JP2008162171A - Image forming apparatus, image forming method, image forming program, authenticating server and printing server - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus which minimizes information read out from a recording medium for authenticating processing, and keeps a high security level, an image forming method, an image forming program, an authenticating server and a printing server. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus 200 has an IC card reader 220 reading out user discriminating information from an IC card. The image forming apparatus 200 acquires instrument information of the image forming apparatus 200 by an instrument information acquiring part 240, and forms authenticating data based on the user discriminating information read out by the IC card reader 220 and the instrument information acquired. Then, the image forming apparatus 200 transmits the formed authenticating data to the authenticating server 300. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, an image forming program, an authentication server, and a print server having a reading unit that reads a recording medium on which user identification information is recorded.

  In recent years, there is an image forming apparatus that reads user information from a recording medium on which user information is recorded, such as a non-contact type IC card. Such an image forming apparatus constitutes an authentication system connected to an authentication server or the like via a network, and transmits the read user identification information to the authentication server. The authentication server receives the user identification information, performs an authentication process, and returns an authentication result to the image forming apparatus. In the image forming apparatus, when user authentication is performed by this authentication processing, the operation as the image forming apparatus is started.

  In such an authentication system, information read from the IC card by the image forming apparatus includes a serial number unique to the IC card and authentication information such as biometric information such as a fingerprint. In an image forming apparatus, in order to reduce the amount of information read from an IC card as much as possible and to shorten the time to read information and shorten the time until the operation of the image forming apparatus starts, usually only the serial number is obtained from the IC card. Yes.

  As for the technology for performing authentication using the image forming apparatus as described above, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an authentication that can improve the reliability of user management and can efficiently manage authentication information and usage status. An operation system, an authentication printing system, a network printer, a printer program and a terminal program, and an authentication printing method are described.

Patent Document 2 describes an image forming apparatus that can set a password when digitizing confidential documents and confidential information and converting data, thereby improving security.
JP 2005-14591 A JP 2005-157578 A

  However, when user authentication is performed using only the serial number of the IC card as in the conventional technique described above, the security level is lowered because the serial number can be easily obtained. Further, when obtaining authentication information other than the serial number from the IC card, the information read from the IC card becomes large, and it takes time to read the information.

  In addition, the IC card has a specification that defines an information writing method, and an IC card having a different specification has a different information writing method. For this reason, when an IC card having a plurality of specifications is used in one image forming apparatus, it is necessary to develop software for reading information according to the specifications of each IC card in the image forming apparatus. In particular, when reading authentication information other than a serial number from an IC card, it takes time to develop software for handling this.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention has been made to solve this problem, an image forming apparatus that minimizes information acquired from a recording medium for use in authentication processing and maintains a high security level, An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming method, an image forming program, an authentication server, and a print server.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention can be configured as follows.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention is connected to an authentication server that performs user authentication processing, and in an image forming apparatus having a reading unit that reads user identification information recorded on a recording medium, device information of the image forming apparatus is stored. Device information acquisition means for acquiring, authentication information generation means for generating authentication information based on user identification information read from the recording medium by the reading means, and device information acquired by the device information acquisition means, The authentication information generated by the authentication information generating means includes a transmitting means for transmitting to the authentication server.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to minimize the information acquired from the recording medium for use in the authentication process and maintain a high security level.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention further includes an operation unit that operates the image forming apparatus, and the authentication information generation unit is acquired by the user identification information read by the reading unit and the device information acquisition unit. The authentication information may be generated based on the device information and the password input by the operation means.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to maintain a higher security level while minimizing information acquired from the recording medium for use in authentication processing.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a time information acquiring unit that acquires time information from the clock function of the image forming apparatus, and a device information item table in which items of device information acquired corresponding to the time information are recorded. The device information acquisition unit may acquire the device information of the item corresponding to the time information acquired by the time information acquisition unit in the device information item table.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to maintain a higher security level while minimizing information acquired from the recording medium for use in authentication processing.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention is connected to an authentication server that performs user authentication processing and a print server that performs user authentication processing and print job management, and reads the user identification information recorded on a recording medium. In the image forming apparatus having the means, device information acquisition means for acquiring device information of the image forming apparatus, user identification information read from the recording medium by the reading means, and equipment acquired by the device information acquisition means Authentication information generating means for generating authentication information based on the information, first transmission means for transmitting the authentication information generated by the authentication information generating means to the authentication server, and generated by the authentication information generating means And a second transmission unit configured to transmit authentication information or a part of the authentication information to the print server.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to minimize the information acquired from the recording medium for use in the authentication process and maintain a high security level.

  The authentication server of the present invention is connected to an image forming apparatus having a reading unit for reading user identification information recorded on a recording medium, and stores user identification information and device information of the image forming apparatus as authentication information. An authentication server having an authentication information storage device, receiving means for receiving authentication information generated based on the user identification information read from the recording medium in the image forming apparatus and device information of the image forming apparatus And authentication means for authenticating the authentication information received by the receiving means based on the authentication information stored in the authentication information storage means.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to minimize the information acquired from the recording medium for use in the authentication process and maintain a high security level.

  The authentication server of the present invention includes a device information item table in which items of device information acquired corresponding to time information are recorded, and the receiving unit includes the image forming apparatus in the image forming apparatus. The authentication information generated using the device information item table is received, and the authentication unit is configured to receive the authentication information received by the receiving unit based on the authentication information stored in the authentication information storage device and the device information item table. It is good also as a structure which authenticates.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to maintain a higher security level while minimizing information acquired from the recording medium for use in authentication processing.

