JP2010218346A - Image forming apparatus and method for registering ic card - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce workload of a manager in registering an IC card used for user authentication. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus 1 includes: an operation input unit 6 which receives an operation input by the user; a card information acquisition unit 42 which obtains card information recorded on the IC card; a user authentication unit 41 which authenticates a user based on input information input through the operation input unit 6 or the card information obtained by the card information acquisition means and user information 28 set for each user, and identifies the authenticated user;and a card information registration unit 43 which registers, when the card information acquisition unit 42 obtains card information while the user authentication unit 41 identifies the authenticated user based on the input information from the operation input unit 6, the card information to the user information 28 corresponding to the authenticated user. According to this, the authenticated user is allowed to register his or her IC card. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an IC card registration method used for user authentication.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus called a multifunction peripheral or an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral), user authentication is performed to limit functions that can be used for each user. In addition, a technique in which an IC card reader reads information on an IC card and performs authentication in an image forming apparatus that performs user authentication is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-244518 A

  Incidentally, in order to perform user authentication using an IC card in the image forming apparatus, it is necessary to register card information recorded in the IC card possessed by each user in the image forming apparatus in advance. Conventionally, registration of card information of such an IC card has been performed by an administrator of the image forming apparatus, and there has been a problem that the workload of the administrator at the time of IC card registration is extremely large.

  Further, when registering card information of an IC card, an administrator needs to associate the card information with each user and set an authority for restricting functions that can be used for each user. And there was a problem that this authority setting work further increased the workload of the administrator.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and provides an image forming apparatus and an IC card registration method capable of reducing the workload of an administrator when registering an IC card. .

  In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is an image forming apparatus, wherein an operation input unit that receives an operation input by a user, a card information acquisition unit that acquires card information recorded on an IC card, User authentication based on input information input from the operation input means or card information acquired by the card information acquisition means, and user information set for each user, and a user authentication means for specifying an authenticated user; When the card information acquisition unit acquires card information in a state where the user authentication unit specifies the authentication user based on input information from the operation input unit, the card information is stored in the user corresponding to the authentication user. Card information registration means for registering information.

  In this case, the user information set for each user may be information held in the image forming apparatus, or a device other than the image forming device (for example, a server device capable of data communication with the image forming device). It may be information held in

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, when the card information registering unit registers the card information in the user information, the user authenticating unit is based on the card information. It is characterized by selecting and registering either main registration which can be referred to at the time of user authentication or provisional registration which cannot be referred to by the user authentication means at the time of user authentication.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, when the card information registration unit receives a main registration approval command from a specific user, It is characterized by switching to registration.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, the image forming apparatus further includes a network interface for connecting to a network and communicating with an external device, and the card information registration unit temporarily stores the card information. When a predetermined processing request is received from the external device via the network interface in the registered state, the temporary registration card information is switched to the main registration.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the card information registration unit is preset for each IC card when registering the card information in the user information. The department information related to the department to which the user belongs is obtained, and the card information and the department information corresponding to the card information are registered for the user information corresponding to the authenticated user.

  In this case, the department information related to the user's department that is preset for each user and acquired by the card information registration unit may be information held in the image forming apparatus, or other than the image forming apparatus. It may be information held by the device.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the card information registering unit is preset for each IC card when registering the card information in the user information. The authority information regarding the function use authority of the user is acquired, and the card information and the authority information corresponding to the card information are registered for the user information corresponding to the authenticated user.

  In this case, the authority information regarding the user's function use authority set in advance for each user and acquired by the card information registration unit may be information held in the image forming apparatus or other than the image forming apparatus. It may be information held by the device.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, a display unit that displays various information, a browsing image obtained by accessing a network, Browser means for displaying on the display means, and the card information registration means is configured to register setting information relating to proxy settings of the browser means preset for each IC card when the card information is registered in the user information. Obtaining and registering the card information and setting information corresponding to the card information for the user information corresponding to the authenticated user.

