group A, an authorization policy # 2 is set for the domain user A belonging to the domain group A, and an authorization policy # for the local group A 3 is set, the authorization policy # 4 is set for the local user A belonging to the local group A, the authorization policy # 5 is set for the domain user B belonging to the domain group A, and the authorization for the domain user E is set. Policy # 6 is set, and authorization policy # 7 is set for local user C.

  The local user data 52 is data including registration information (user ID and password) of the local user. The local user is a user registered in the user manager device 3 separately from the domain user registered in the directory server device 4.

  The local group data 53 is data including registration information (group ID and user ID of a user belonging to the group) of the local group. The local group is a group registered in the user manager device 3 separately from the domain user registered in the directory server device 4. Local groups can include local users and domain users. That is, a local group consisting only of local users, a local group consisting only of domain users, and a local group consisting of local users and domain users can be set.

  The user personal data 54 is data that is applied when each of the domain user and the local user logs in to one of the image forming apparatuses (here, the multifunction machine 1A or the multifunction machine 1B). The setting value of the language of the operation screen of the image forming apparatus is included. User personal data 54 of each user is registered in the user manager server device 3 by an administrator user or the like. The language setting value may be set by an administrator user at the time of registration, or may be automatically set by the language setting unit 65 without being set by the administrator user.

  The network interface 42 can be connected to a wired or wireless computer network 2 and performs data communication with other devices (such as the multifunction devices 1A and 1B and the server device 4) connected to the network 2. Device.

  The arithmetic processing unit 43 is configured as a computer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and loads various programs stored in the ROM or the storage device 41 into the RAM and executes them by the CPU, thereby realizing various processing units. . In the arithmetic processing device 43, a network communication unit 61, a user authentication processing unit 62, an authorization processing unit 63, a user personal data transmission unit 64, and a language setting unit 65 are realized.

  The network communication unit 61 is a processing unit that controls the network interface 42 and performs data communication with devices on the network 2 using various communication protocols. For example, the network communication unit 61 receives a user name (user ID) and a password from the multifunction device 1A, and transmits authorization information and user personal data about the user to the multifunction device 1A. For example, the network communication unit 61 transmits a user authentication request to the directory server device 4 and receives the authentication result from the directory server device 4.

  The user authentication processing unit 62 is a processing unit that performs authentication of the login user of the multifunction peripheral 1 </ b> A or 1 </ b> B with the directory server device 4 using the local user data 52 or the network interface 42.

  The authorization processing unit 63 is a processing unit that transmits authorization information about the login user of the multifunction device 1A (or multifunction device 1B) that has been successfully authenticated to the multifunction device 1A (or multifunction device 1B). In this embodiment, when the login user of the multifunction device 1A (or multifunction device 1B) who has succeeded in user authentication belongs to the local group, the authorization processing unit 63 obtains authorization information for the local group from the authorization policy data 51. If the logged-in user that has been extracted and transmitted to the MFP 1A (or MFP 1B) using the network interface 42 as authorization information for the logged-in user and succeeded in user authentication does not belong to the local group, the logged-in user The authorization information for the domain group to which the user belongs or the user (domain user or local user) is extracted from the authorization policy data 51, and the network interface 42 is used as the authorization information for the login user. 1B To send to.