  The print server of the present invention is connected to an image forming apparatus having a reading unit that reads user identification information recorded on a recording medium, and manages a print job to be sent to the image forming apparatus. A print server having an authentication information storage device in which device information of an image forming apparatus is stored as authentication information, the user identification information read from the recording medium in the image forming device, and the device of the image forming device Receiving means for receiving authentication information generated based on the information, authentication means for authenticating the authentication information received by the receiving means based on the authentication information stored in the authentication information storage device, and the authentication means Transmitting means for transmitting a list of print jobs to the image forming apparatus when authentication information received by the receiving means is authenticated. It is possible to adopt a configuration that.

  According to such a configuration, since the authentication process is also performed in the print server, it is possible to maintain a higher security level while minimizing information acquired from the recording medium for use in the authentication process.

  The image forming method of the present invention is connected to an authentication server that performs user authentication processing, and the image forming apparatus includes an image forming apparatus having a reading device that reads user identification information recorded on a recording medium. Device information acquisition procedure for acquiring device information, authentication information generation procedure for generating authentication information based on user identification information read from the recording medium by the reading device, and the acquired device information, and the generation And a transmission procedure for transmitting the authentication information to the authentication server.

  According to this method, it is possible to maintain a high security level while minimizing information acquired from the recording medium for use in the authentication process.

  Further, the image forming apparatus has a device information item table in which items of device information acquired corresponding to time information are recorded, and the image forming method of the present invention performs time information from a clock function of the image forming device. It is good also as a method which has the time information acquisition procedure which acquires ID, and the procedure which acquires the device information of the item corresponding to the acquired time information in the device information item table.

  According to such a method, it is possible to maintain a higher security level while minimizing information acquired from the recording medium for use in the authentication process.

  The image forming method of the present invention is connected to an authentication server that performs user authentication processing and a print server that manages user authentication processing and print jobs, and reads user identification information recorded on a recording medium. In an image forming method by an image forming apparatus having an apparatus, a device information acquisition procedure for acquiring device information of the image forming apparatus, user identification information read from the recording medium by the reading device, and the acquired device information Authentication information generation procedure for generating authentication information based on the above, a first transmission procedure for transmitting the generated authentication information to the authentication server, and the generated authentication information or a part of the authentication information And a second transmission procedure for transmitting to the print server.

  According to such a method, it is possible to maintain a higher security level while minimizing information acquired from the recording medium for use in the authentication process.

  An image forming program of the present invention is connected to an authentication server that performs user authentication processing, and the image forming program in an image forming apparatus having a reading device that reads user identification information recorded on a recording medium. A device information acquisition step of acquiring device information of the image forming apparatus; an authentication information generation step of generating authentication information based on the user identification information read from the recording medium by the reading device; and the acquired device information; And a transmission step of transmitting the generated authentication information to the authentication server.

  According to such a program, it is possible to maintain a high security level while minimizing information acquired from a recording medium for use in authentication processing.

  Further, the image forming apparatus has a device information item table in which items of device information acquired corresponding to time information are recorded, and the image forming program of the present invention stores the clock of the image forming apparatus in the computer. A program that executes a time information acquisition step of acquiring time information from a function and a step of acquiring device information of an item corresponding to the acquired time information in the device information item table can be provided.

  According to such a program, a higher security level can be maintained while minimizing information acquired from the recording medium for use in the certification process.

  An image forming program according to the present invention is connected to an authentication server that performs user authentication processing and a print server that performs user authentication processing and print job management, and reads user identification information recorded on a recording medium. In an image forming program in an image forming apparatus having the apparatus, a computer acquires a device information acquiring step for acquiring device information of the image forming device, user identification information read from the recording medium by the reading device, and the acquired information. An authentication information generating step for generating authentication information based on the device information, a first transmission step for transmitting the generated authentication information to the authentication server, and one of the generated authentication information or the authentication information. And a second transmission step of transmitting a copy to the print server.

  According to such a program, it is possible to maintain a high security level while minimizing information acquired from a recording medium for use in authentication processing.

  According to the present invention, there are provided an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, an image forming program, an authentication server, and a print server that minimize information acquired from a recording medium for use in authentication processing and maintain a high security level. be able to.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a reading unit that reads user identification information recorded on a recording medium. The image forming apparatus of the present invention acquires device information of the image forming device, and generates authentication information based on the user identification information read by the reading unit and the acquired device information. Then, the image forming apparatus transmits the generated authentication information to the authentication server.
(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an example of a system configuration diagram illustrating a first embodiment of the present invention.

  An authentication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes an image forming apparatus 200, an authentication server 300, a print server 400, and a client PC (personal computer) 500 connected via a network.

  The image forming apparatus 200 includes an output unit 210 that outputs print data, an IC card reader 220 that is a reading unit that reads user identification information from a recording medium on which user identification information is recorded, and an operation panel 230 that is a user interface. Have. In addition to the print function, the image forming apparatus 200 may be a multi-function device having a scan function, a FAX transmission / reception function, or the like, or may be a printer device having only a print function.

  Each of the authentication server 300, the print server 400, and the client PC 500 can be realized by a general computer having an arithmetic processing unit and a storage device. The authentication server 300 performs an authentication process for a user who uses the image forming apparatus 200. The print server 400 manages print jobs executed in the image forming apparatus 200. The client PC 500 generates print data and a print job.