  In this case, the setting information relating to the proxy setting of the browser means preset for each IC card, which is acquired by the card information registration means, may be information held in the image forming apparatus, or the image forming apparatus Information held by a device other than the above may be used.

  The invention according to claim 8 is an IC card registration method for user authentication using an IC card, the step of receiving an input operation for performing user authentication by manual operation, and the input information input by the input operation And authenticating the user by referring to the user information set for each user, and acquiring the card information recorded on the IC card in a state where the authenticated user is specified And registering the card information in the user information corresponding to the authenticated user.

  According to the present invention, when the card information recorded on the IC card is acquired in a state where the authenticated user is specified based on the input information input by the input operation, the card information corresponds to the authenticated user. Therefore, the authenticated user can register the IC card, and the burden on the administrator for registering the IC card can be reduced.

  Further, according to the present invention, when registering card information in user information, various information such as department information relating to the user's department and authority information relating to the user's function use authority, or setting information relating to proxy setting of the browser means, Since it can be registered in the user information together with the card information, it is not necessary for the administrator to register these various types of information, and the workload of the administrator is further reduced.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image forming system. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows each process part which functions in a control computer. It is a figure which shows an example of the user information before and after IC card registration in 1st Embodiment, (a) shows the state before IC card registration, (b) has shown the state after IC card registration. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure performed by a control computer of the image forming apparatus when registering an IC card in the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the initial screen displayed on the display part of an operation panel. It is a figure which shows an example of the IC card registration confirmation screen displayed on the display part of an operation panel. It is a figure which shows an example of the card information recorded on an IC card. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a detailed processing procedure of card information registration determination performed when the image forming apparatus acquires card information. It is a figure which shows an example of the registration completion screen displayed on the display part of an operation panel. It is a figure which shows an example of the temporary registration guidance screen displayed on the display part of an operation panel. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure performed by a control computer of the image forming apparatus when an administrator switches temporary registration to main registration. It is a figure which shows an example of the IC card temporary registration guidance screen displayed on the display part of an operation panel. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure performed by a control computer of the image forming apparatus when a user himself / herself switches temporary registration to main registration. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the user information before and after registration of the IC card regarding a registered user, (a) has shown the state before IC card registration, (b) has shown the state after IC card registration. It is a figure which shows an example of the user information before and after registration of the IC card regarding a public user, (a) has shown the state before IC card registration, (b) has shown the state after IC card registration. It is a figure which shows an example of IC card level setting information. It is a figure which shows an example of the authority information memorize | stored in the memory | storage device. It is a figure which shows an example of the department information memorize | stored in the memory | storage device. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting information memorize | stored in the memory | storage device. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure performed by a control computer of the image forming apparatus when registering an IC card in the second embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the detailed process sequence of this registration process in 2nd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments described below, members that are common to each other are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions thereof are omitted.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image forming system according to the present embodiment. This image forming system includes an image forming apparatus 1, a plurality of computers 11, 12,..., And a server apparatus 13, which are configured to be able to perform data communication with each other via a network 10 such as a LAN. Yes. Here, the image forming apparatus 1 is an apparatus generally called a multifunction peripheral or MFP, and has various functions such as copying, scanning, printing, and facsimile. .. Are computers individually assigned to each user. In the example shown in the figure, the computer 11 is a computer used by the user A, and the computer 12 is a computer used by the user B. The server device 13 authenticates a user who uses the network 10. For example, when the computers 11 and 12 are started up or when the computers 11 and 12 perform data communication, the server device 13 performs data communication with the server device 13 at a predetermined timing, and the server device 13 authenticates the user of the computers 11 and 12. And sending data to the network 10 is permitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 has a scanner unit 2 at the top of the apparatus main body and a printer unit 3 at the bottom. The scanner unit 2 optically reads an image of a document and an automatic document transport device that can set a plurality of documents and automatically transports the set documents one by one to the image reading unit 2a. (ADF) 2b. The printer unit 3 includes an image forming unit 3a that forms an image by transferring a toner image onto a printing medium such as output paper, and a paper feeding unit 3b that supplies output paper to the image forming unit 3a one by one. And.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes an operation panel 4 that can be operated by a user on the front side of the scanner unit 2. The operation panel 4 includes a display unit 5 for displaying various information to the user, and an operation input unit 6 for the user to perform an input operation on the image forming apparatus 1. The display unit 5 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display capable of displaying a color image. The operation input unit 6 includes a plurality of operation keys including a touch panel key provided on the surface of the display unit 5 and a plurality of push button keys arranged around the display unit 5.