  For example, in the case of the authorization policy data 51 shown in FIG. 4, when the domain user A logs in to the multifunction device 1A, the authorization policy # 2 and the authorization policy # 1 are transmitted to the multifunction device 1A. When there are conflicting authorization settings in the user and group authorization policies (here, authorization policy # 2 and authorization policy # 1), the setting of a predetermined authorization policy of the group or user is applied. In this case, when the domain user B logs in to the multifunction device 1A, the authorization policy # 5, the authorization policy # 3, and the authorization policy # 1 are transmitted to the multifunction device 1A. If there are conflicting authorization settings in the domain group and local group authorization policies (here, authorization policy # 1 and authorization policy # 3), the setting of the predetermined authorization policy of the domain group or local user is applied. Is done. In this case, when the domain user C logs in to the multifunction device 1A, the authorization policy # 1 is transmitted to the multifunction device 1A. In this case, when the domain user D logs in to the multifunction device 1A, the authorization policy # 1 and the authorization policy # 3 are transmitted to the multifunction device 1A. In this case, when the domain user E logs in to the multifunction device 1A, the authorization policy # 6 is transmitted to the multifunction device 1A. In this case, when the local user A logs in to the multifunction device 1A, the authorization policy # 4 and the authorization policy # 3 are transmitted to the multifunction device 1A. In this case, when the local user B logs in to the multifunction device 1A, the authorization policy # 3 is transmitted to the multifunction device 1A. In this case, when the local user C logs in to the multifunction device 1A, the authorization policy # 7 is transmitted to the multifunction device 1A.

  When there are a plurality of authorization policies to be applied to a certain login user, the authorization processing unit 63 generates a single authorization policy by combining the authorization policies in the server device 3 and transmits the generated authorization policy. You may make it do. In that case, any setting policy selected according to a predetermined rule is applied to setting items that compete with each other in a plurality of approval policies.

  The user personal data transmission unit 64 uses the network communication unit 61 and the network interface 42 to transmit user personal data 54 including the setting value of the operation screen language for the logged-in user who has successfully authenticated the user, using the network interface. It is a processing unit that transmits to the multifunction device 1A (or the multifunction device 1B).

  The language setting unit 65 is a processing unit that acquires the login user attribute information from the directory server device 4, identifies a language suitable for the login user from the attribute information, and sets the language screen setting value. The attribute information used for specifying the language includes the country and name of the login user. For example, a language designation table indicating the correspondence between attribute information values and languages is stored in advance in the storage device 41, and the language setting unit 65 refers to the language designation table to log in from the login user attribute information. Identify a language that is appropriate for the user. For example, for the country, the language corresponding to Japan is Japanese, the language corresponding to the United States and the United Kingdom is English, and the other countries are the default languages set in the image forming apparatus. As for the name, for example, the language or word range is specified from the character code (ASCII code, 2-byte code, etc.) used for the name as attribute information.

  Further, the language setting unit 65 receives the setting value of the language specified by the login user from the image forming apparatus (multifunction peripheral 1A, 1B), and sets the received setting value in the user personal data 54. However, when the setting value of the language designated by the login user is not set in the user personal data 54, the language setting unit 65 sets the default value of the language for the user in the user personal data 54 as described above. Set.

  Thus, the user manager server device 3 is configured.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the directory server device 4 in FIG. The directory server device 4 includes a storage device 71, a network interface 72, and an arithmetic processing device 73.

  The storage device 71 is a device that stores programs and data. As the storage device 71, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, a hard disk drive, or the like is used. A directory service database 91 is constructed in the storage device 71, and the database 91 includes user data 91a and group data 91b. The user data 91a includes a user ID, a password, and user information (a telephone number, a facsimile number, an e-mail address, and other attribute information to be contacted). The group data 91b includes a group ID, a user ID list of users belonging to the group, and group information (contact information, responsible person, and other attribute information).

  The network interface 72 is a device that can be connected to a wired or wireless computer network 2 and performs data communication with other devices (such as the server device 3) connected to the network 2.

  The arithmetic processing unit 73 is configured as a computer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and implements various processing units by loading a program stored in the ROM or the storage device 71 into the RAM and executing the program by the CPU. In this arithmetic processing unit 73, a network communication unit 81 and a directory service processing unit 82 are realized.

  The network communication unit 81 is a processing unit that controls the network interface 72 and performs data communication with devices on the network 2 using various communication protocols. For example, the network communication unit 81 receives a user authentication request and transmits the authentication result and user information.