  In the authentication system 100, when a print job is generated in the client PC 500, the print job is transmitted from the client PC 500 to the print server 400. This print job is managed by the print server 400. When the user identification information is read from the IC card reader 220 in the image forming apparatus 200, the image forming apparatus 200 sends an authentication request to the authentication server 300.

  In response to this authentication request, the authentication server 300 performs authentication processing and returns the processing result to the image forming apparatus 200. When the user is authenticated in this authentication process, the image forming apparatus 200 sends a print job list acquisition request executable by the authenticated user to the print server 400. Upon receiving this print job list acquisition request, the print server 400 transmits the print job to the image forming apparatus. When the print job list is acquired, the image forming apparatus 200 displays the print job list on the operation panel 230 in a selectable manner. When a print job to be executed on the operation panel 230 is selected, the selected print job is executed and print data is output from the output unit 210.

  In the present embodiment, the authentication server 300 performs authentication processing in this way, and the image forming apparatus 200 outputs print data. FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration diagram of the authentication server 300 of the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 shows a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 200 of this embodiment. FIG. 4 shows the software configuration of the application program installed in the image forming apparatus 200 of this embodiment.

  Here, functions of the image forming apparatus 200 and the authentication server 300 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating functional configurations of the image forming apparatus 200 and the authentication server 300 according to the first embodiment.

  The image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment will be described below.

  The image forming apparatus 200 of this embodiment includes an output unit 210, an IC card reader 220, and an operation panel 230. The output unit 210 is realized by a plotter engine unit for outputting print data when executing a print job acquired from the print server 400, an engine control unit for controlling the plotter engine unit, and the like.

  The IC card reader 220 reads information recorded on the IC card from the IC card. Here, the IC card of this embodiment may be a non-contact type IC card such as a Felica card. In this IC card, a unique serial number for identifying the IC card is recorded. In this embodiment, the serial number recorded on the IC card is used as user identification information for identifying the user who owns the IC card. On the recording operation panel 230, various processing operations executed by the image forming apparatus 200 are performed. The operation panel 230 is preferably realized by, for example, a touch panel and has a display function.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus 200 of the present embodiment includes a device information acquisition unit 240, an authentication data generation unit 250, a storage unit 260, and a communication unit 270.

  The device information acquisition unit 240 acquires device information unique to the image forming apparatus 200 for specifying the image forming apparatus 200. The device information here is a machine number, an IP address, a MAC address, and the like.

  The authentication data generation unit 250 generates authentication data sent from the image forming apparatus 200 to the authentication server 300. In the image forming apparatus 200, when the IC card is tapped in the IC card reader 220 and the user identification information is acquired, the authentication data generation unit 250 associates the user identification information with the device information and generates authentication data. . Here, FIG. 6 shows an example of authentication data of the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of authentication data in the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the image forming apparatus 200 of the present embodiment uses the serial number acquired by the IC card reader 220 and the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 240 as authentication data.

  The storage unit 260 temporarily stores the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 240. The communication unit 270 communicates with other devices connected to the image forming apparatus 200 via a network work.

  Next, the authentication server 300 will be described.

  The authentication server 300 includes an authentication data storage unit 310, an authentication unit 320, and a communication unit 330. The authentication data storage unit 310 stores user identification information 311 recorded on the IC card and device information 312 of the image forming apparatus 200 in association with each other. That is, in the authentication server 300, the authentication data stored in the authentication data storage unit 310 is associated with each user identification information and the device information of the image forming apparatus to which the use authority is given to the user identification information. Authentication data. The authentication data stored in the authentication data storage unit 310 is registered and stored in advance by a system administrator or the like.

  The authentication unit 320 executes an authentication process for authentication data transmitted from the image forming apparatus 200. In the authentication server 300 according to the present embodiment, when there is data in the authentication data storage unit 310 that matches the authentication data acquired from the image forming apparatus 200, the authentication data is valid and the user is authenticated. In other words, the authentication unit 320 is the owner of the IC card only when the IC card is deceived by the IC card reader of the image forming apparatus to which the use authority is given to the user identification information recorded on the IC card. Authenticate (user).

  The communication unit 330 communicates with other devices connected to the authentication server 300 via a network.

  Next, the operation of the authentication system 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is an example of a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the authentication system 100.

  In the authentication system 100, when the user issues a print job spool instruction on the client PC 500 (S71), the print job is sent from the client PC 500 to the print server 400 (S72). Thereafter, when the user places an IC card in the IC card reader 220 and makes a use request for the image forming apparatus 200 (S73), the IC card reader 220 reads and acquires the user identification information recorded on the IC card ( S74).

  When the user identification information is acquired in the image forming apparatus 200, the apparatus information acquisition unit 240 acquires apparatus information such as the machine number, IP address, and MAC address of the image forming apparatus 200. When the device information is acquired, the authentication data generation unit 250 associates the device information with the user identification information to obtain authentication data. This authentication data is transmitted to the authentication server 300 via the communication unit 270 (S75).

  When the authentication server 300 receives the authentication data via the communication unit 330, the authentication server 300 executes an authentication process for the authentication data received by the authentication unit 320 (S76). When the authentication data is received by the authentication server 300 of this embodiment, the authentication unit 320 determines whether or not information that matches the received authentication data is stored in the authentication data storage unit 310. The authentication unit 320 authenticates the authentication data when authentication data that matches the received authentication data exists in the authentication data storage unit 310.