  A shelf-like support member 7 is provided on the side surface of the image forming apparatus 1. An IC card reading device 8 for reading card information from the IC card 9 in a non-contact manner is provided on the upper surface of the support member 7. The IC card reader 8 is electrically connected to the image forming apparatus 1, and when there is a reading instruction from the image forming apparatus 1, the card information recorded on the IC card 9 is read and the image forming apparatus 1 is read. Output. In the example shown in the figure, the IC card reader 8 is provided on the upper surface of the support member 7, but the installation position is not limited to this.

  When the user uses such an image forming apparatus 1, the user operates the operation panel 4 or holds the IC card 9 possessed by the user over the IC card reading device 8 to read the card information. By doing so, user authentication is performed. When the user authentication is successful, the authenticated user is logged in to the image forming apparatus 1 and the functions usable by the authenticated user are validated based on the authority previously given to the authenticated user. Therefore, the authenticated user can use the functions of the image forming apparatus 1 according to his / her authority by logging into the image forming apparatus 1.

  In the present embodiment, in order to enable user authentication with the IC card 9 possessed by the user in the image forming apparatus 1 as described above, a basic registration operation of the IC card 9 can be performed by the user himself / herself. is there. This will be described in more detail below.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a control computer 20, a network interface 23, an external interface 24, a facsimile unit 25, in addition to the scanner unit 2, the printer unit 3, the operation panel 4, and the IC card reader 8 described above. And a storage device 26, and these units are connected to each other via the data bus 19 so as to be able to input and output data.

  The control computer 20 includes a CPU 21 that reads and executes a program 27 stored in the storage device 26, and a memory 22 that temporarily stores various data when the CPU 21 executes processing based on the program. When the CPU 21 executes the program 27, the control computer 20 functions as various processing units as will be described later.

  The network interface 23 is an interface for connecting the image forming apparatus 1 to the network 10. The external interface 24 is an interface for connecting the IC card reader 8 and is configured by a USB interface, for example. When the image forming apparatus 1 acquires card information recorded on the IC card 9, the control computer 20 outputs a reading instruction to the IC card reading device 8 via the external interface 24, and the IC card reading device 8 Enter the read card information.

  The facsimile unit 25 is a processing unit that transmits and receives facsimile data. A communication network (not shown) is connected to the facsimile unit 25. For example, when the control computer 20 transmits facsimile data, the facsimile data is output to the facsimile unit 25. The facsimile unit 25 connects to the communication network and transmits facsimile data to a designated destination.

  The storage device 26 is a non-volatile storage device composed of a hard disk device or the like. The storage device 26 stores the program 27 described above. The storage device 26 stores user information 28 for use in user authentication.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating each processing unit that functions when the CPU 21 executes the program 27 in the control computer 20. As shown in FIG. 3, the control computer 20 functions as a user authentication unit 41, a card information acquisition unit 42, a card information registration unit 43, a user authority reflection unit 44, a job execution unit 45, a browser unit 46, and a log recording unit 47. To do.