  The directory service processing unit 82 is a processing unit that manages domain users and domain groups. The directory service processing unit 82 performs registration and deletion of domain users and domain groups, user authentication, provision of user information of domain users and group information of domain groups, and the like. For user authentication, LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) authentication, Kerberos authentication, or the like is used. When the directory service is an active directory, the directory service processing unit 82 operates as a domain controller.

  Thus, the directory server device 4 is configured.

  Next, the operation of each device when the user logs in to the multifunction device 1A in the above system will be described. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of each device when a user logs in to the multifunction peripheral 1A in the system shown in FIG. Each device operates in the same manner when a user logs in to the multifunction machine 1B.

  When the MFP 1A is activated, the control unit 33 causes the operation panel 21 to display a login screen that prompts the user to perform a login operation (input of a user ID and a password). The setting value of the default language of the operation screen is stored in advance in the multifunction device 1A, and the control unit 33 refers to the setting value and displays the login screen in the default language specified by the setting value. . When the operation panel 21 of the multifunction peripheral 1A detects a user name (user ID) and password input operation by the user (step S1), the control unit 33 uses the network communication unit 32 and the network interface for the user name and password. 23 is transmitted to the user manager server device 3 (step S2).

  In the user manager server device 3, the user authentication processing unit 62 receives the user name and password using the network communication unit 61 and the network interface 42, and sends the user name, password, and authentication request to a predetermined protocol (LDAP LDAP). Etc.) to the directory server device 4 (step S3).

  In the directory server device 4, the directory service processing unit 82 uses the network communication unit 81 and the network interface 72 to receive the user name, password, and authentication request using a predetermined protocol, and refers to the directory database 91. It is determined whether or not the user name and password are those of a valid user (step S4).

  Then, using the network communication unit 81 and the network interface 72, the directory service processing unit 82 transmits the determination result (that is, the authentication result) to the user manager server device 3 as a response to the authentication request (step S5). ).

  In the user manager server device 3, the user authentication processing unit 62 receives the authentication result as a response to the authentication request using the network communication unit 61 and the network interface 42. If the user authentication is successful, the authorization processing unit 63 refers to the authorization policy data 51, identifies the authorization information of the user (that is, the authorization policy applied to the user) (step S6), Using the network communication unit 61 and the network interface 42, a response indicating successful authentication is transmitted to the multi function device 1A together with the authorization information (step S7). If the user authentication is successful, the user personal data transmission unit 64 specifies the user personal data 54 (including the setting value of the operation screen language) of the user, and uses the network communication unit 61 and the network interface 42. Then, it is transmitted to the multi function device 1A (step S7). For example, the user personal data 54 of a certain user is associated with the user ID of the user, and the user personal data 54 associated with the user ID of the login user is specified as the user personal data 54 of the login user. Instead of providing the user personal data transmission unit 64 separately, the authorization processing unit 63 may have the function of the user personal data transmission unit 64 and transmit the user personal data 54 together with the authorization information.

  In the MFP 1A, the control unit 33 uses the network communication unit 32 and the network interface 23 to receive the authorization information and user personal data 54 (including the setting value of the operation screen language), and determines the authorization information. The user personal data 54 is stored on the RAM, and the language of the operation screen is set based on the user personal data 54 (step S9). At this time, the language of the operation screen is switched from the default language, and the control unit 33 causes the operation panel 21 to display the operation screen in the set language. Based on the authorization information, the determination unit 34 sets data indicating whether or not the use of the user is permitted for each of the predetermined functions of the multifunction peripheral 1A on the RAM.

  Thereafter, the user is permitted to use the multifunction device 1A in a state where the function is restricted according to the authorization information (step S10). In the MFP 1A, the control unit 33 refers to the above-described data set by the determination unit 34 and accepts and executes only jobs that use functions permitted for the user.