  When the user is authenticated by the authentication process from the authentication server 300, the image forming apparatus 200 issues a print job list acquisition request to the print server 400 (S77). The list of print jobs requested by the image forming apparatus 200 at this time is a list of print jobs that can be executed by the user authenticated in S76. In response to this print job list acquisition request, the print server 400 searches for the corresponding print job (S78). Then, the print server 400 sends a list of corresponding print jobs to the image forming apparatus 200.

  When the image forming apparatus 200 acquires this print job list, the print job list is displayed on the operation panel 230 (S79). Here, FIG. 8 shows an example of a state in which the print job list is displayed on the operation panel 230.

  In the image forming apparatus 200, the user selects a print job to be executed from the list of print job lists displayed on the operation panel 230 (S80), and issues a print job execution instruction (S81). Then, the execution request for the print job selected in S80 is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 200 to the print server 400 (S82), and the print job selected in S80 is executed in the print server 400 (S83). In response to the execution of this print job, the image forming apparatus 200 executes print output processing of print data (S84).

  In the image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment, for example, when the image forming apparatus 200 is activated or restarted, the apparatus information may be acquired by the apparatus information acquisition unit 240 and stored in the storage unit 260. When the IC card is inserted into the IC card reader 240, the authentication data generation unit 250 may acquire device information from the storage unit 260 and generate authentication data. In this way, it is not necessary to acquire device information each time an IC card is tampered with in the image forming apparatus 200, and the authentication processing time can be shortened.

  As described above, in the present exemplary embodiment, when the IC card is tapped in the image forming apparatus 200 and user identification information is acquired, device information unique to the image forming apparatus 200 is acquired. Then, authentication processing is performed in the authentication server 300 using authentication data associated with the user identification information and device information.

As a result, even if the IC card is delivered to a third party and the user identification information is leaked, this is not necessary unless the IC card is tricked into a specific image forming apparatus to which the user authority is granted. User identification information is never authenticated. Therefore, according to this embodiment, even when the information read from the IC card is only the user identification information, a high security level can be maintained. Further, according to the present embodiment, since the information read from the IC card is only the serial number of the IC card, for example, even when a plurality of types of IC cards having different information recording methods are used in one image forming apparatus can do. Therefore, the software development man-hours in the image forming apparatus can be reduced.
(Second embodiment)
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The second embodiment of the present invention is different from the first embodiment in that a password input from the operation panel 230 is used when generating authentication data in the image forming apparatus 200A. Therefore, in the following description of the second embodiment, only differences from the first embodiment will be described, and those having the same functional configuration as the first embodiment will be described in the description of the first embodiment. The same reference numerals as those used are assigned, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 200A and the authentication server 300A according to the second embodiment.

  In the image forming apparatus 200A of the present embodiment, the authentication data generation unit 250A includes user identification information read from the IC card by the IC card reader 220, and device information of the image forming device 200A acquired by the device information acquisition unit 240. Then, authentication data is generated using the password input from the operation panel 230.

  Further, in the authentication server 300A of the present embodiment, the authentication data storage unit 310A includes user identification information, a password corresponding to the user identification information, and an image forming apparatus to which the use authority is given to the user identification information. The device information is linked and stored as authentication data.

  Hereinafter, operations of the image forming apparatus 200A and the authentication server 300A according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining operations of the image forming apparatus 200A and the authentication server 300A according to the second embodiment.

  In the authentication system 100A, when a print job is generated from the client PC 500, the print job is held (spooled) in the print server 400 (S101). Here, in the authentication system 100A, if the IC card is inserted in the IC card reader 220 of the image forming apparatus 200A (S103) before a predetermined time has elapsed since the print job was held in the print server 400 (S102), the authentication is performed. Processing begins.

  In addition, even if a predetermined time or more has elapsed after the print job is stored in the print server 400 (S102), if the authentication process has not elapsed, the image forming apparatus 200A does not execute the print job and causes a print error ( S104). If a print error occurs, a message indicating that an error has occurred may be displayed on the operation panel 230 of the image forming apparatus 200A or the display device provided in the client PC 500.

  When the authentication process is started in S103, the image forming apparatus 200A determines whether or not the authentication process started here is the first authentication process. That is, it is determined whether or not the login process by the user who tricked the IC card in S103 is the first login process (S105).

  If it is determined in S104 that this login process is the first login process, the image forming apparatus 200A displays a password input screen on the operation panel 230 and prompts the user to input a password (S106). The authentication data generation unit 250A associates the input password with the user identification information acquired from the IC card by the IC card reader in S103 and the device information of the image forming apparatus 200A acquired by the device information acquisition unit 240. Use authentication data. The image forming apparatus 200A transmits this authentication data to the authentication server 300A via the communication unit 270. Upon receiving this authentication data via the communication unit 330, the authentication server 300A starts an authentication process (S107).

  When the authentication server 300A receives authentication data including user identification information, a password, and device information, the authentication unit 320A determines whether data matching the authentication data is stored in the authentication data storage unit 310A. If the authentication data storage unit 310A stores data that matches the authentication data received from the image forming apparatus 200A, the authentication unit 320A authenticates the authentication data, and the login of the user who performed the login process in S103 is completed. (S107). Then, the authentication server 300A transmits the authentication result to the image forming apparatus 200A via the communication unit 330.

  If the corresponding data is not stored in the authentication data storage unit 310A, the authentication unit 320A disables the received authentication data. Then, the authentication server 300A transmits the authentication result to the image forming apparatus 200A. The image forming apparatus 200A makes a printing error based on the authentication result (S104).