  The user authentication unit 41 is a processing unit that authenticates a user who logs in to the image forming apparatus 1. The user authentication unit 41 performs user authentication based on input information such as a user ID and password input from the operation input unit 6 or card information read from the IC card 9 by the IC card reader 8. When performing this user authentication, the user authentication unit 41 reads the user information 28 set for each user from the storage device 26, the input information from the operation input unit 6, or the card read by the IC card reader 8. It is determined whether or not the information is registered in the user information 28. If the authenticated user can be specified, the authentication is successful, and the image forming apparatus 1 is shifted to the login state with the authenticated user as the login user.

  Further, the user authentication unit 41 not only performs user authentication of a user who directly operates the image forming apparatus 1 as described above, but also performs user authentication of a user who logs in remotely to the image forming apparatus 1 via the network 10. It is like that.

  The card information acquisition unit 42 is a processing unit that acquires card information recorded on the IC card 9 via the IC card reader 8. The card information acquisition unit 42 functions when, for example, the user performs a predetermined operation on the operation panel 4, and outputs a reading instruction to the IC card reading device 8 via the external interface 24. Thereby, the IC card reader 8 reads the card information recorded on the IC card 9 and outputs it to the card information acquisition unit 42. As a result, the card information acquisition unit 42 acquires card information from the IC card reader 8.

  The card information acquired by the card information acquisition unit 42 is output to the user authentication unit 41 or the card information registration unit 43. Here, whether the card information acquisition unit 42 outputs the card information to the user authentication unit 41 or the card information registration unit 43 depends on the state of the image forming apparatus 1. For example, in the case of the present embodiment, when the card information acquisition unit 42 acquires card information in a state where the user is already logged in in the image forming apparatus 1, the card information of the IC card 9 possessed by the login user is stored as user information. 28, the card information is output to the card information registration unit 43. On the other hand, when the card information acquisition unit 42 acquires card information in a state where the user is not logged in in the image forming apparatus 1, it is determined that the user is going to perform user authentication with the IC card 9, and the card Information is output to the user authentication unit 41.

  The card information registration unit 43 is a processing unit that registers the card information in the user information 28 when the card information is acquired from the card information acquisition unit 42 while the user is already logged in in the image forming apparatus 1. At this time, the card information registration unit 43 registers the card information in the user information 28 corresponding to the login user. Registration of card information in this case includes main registration and provisional registration. The main registration is a registration state in which the card information is referred to when the user authentication unit 41 performs user authentication. For this reason, when the card information registration unit 43 performs the main registration of the card information in the user information 28, the user authentication unit 41 thereafter refers to the registered card information when performing the user authentication, thereby forming an image. In the apparatus 1, user authentication by the IC card 9 becomes possible. On the other hand, temporary registration is a registration state in which the card information is not referred to when the user authentication unit 41 performs user authentication. Therefore, in a state where the card information registration unit 43 has temporarily registered the card information in the user information 28, the card information is not referred to when the user authentication unit 41 performs user authentication, and the IC card is used in the image forming apparatus 1. Even if user authentication is performed using 9, the authentication fails.

  The card information registration unit 43 determines whether to perform main registration or temporary registration based on the card information acquired from the card information acquisition unit 42. In the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the type of the IC card 9 that can be registered for user authentication is not particularly limited, and any type can be used as long as the IC card reader 8 can read the card information. Even types of IC cards 9 can be registered. For example, if the employee ID card distributed to individual employees by the company is an IC card, the IC card can be registered in the image forming apparatus 1. Further, if an IC card is distributed to individual employees as a dedicated card for performing user authentication of the image forming apparatus 1, the IC card can be registered in the image forming apparatus 1. In addition, IC cards such as credit cards and cash cards owned by individual users, IC card tickets for public transportation, IC cards that record electronic money, ICs that record points issued by various stores, etc. Various IC cards such as cards can be registered in the image forming apparatus 1.