  When user authentication fails, only a response indicating authentication failure is transmitted from the user manager server apparatus 3 to the multifunction device 1A. When the multifunction device 1A receives a response indicating authentication failure, the message indicating authentication failure is transmitted. Is displayed on the operation panel 21 and the use of the multifunction device 1A by the user is prohibited.

  Here, the setting of the operation screen language to the user personal data 54 by the language setting unit 65 will be described.

  The language setting unit 65 refers to the attribute information of the user in the directory server device 4 via the network 2 at the time of registration of the user personal data 54 of a user or at the first provision of the user personal data 54 of a user, and automatically Specifically, the operation screen language is specified as described above and set in the user personal data 54. This operation screen language is used until the operation screen language is set by the user.

  The setting of the operation screen language by the user is performed as follows.

  In the multifunction device 1 </ b> A, when a predetermined operation by the login user is detected on the operation panel 21, the control unit 33 displays a language setting screen on the operation panel 21. On the language setting screen, a language menu is displayed. When an operation for selecting one of the language menus is detected by the operation panel 21, the control unit 33 identifies the selected language, The language setting value is notified to the language setting unit 65 of the user manager server device 3.

  In the user manager server device 3, the language setting unit 65 uses the network communication unit 61 to receive the setting value of the language specified by the login user from the multi-function peripheral 1 </ b> A, and uses the received setting value as the user personal data 54. Set to.

  Therefore, the language automatically set by the language setting unit 65 as described above is used until the language designated by the user is set in this way.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the user manager server device 3 stores the user personal data 54 including the optimal operation screen language of the image forming apparatus for each user, and the user personal data regarding the logged-in user. 54 is transmitted to the multifunction peripherals 1A and 1B, and the multifunction peripherals 1A and 1B receive the user personal data 54 from the user manager server device 3 and display the operation screen in the language specified by the user personal data 54. indicate.

  Thereby, the language of the operation screen suitable for the login user is automatically selected.

Embodiment 2. FIG.

  In the image forming system according to the second embodiment, an ID card (in this case, an IC card) assigned to the user is used instead of the user inputting the user name into the multifunction peripheral 1A at the time of login.

  In the second embodiment, an IC card reader is connected to the multifunction device 1A, and when an ID card is brought close to the IC card reader, the control unit 33 uses the IC card reader to change the ID card from the ID card to the ID card. The ID is read and transmitted to the user manager server apparatus 3 together with the password entered in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

  In Embodiment 2, the storage device 41 of the user manager server device 3 stores in advance conversion data for associating the card ID of the ID card with the user ID of the user assigned the ID card, and the user authentication processing unit 62 receives the card ID and password, refers to the conversion data, identifies the user ID corresponding to the card ID, and performs user authentication in the directory server device 4 based on the identified user ID and the received password. .

  Note that the other configurations and operations of the devices in the system according to the second embodiment are the same as those in the second embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  Here, an IC card is used as the ID card, but a card (magnetic card or the like) having a recording medium of another method may be used. In that case, a reader capable of reading the card ID from the card of the system is used instead of the IC card reader. Furthermore, instead of the ID card, biometric information such as a fingerprint may be used. In that case, a reader capable of acquiring the biological information from the user is used instead of the IC card reader, and a feature amount obtained from the biological information is used as the ID.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, the storage device 41 of the user manager server device 3 includes the conversion data including the correspondence between the card ID of the ID card and the user ID of the user to whom the ID card is assigned. The user authentication processing unit 62 receives the card ID and password of the ID card from the multifunction peripherals 1A and 1B, specifies the user ID of the login user from the received card ID according to the conversion data, and User authentication is performed using the user ID.

  Thereby, since the card ID of the ID card is managed in the user manager server device 3, it is not necessary to manage the card ID in the directory service, and the login system using the ID card in the system where the directory service is already operating. Can be easily added.

  Each embodiment described above is a preferred example of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to these, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is.

  For example, in each of the above embodiments, local users and domain users are mixed and included in the local group, but there may be a local group including only local users or a local group including only domain users.