  When the image forming apparatus 200 </ b> A receives an authentication result indicating completion of user login via the communication unit 270, the image forming apparatus 200 </ b> A sends the print job list to the print server 400 to obtain a list of print jobs that can be executed by the logged-in user in S <b> 107. Send an acquisition request. Here, when there is no print job corresponding to the print server 400 (S108), the image forming apparatus 200A does not execute the print process and sets a print error (S104).

  When the image forming apparatus 200A acquires a list of print jobs that can be executed by the logged-in user from the print server 400, the image forming apparatus 200A displays the list on the operation panel 230 and prompts the user to select a print job to be executed (S109). . Then, the image forming apparatus 200A executes the print job selected in S109 (S110).

  Here, the image forming apparatus 200A of the present embodiment stores the password input in S106 in the storage unit 260. At this time, the image forming apparatus 200 </ b> A preferably stores the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 240 in the storage unit 260.

  If it is determined in S105 that the current login process is the second or subsequent login process, the image forming apparatus 200A of the present embodiment is stored in the storage unit 260 without displaying the password input screen on the operation panel 230. Read password and use it as authentication data. According to such a configuration, since the user only has to input the password at the first login, the operation is not complicated. In addition, since the process related to the password input is automatically performed in the image forming apparatus 200A, it is possible to reduce the time required for starting the operation of the image forming apparatus 200A.

Thus, according to this embodiment, in addition to user identification information and device information, authentication processing is further performed using a password. In this case, only the user identification information is read from the IC card in the image forming apparatus 200A. Therefore, also in this embodiment, a high security level can be maintained even when the information read from the IC card is only the user identification information. Further, according to the present embodiment, since the information read from the IC card is only the serial number of the IC card, for example, even when a plurality of types of IC cards having different information recording methods are used in one image forming apparatus can do. Therefore, the software development man-hours in the image forming apparatus can be reduced.
(Third embodiment)
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  The third embodiment of the present invention is different from the first embodiment in that authentication data generated by the image forming apparatus 200 is transmitted to the print server 400A in addition to the authentication server 300, and the print server 400A also performs authentication processing. Is different. Therefore, in the following description of the third embodiment, only differences from the first embodiment will be described, and those having the same functional configuration as the first embodiment will be described in the description of the first embodiment. The same reference numerals as those used are assigned, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating functional configurations of the image forming apparatus 200, the authentication server 300, and the print server 400A according to the third embodiment.

  The print server 400A according to this embodiment includes an authentication data storage unit 410 that stores authentication data in which user identification information 411 and device information 412 are associated, an authentication unit 420 that performs authentication processing, and an authentication system 100B. And a communication unit 430 that performs communication with other devices to be configured.

  The user identification information 411 stored in the authentication data storage unit 410 is acquired from the IC card reader 220 in the image forming apparatus 200. The device information 412 is device information of the image forming apparatus 200 to which use authority is given for the user identification information, and is acquired by the device information acquisition unit 240.

  The operation of the print server 400A in this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating operations of the image forming apparatus 200, the authentication server 300, and the print server 400A according to the third embodiment.

  The processing from S1201 to S1206 in FIG. 12 is the same as the processing from S71 to S76 in FIG. 7 described in the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  The image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment transmits the authentication data generated by the authentication data generation unit 250 to the print server 400A (S1207).

  When the print server 400A receives the authentication data via the communication unit 430, the authentication server 420 executes an authentication data authentication process (S1208). The authentication unit 420 collates whether data matching the authentication data received in S1207 is stored in the authentication data storage unit 410. If the corresponding data is stored in the authentication data storage unit 410, the authentication data is authenticated. The print server 400A sends the result of the authentication process to the image forming apparatus 200 via the communication unit 430.

  In the image forming apparatus 200, when authentication data is authenticated in both the authentication process in the authentication server 300, the authentication process by the print server 400A, and the authentication process, it is assumed that the authentication data is authenticated and the user login is completed. . The image forming apparatus 200 requests the print server 400A to obtain a list of print jobs that can be executed by the logged-in user (S1209).

  The processing from S1210 to S1216 is the same as the processing from S78 to S84 in FIG.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the authentication process by the authentication server 300, the authentication process is also executed in the print server 400A. Also in this case, the information read from the IC card is only the serial number (user identification information) of the IC card. Therefore, also in this embodiment, a high security level can be maintained even when the information read from the IC card is only the user identification information. Further, according to the present embodiment, since the information read from the IC card is only the serial number of the IC card, for example, even when a plurality of types of IC cards having different information recording methods are used in one image forming apparatus can do. Therefore, the software development man-hours in the image forming apparatus can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the device information transmitted from the image forming apparatus 200 to the print server 400A may be information in which the number of items is reduced and the amount of information is reduced compared to the device information transmitted to the authentication server 300. In this case, the device information 411 stored in the authentication data storage unit 410 of the print server 400A is a part of the device information 311 stored in the authentication data storage unit 310 of the authentication server 300.

  In this case, in the image forming apparatus 200, the authentication data generation unit 250 generates two types of authentication data for transmission to the authentication server 300 and authentication data for transmission to the print server 400A. For example, the authentication data generation unit 250 may generate authentication data in which partial device information obtained by extracting a part from device information included in authentication data transmitted to the authentication server 300 and user identification information are associated with each other. This authentication data becomes authentication data transmitted to the print server 400A.

  Here, when the device information included in the authentication data transmitted to the print server 400A is extracted from the device information included in the authentication data transmitted to the authentication server 300, the item extracted is the example image forming apparatus 200. May be set in advance. When generating authentication data to be transmitted to the print server 400 </ b> A in the image forming apparatus 200, the authentication data generation unit 250 extracts information on the set items from the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 240. This may be used to generate authentication data.