  The card information registration unit 43 determines the type of IC card that the user intends to register based on the card information. If the card information registration unit 43 is a predetermined IC card such as an IC card distributed in advance to employees, the IC card is Since it is a reliable card, the card information is permanently registered. On the other hand, if the IC card is not a predetermined IC card as described above, such as an IC card owned by each user, the IC card is an unreliable card at that time, so the card information is temporarily registered. And

  Then, the card information that has been temporarily registered is registered by the card information registration unit 43 by switching to the main registration when a specific operation is performed by a specific user to perform the main registration. For example, in the present embodiment, there are two operations for switching the temporarily registered card information to the main registration.

  The first operation is an operation performed by the administrator of the image forming apparatus 1. For example, when the administrator of the image forming apparatus 1 approves switching the temporary registration to the main registration, the main registration approval command is input to the card information registration unit 43, and the card information registration unit 43 receives the temporary registration card information. Switch to permanent registration. That is, in this case, the administrator can give an approval to use the IC card that the user has uniquely.

  The second operation is an operation performed by the user who has temporarily registered the card information. For example, when the user who has temporarily registered the card information logs out of the image forming apparatus 1 and returns to his / her seat and operates his / her computers 11 and 12 to remotely log in to the image forming apparatus 1, the card information registration is performed accordingly. The main registration approval command is input to the unit 43, and the card information registration unit 43 switches the temporarily registered card information to the main registration. That is, since it is confirmed that the user who remotely logs in to the image forming apparatus 1 is a user who is authorized by the server device 13 to use the network 10, an unauthorized IC by an unauthorized user is obtained. It can be determined that the card is not registered, and the temporary registration is switched to the main registration. As a result, it is possible to use an IC card that the user has uniquely.

  Next, when the user is authenticated in the user authentication, the user authority reflecting unit 44 enables the various functions of the image forming apparatus 1 to be used based on the authority previously given to the authenticated user. A processing unit that reflects user authority. For example, if the authenticated user has the authority to perform color copying, the user authority reflecting unit 44 reflects the authority on the image forming apparatus 1 so that the color copy can be used. If the authenticated user does not have color copy authority but only black copy authority, the user authority reflection unit 44 reflects the authority on the image forming apparatus 1 so that only black copy can be used. It becomes a state.

  The job execution unit 45 receives setting operations for various functions that can be used by the user in a state where the user authority reflecting unit 44 reflects the user authority, and when the user instructs execution of the job, the scanner unit 2 And a processing unit that executes a job by controlling hardware such as the printer unit 3.

  The browser unit 46 is a processing unit that functions when activated by the user authority reflecting unit 44. The browser unit 46 accesses the network 10 via the network interface 23 based on a user's operation, and from various sites such as the server device 13. It is a processing unit that acquires a browse image and displays the browse image on the display unit 5 of the operation panel 4. The range of sites that can be accessed by the browser unit 46 is defined by proxy settings, and the user authority reflecting unit 44 changes the proxy settings according to the authority for each user, thereby limiting the sites that can be viewed by the logged-in user. It has come to be.

  The log recording unit 47 is a processing unit that records a history of processing performed in the image forming apparatus 1 as log data, and stores the log data in the storage device 26 or the like. The log recording unit 47 starts recording the log data after shifting to the login state of the authenticated user as a result of performing user authentication in the user authentication unit 41, for example. When the logged-in user performs an operation for registering the IC card 9, the history is recorded in detail.