  In each of the above embodiments, the user manager server device 3 is connected to another network different from the network 2 without being connected to the network 2, and is connected to the directory server device 4 in the other network and the network 2. The user manager server device 3 and the directory server device 4 may perform data communication via another network.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the multifunction peripherals 1A and 1B are used as the image forming apparatus, but a printer, a copier, or the like may be used instead. Further, in each of the above embodiments, the system has three image forming apparatuses, but it is also possible to use one, two, or four or more image forming apparatuses.

  In each of the above embodiments, the authorization information may include an access authority level to the multifunction device. For example, either an administrator or a general user is set as the access authority level. In the case of an administrator, functions that cannot be used by general users, such as maintenance, can be used.

  In each of the above embodiments, a model-specific language table having a language that can be selected for each model of the image forming apparatus is stored in the user manager server apparatus 3, and the image forming apparatus receives model information when an authentication request is made. To the user manager server device 3, the user manager server device 3 refers to the model-specific language table, identifies a selectable language from the model information, and uses the attribute information of the user from the directory server device 4. The language may be set in the user personal data 54 only when the language based is a selectable language. If the language is not selectable, for example, any of the selectable languages may be set in the user personal data 54.

  In the above embodiments, user personal data may be stored in the directory server device 4, and the user manager server device 3 may acquire user personal data from the directory server device 4.

  The present invention can be applied to, for example, a network system having a plurality of image forming apparatuses.

1A, 1B MFP (an example of an image forming apparatus)
1C printer (an example of an image forming apparatus)
2 network 3 user manager server device 4 directory server device 41 storage device 42 network interface 54 user personal data 62 user authentication processing unit 63 authorization processing unit 64 user personal data transmission unit (an example of a personal data transmission unit)
65 Language setting section

Claims (7)

An image forming apparatus connected to the network;
A user manager server device that is connected to the network and provides authorization information for identifying the functions permitted to be used by a login user of the image forming device to the image forming device;
The user manager server device stores, for each user, a language setting value of an operation screen of the image forming device as user personal data, and transmits the user personal data about the login user to the image forming device,
The image forming apparatus receives the user personal data from the user manager server device and displays an operation screen in a language specified by the user personal data;
An image forming system. In the user manager server device that provides the image forming apparatus with authorization information that identifies the functions permitted to be used by the login user,
A network interface connected to the network;
A user authentication processing unit for authenticating a login user of an image forming apparatus connected to the network using the network interface;
An authorization processing unit that sends authorization information about the logged-in user that has succeeded in user authentication to the image forming apparatus using the network interface;
A personal data transmission unit that transmits user personal data including the language setting value of the operation screen of the image forming apparatus for the login user who has succeeded in user authentication to the image forming apparatus using the network interface;
A user manager server device comprising: From the directory server device, obtain the attribute information of the login user, specify a language suitable for the login user from the attribute information, comprising a language setting unit for setting the language setting value of the operation screen,
The user authentication processing unit authenticates the login user in the directory server device;
The user manager server device according to claim 2.   4. The user manager server device according to claim 3, wherein the language setting unit specifies a language suitable for the login user from the country of the login user among the attribute information of the login user.   4. The user manager server device according to claim 3, wherein the language setting unit specifies a language suitable for the login user from the name of the login user in the attribute information of the login user. A language designation table indicating a correspondence relationship between the value of the attribute information of the login user and the language;
The language setting unit specifies a language suitable for the login user from the attribute information of the login user with reference to the language designation table;
The user manager server device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein   The language setting unit receives a setting value of the language specified by the login user from the image forming apparatus, sets the received setting value in the user personal data, and sets the language specified by the login user. When the value is not set in the user personal data, the attribute information of the login user is acquired from the directory server device, the language suitable for the login user is identified from the attribute information, and the language of the operation screen is determined. The user manager server device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein a setting value is set.

Images