  Further, the print server 400A of this embodiment can be combined with the second embodiment. That is, a password corresponding to the user identification information may be stored as authentication data in the authentication data storage unit 410 of the print server 400A of the present embodiment. The authentication unit 430 may perform processing for authenticating authentication data including user identification information, a password, and device information transmitted from the image forming apparatus 200A.

Further, in order to reduce the amount of authentication data transmitted from the image forming apparatus 200 to the print server 400A, the authentication data transmitted from the image forming apparatus 200 to the print server 400A may be only user identification information and a password. In this case, user identification information and a password need only be stored in association with each other in the authentication data storage unit 410 of the print server 400A.
(Fourth embodiment)
Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The fourth embodiment of the present invention is different from the first embodiment in that authentication data is generated using device information corresponding to time information when generating authentication data in the image forming apparatus 200B. Therefore, in the following description of the fourth embodiment, only differences from the first embodiment will be described, and those having the same functional configuration as the first embodiment will be described in the description of the first embodiment. The same reference numerals as those used are assigned, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating functional configurations of the image forming apparatus 200B and the authentication server 300B according to the fourth embodiment.

  The image forming apparatus 200 </ b> B of this embodiment includes a time information acquisition unit 280. The time information acquisition unit 280 acquires time information from the clock function of the image forming apparatus 200B when the user identification information is read by the IC card reader 220 in the image forming apparatus 200B.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 200B and the authentication server 300B of the present embodiment each include a device information item table 290 and a device information item table 340 in which items of device information corresponding to time information are stored. In the present embodiment, the device information item table 290 included in the image forming apparatus 200B and the device information item table 340 included in the authentication server 300B have the same configuration.

  The device information item tables 290 and 340 of this embodiment will be described below. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a device information item table according to the fourth embodiment.

  The device information item tables 290 and 340 of the present embodiment are generated for each image forming apparatus, and the example shown in FIG. 14 is a device information item table of the image forming apparatus 200B.

  Hereinafter, the device information item table of the present embodiment will be described more specifically with reference to FIG. 14 using the device information item table 290 as an example.

  The device information item table 290 according to the present embodiment includes a device information item number table 141 in which a number is added to each item of device information, and a correspondence table 292 in which device information item numbers corresponding to time information are indicated. The device information item table 290 is created by inputting data in advance by an administrator of the system.

  In the device information item number 291, a number is assigned to the item of device information that can be acquired by the device information acquisition unit 240 </ b> A. In this embodiment, for example, the number 1 is assigned to the IP address of the image forming apparatus 200, the number 2 is assigned to the machine number of the image forming apparatus 200B, and the number 3 is assigned to the MAC address of the image forming apparatus 200B. Yes.

  The correspondence table 292 shows correspondence between device information item numbers and time information. Here, the correspondence between the device information item number and the time information means an item of device information acquired in the time zone indicated by the time information. That is, the device information acquisition unit 240A in the image forming apparatus 200B of the present embodiment acquires device information of different items depending on the time for acquiring the device information. Further, the time information referred to here is information acquired by the time information acquisition unit 280. The device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 240A using the correspondence table 292 will be specifically described below.

  According to the correspondence table 292, the device information item numbers for the time information between 5:00 and 6:00 are No. 1 and No. 3. Therefore, when the device information acquisition unit 240A acquires device information, if the time information acquired by the time information acquisition unit 280 indicates between 5:00 and 6:00, the device information acquisition unit 240A includes The device information assigned with No. 1 and No. 3 is acquired. Here, referring to the device information item number 291, the item assigned 1 is an IP address, and the item assigned 3 is a MAC address. Therefore, the device information acquisition unit 240A acquires an IP address and a MAC address as device information of the image forming apparatus 200B.

  Similarly, according to the correspondence table 292, when the time information acquired by the time information acquisition unit 280 indicates 6:01 to 7:00, the device information acquisition unit 240A has items 2 and 4 in the items. Get the assigned device information.

  In the present embodiment, authentication data is generated using such a device information item table 290 in the image forming apparatus 200B, and authentication processing of authentication data is performed using the same device information item table 340 in the authentication server 300B. The authentication process of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram illustrating authentication processing of the image forming apparatus 200B and the authentication server 300B according to the fourth embodiment.

  In the authentication system 100B, when the IC card is tapped in the IC card reader 220 of the image forming apparatus 200B and user identification information is acquired from the IC card (S1501), the image forming apparatus 200B receives this information from the time information acquisition unit 280. Time information is acquired (S1502).

  Next, the device information acquisition unit 240A refers to the device information item table 290 and refers to the item of device information corresponding to the time information acquired in S1502. Then, the device information acquisition unit 240A acquires the device information of the items set in the correspondence table 281 based on the device information item table 290. Next, the authentication data generation unit 250B generates authentication data by associating the user identification information, the time information acquired by the time information acquisition unit 280, and the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 240 ( S1503). Then, the image forming apparatus 200B transmits the authentication data to the authentication server 300B to make an authentication request (S1504). Upon receiving this authentication data, the authentication server 300B performs an authentication process (S1505).

  Hereinafter, an authentication process in the authentication server 300B will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining authentication processing in the authentication server 300B of the fourth embodiment. The authentication server 300B of this embodiment has a device information item table 340. The device information item table 340 included in the authentication server 300B of the present embodiment has the same configuration as the device information item table 280 included in the image forming apparatus 200B.