  Next, details of the user information 28 that the user authentication unit 41 refers to during user authentication will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of user information 28 before and after IC card registration. FIG. 4A shows a state before IC card registration, and FIG. 4B shows a state after IC card registration. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the user information 28 is defined as an aggregate of individual user information 28a, 28b, 28c,... Set for each user. As shown in FIG. 4A, in the state before IC card registration, each user information 28a, 28b, 28c,... Includes a user name 31, a user ID 33, a password 34, authority information 37, and the like. The user name 31 is information for specifying a registered user registered in the user information 28. The user ID 33 and the password 34 are manual authentication information 32 that is referred to during user authentication when the user manually inputs information related to these into the operation panel 4. When the user authentication unit 41 inputs the user ID and password from the operation panel 4, the user authentication unit 41 refers to the manual authentication information 32 of all the user information 28a, 28b, 28c,. If there is the manual authentication information 32 that matches the password, the registered user registered in the user information 28 is specified thereby. The authority information 37 is information indicating the authority given in advance to the registered user. When the user authentication unit 41 performs user authentication and identifies a registered user of the user information 28a, for example, the user authority reflection unit 44 is provided. Reads the authority information 37 of the user information 28a, and validates various functions based on the authority of the registered user.

  When the user who has logged in to the image forming apparatus 1 registers the IC card 9, the card information 36 recorded in the IC card 9 is the logged-in user in the user information 28, as shown in FIG. Are registered in the user information 28a, 28b, 28c,. At this time, the card information 36 is correlated with the user name 31, the manual authentication information 32, and the authority information 37, and if the card information 36 is specified, the user name 31, the manual authentication information 32, and the authority information 37 Each can be identified. When registering card information, for example, when registering card information, for example, a specific flag is turned on, and when registering temporarily, a specific flag is turned off to distinguish the two registration states. The card information 36 that is registered for the user information 28 becomes the IC card authentication information 35 that can be referred to by the user authentication unit 41 during user authentication by the IC card 9. That is, when the user authentication unit 41 acquires card information from the card information acquisition unit 42 in a state where the user is not logged in to the image forming apparatus 1, all the user information 28 a, 28 b, 28 c, The IC card authentication information 35 is referred to, and if there is the IC card authentication information 35 that matches the input card information, the registered user registered in the user information 28 is specified thereby. In the above case, the specific flag corresponding to the temporarily registered card information is turned on when switched to the main registration.

  Next, a processing procedure when the image forming apparatus 1 registers the IC card 9 based on the operation of the user who owns the IC card 9 in the present embodiment will be described in more detail. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure performed by the control computer 20 of the image forming apparatus 1 when registering the IC card 9. First, the control computer 20 displays an initial screen on the display unit 5 of the operation panel 4 (step S100). FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an initial screen displayed on the display unit 5 of the operation panel 4 at this time. The display unit 5 displays a user ID input field 5a for a user to input a user ID for logging in to the image forming apparatus 1 and a password input field 5b for inputting a password. A login key 6a for instructing the image forming apparatus 1 to perform user authentication is displayed at the bottom of the screen. A user who registers the IC card 9 operates various keys included in the operation input unit 6 to input his / her user ID in the user ID input field 5a and inputs his / her password in the password input field 5b. . Then, the login key 6a is operated.

  The control computer 20 accepts an operation by the user as described above with the initial screen displayed (step S101), and performs user authentication when detecting that the login key 6a is operated (step S102). Here, the above-described user authentication unit 41 functions in the control computer 20, reads the user information 28 stored in the storage device 26, and performs user authentication based on the user ID and password manually input by the user. Then, it is determined whether or not the authentication is successful (step S103). If the authentication is unsuccessful, the process is terminated. If the authentication is successful, the login user is specified, so the image forming apparatus 1 is shifted to the login state. Further, the process proceeds to the subsequent processing.

  When the user authentication is successful (YES in step S103), the control computer 20 displays an IC card registration confirmation screen on the display unit 5 of the operation panel 4 (step S104). FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an IC card registration confirmation screen displayed on the display unit 5 of the operation panel 4 at this time. In the example shown in the figure, a user A registered in the user information 28 is specified by user authentication, and the user A is a login user. In this screen, as shown in FIG. 7, the user A who is a login user is inquired whether or not to register an IC card. In the lower part of the screen, an execution key 6b that is operated when the logged-in user registers the IC card and a cancel key 6c that is operated when the registered user does not register are displayed. When the key operation is performed by the login user, the control computer 20 determines whether or not an IC card registration is instructed (step S105). As a result, if the login user does not instruct IC card registration (NO in step S105), the processing for IC card registration is terminated. In this case, the user A who is a logged-in user can use the image forming apparatus 1 based on his / her authority, but the description thereof is omitted here.