  In S1505 of FIG. 15, upon receiving the authentication data from the image forming apparatus 200B, the authentication server 300B extracts time information included in the received authentication data (S1601). The authentication unit 320B refers to the number assigned to the device information item corresponding to the time information extracted in S1601 in the correspondence table of the device information item table 340 (S1602). Then, the authentication unit 320B refers to the device information item that matches the referenced number from the device information item number in the device information item table 340. Then, the authentication unit 320B extracts device information corresponding to the item referred to here from the device information 312 of the authentication data storage unit 310 (S1603).

  Next, the authentication unit 320B inquires whether information matching the user identification information included in the authentication data received in S1505 exists in the authentication data storage unit 310 (S1604). If there is no corresponding information in the authentication data storage unit 310 in S1604, the authentication server 300B sets an authentication error (S1605) and transmits the result to the image forming apparatus 200B (S1606).

  If the corresponding information exists in the authentication data storage unit 310 in S1604, the authentication unit 320B inquires whether the device information included in the received authentication data matches the device information extracted in S1603. It performs (S1607). In S1607, if the device information included in the received authentication data does not match the device information extracted in S1603, the authentication server 300B generates an authentication error (S1605) and transmits the result to the image forming apparatus 200B (S1606). ).

  In S1607, if the device information included in the authentication data matches the device information extracted in S1603, the authentication server 300B determines that the authentication data has been authenticated (S1608), and transmits this result to the image forming apparatus 200B (S1608). S1606).

  In the image forming apparatus 200B, the processing after the authentication data is authenticated is the same as that in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the authentication data is generated using the time information obtained by reading the user identification information by the IC card reader 220. Therefore, the information read from the C card is only the user identification information. Even in this case, a high security level can be maintained. Further, according to the present embodiment, since the information read from the IC card is only the serial number of the IC card, for example, even when a plurality of types of IC cards having different information recording methods are used in one image forming apparatus can do. Therefore, the software development man-hours in the image forming apparatus can be reduced.

  In addition, the procedure for realizing each function in the embodiment described above may be recorded on a recording medium as a computer-readable program.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a recording medium on which a program for realizing each function described in each embodiment is recorded. The functions recorded in the present embodiment can be realized by the program recorded in the recording medium 710 being read and executed by the computer 600.

  For example, the computer 600 includes a CPU 610, a hard disk 620, a memory 630, a display unit 640, an input unit 650, a communication unit 660, and a recording medium reading unit 670. The CPU 610 is an arithmetic processing unit, and executes arithmetic operations and processes executed in the computer 600. The hard disk 620 is a recording means for storing data, and stores an application operating on the computer 600, data created by this application, and the like. The memory 630 stores various setting values related to the computer 600, calculation results in the CPU 610, and the like.

  The display unit 640 is a display or the like, and displays data created in the computer 600 so that the user can view it. The input unit 650 is, for example, a keyboard or a mouse, and various data are input by a user operation. The communication unit 660 is a network control unit, for example, and is used for the computer 600 to communicate with an external device. The recording medium reading unit 670 reads data and programs recorded on various recording media, and is, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk driver.

  The recording medium 710 records an image forming program 700 that realizes each function of the present embodiment. The image forming program 700 is read by the recording medium reading unit 670 and executed by the CPU 610. The recording medium 710 may be, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk or a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), and may be any medium that can be read by the computer 600. The image forming program 700 may be received by the communication unit 660 via a network and stored in the hard disk 620 or the like.

  As described above, the present invention has been described based on each embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the requirements shown here, such as the configurations described in the above embodiment and combinations with other elements. With respect to these points, the present invention can be changed within a range that does not detract from the gist of the present invention, and can be appropriately determined according to the application form.

  The present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, an image forming program, an authentication server, and a print server having a reading unit that reads a recording medium on which user identification information is recorded.

It is a system configuration figure explaining a first embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of the authentication server 300 of 1st embodiment. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus 200 according to the first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 3 is a software configuration diagram of an application program installed in the image forming apparatus 200 of the first embodiment. 2 is a diagram illustrating functional configurations of an image forming apparatus 200 and an authentication server 300 according to the first embodiment. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the authentication data in 1st embodiment. 4 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the authentication system 100. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a print job list is displayed on an operation panel 230. FIG. It is a figure explaining the functional structure of 200 A of image forming apparatuses of 2nd embodiment, and the authentication server 300A. 10 is a flowchart illustrating operations of an image forming apparatus 200A and an authentication server 300A according to the second embodiment. It is a figure explaining the functional structure of the image forming apparatus 200 of 3rd embodiment, the authentication server 300, and the print server 400A. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating operations of an image forming apparatus 200, an authentication server 300, and a print server 400A according to a third embodiment. It is a figure explaining the function structure of the image forming apparatus 200B and authentication server 300B of 4th embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the apparatus information item table of 4th embodiment. It is a sequence diagram explaining the authentication process of the image forming apparatus 200B and authentication server 300B of 4th embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the authentication process in the authentication server 300B of 4th embodiment. It is a figure explaining the recording medium with which the program which implement | achieves each function demonstrated in each embodiment was recorded.

Explanation of symbols

100, 100A, 100B Authentication system 200, 200A, 200B Image forming apparatus 210 Output unit 220 IC card reader 230 Operation panel 240, 240A, 240B Device information acquisition unit 250, 250A, 250B Authentication data generation unit 260 Storage unit 290, 340 Device Information item table 300, 300A, 300B Authentication server 310, 310A, 310B, 410 Authentication data storage unit 320, 320A, 320B, 420 Authentication unit 400, 400A Print server 500 Client PC
600 Computer 700 Image forming program 710 Recording medium

Claims (13)

In an image forming apparatus that is connected to an authentication server that performs user authentication processing and has a reading unit that reads user identification information recorded on a recording medium.
Device information acquisition means for acquiring device information of the image forming apparatus;
Authentication information generating means for generating authentication information based on the user identification information read from the recording medium by the reading means and the device information acquired by the device information acquiring means;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a transmission unit that transmits the authentication information generated by the authentication information generation unit to the authentication server. Having an operation means for operating the image forming apparatus;
The authentication information generation means generates authentication information based on user identification information read by the reading means, device information acquired by the device information acquisition means, and a password input by the operation means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: Time information acquisition means for acquiring time information from the clock function of the image forming apparatus;
A device information item table in which items of device information acquired corresponding to time information are recorded;
3. The image formation according to claim 1, wherein the device information acquisition unit acquires device information of an item corresponding to the time information acquired by the time information acquisition unit in the device information item table. apparatus. An image forming apparatus connected to an authentication server that performs user authentication processing and a print server that performs user authentication processing and print job management, and includes a reading unit that reads user identification information recorded on a recording medium.
Device information acquisition means for acquiring device information of the image forming apparatus;
Authentication information generating means for generating authentication information based on the user identification information read from the recording medium by the reading means and the device information acquired by the device information acquiring means;
First transmission means for transmitting the authentication information generated by the authentication information generation means to the authentication server;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a second transmission unit configured to transmit the authentication information generated by the authentication information generation unit or a part of the authentication information to the print server. Authentication having an authentication information storage device connected to an image forming apparatus having reading means for reading user identification information recorded on a recording medium and storing user identification information and device information of the image forming apparatus as authentication information A server,
Receiving means for receiving authentication information generated based on the user identification information read from the recording medium in the image forming apparatus and device information of the image forming apparatus;
An authentication server comprising authentication means for authenticating authentication information received by the receiving means based on authentication information stored in the authentication information storage means. It has a device information item table in which items of device information acquired corresponding to time information are recorded,
The receiving unit receives authentication information generated by using the device information item table of the image forming apparatus in the image forming apparatus;
6. The authentication server according to claim 5, wherein the authentication unit authenticates the authentication information received by the receiving unit based on authentication information stored in the authentication information storage device and the device information item table. . Connected to an image forming apparatus having reading means for reading user identification information recorded on a recording medium, manages a print job to be sent to the image forming apparatus, and includes the user identification information, device information of the image forming apparatus, and Is a print server having an authentication information storage device stored as authentication information,
Receiving means for receiving authentication information generated based on the user identification information read from the recording medium in the image forming apparatus and device information of the image forming apparatus;
Authentication means for authenticating authentication information received by the receiving means based on authentication information stored in the authentication information storage device;
A print server comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit a list of print jobs to the image forming apparatus when the authentication unit receives authentication information received by the reception unit. In an image forming method using an image forming apparatus that is connected to an authentication server that performs user authentication processing and has a reading device that reads user identification information recorded on a recording medium.
A device information acquisition procedure for acquiring device information of the image forming apparatus;
An authentication information generating procedure for generating authentication information based on the user identification information read from the recording medium by the reading device and the acquired device information;
An image forming method, comprising: a transmission procedure for transmitting the generated authentication information to the authentication server. The image forming apparatus has a device information item table in which items of device information acquired corresponding to time information are recorded,
A time information acquisition procedure for acquiring time information from the clock function of the image forming apparatus;
The image forming method according to claim 8, further comprising: acquiring device information of an item corresponding to the acquired time information in the device information item table. An image formed by an image forming apparatus that is connected to an authentication server that performs user authentication processing and a print server that performs user authentication processing and print job management, and has a reading device that reads user identification information recorded on a recording medium. In the forming method,
A device information acquisition procedure for acquiring device information of the image forming apparatus;
An authentication information generating procedure for generating authentication information based on the user identification information read from the recording medium by the reading device and the acquired device information;
A first transmission procedure for transmitting the generated authentication information to the authentication server;
An image forming method comprising: a second transmission procedure for transmitting the generated authentication information or a part of the authentication information to the print server. In an image forming program in an image forming apparatus that is connected to an authentication server that performs user authentication processing and has a reading device that reads user identification information recorded on a recording medium.
On the computer,
A device information acquisition step of acquiring device information of the image forming apparatus;
An authentication information generating step for generating authentication information based on the user identification information read from the recording medium by the reading device and the acquired device information;
An image forming program for executing the transmission step of transmitting the generated authentication information to the authentication server. The image forming apparatus has a device information item table in which items of device information acquired corresponding to time information are recorded,
On the computer,
A time information acquisition step of acquiring time information from the clock function of the image forming apparatus;
The image forming program according to claim 11, wherein in the device information item table, a step of acquiring device information of an item corresponding to the acquired time information is executed. An image in an image forming apparatus having a reading device that is connected to an authentication server that performs user authentication processing and a print server that performs user authentication processing and print job management, and that reads user identification information recorded on a recording medium In the formation program,
On the computer,
A device information acquisition step of acquiring device information of the image forming apparatus;
An authentication information generating step for generating authentication information based on the user identification information read from the recording medium by the reading device and the acquired device information;
A first transmission step of transmitting the generated authentication information to the authentication server;
And a second transmission step of transmitting the generated authentication information or a part of the authentication information to the print server.

Images