  On the other hand, when the login user instructs registration of the IC card (YES in step S105), the card information acquisition unit 42 functions in the control computer 20, and the IC card 9 possessed by the login user via the IC card reader 8 is connected. The recorded card information is acquired (step S106). FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of card information recorded on the IC card 9. As shown in FIG. 8, the IC card 9 includes a recording medium 9a composed of a semiconductor memory or the like, and card information is recorded on the recording medium 9a. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the recording area of the recording medium 9a is divided into a plurality of blocks, and card information such as a card type, a card ID, and a company code is recorded in each block. The card type is information indicating the card type of the IC card 9, and the card ID is unique identification information set for the IC card 9. The company code is information for specifying the issuer of the IC card 9 and the like. Therefore, when the IC card 9 is a dedicated IC card for user authentication of the employee ID or the image forming apparatus 1, the card type and the company code are predetermined information. The card information acquisition unit 42 acquires card information including a card type, a card ID, a company code, and the like from the IC card 9.

  When the card information acquisition unit 42 acquires the card information, the control computer 20 next causes the card information registration unit 43 to function. Then, the card information registration unit 43 performs card information registration determination to determine whether to perform main registration or temporary registration based on the card information (step S107).

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a detailed processing procedure of this card information registration determination. When proceeding to the card information registration determination, the card information registration unit 43 first determines whether or not the acquired card information can be identified (step S121). Here, for example, it is determined whether or not various information such as the card type, card ID, and company code as described above can be identified from the card information. If various types of information can be identified from the card information (YES in step S121), the card information registration unit 43 determines whether the company code is a predetermined code (step S122), and then the card type. Is determined to be a predetermined type (step S123). Then, the card information registration unit 43 determines whether or not the IC card 9 from which the card information has been acquired is a predetermined IC card based on the determination results in steps S122 and S123 (step S124). As a result, if the IC card 9 is a predetermined IC card such as an employee ID card or a dedicated IC card for performing user authentication of the image forming apparatus 1 (YES in step S124), this It is determined that registration is possible (step S125). On the other hand, if it is not a predetermined IC card (NO in step S124), the card information registration unit 43 determines that provisional registration is possible (step S126).

  On the other hand, if various information such as the card type, card ID, and company code cannot be identified from the card information (NO in step S121), it is assumed that the card information itself could not be read. The unit 43 determines that registration is impossible (step S127). In this case, neither card registration nor provisional registration is performed on the card information.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 5, if the main registration is possible based on the result of the card information registration determination performed as described above (YES in step S108), the card information registration unit 43 displays the acquired card information as the user of the login user. The main registration is made in the information 28a (step S109). Then, the card information registration unit 43 displays a registration completion screen on the display unit 5 of the operation panel 4 (step S110). FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a registration completion screen displayed on the display unit 5 of the operation panel 4 at this time. In the case of the illustrated example, since the display indicating that the registration of the IC card has been normally completed is performed, the login user can confirm that the IC card has been fully registered. Then, by operating the OK key 6d displayed in the screen, the IC card registration process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the result of the card information registration determination is not registerable (NO in step S108), the card information registration unit 43 determines whether or not provisional registration is possible next (step S111), and provisional registration is possible. If so (YES in step S111), the acquired card information is provisionally registered in the user information 28a of the login user (step S112). Then, the card information registration unit 43 displays a temporary registration guidance screen on the display unit 5 of the operation panel 4 (step S113). FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a temporary registration guidance screen displayed on the display unit 5 of the operation panel 4 at this time. In the case of the example in the figure, since the indication that the registration of the IC card is provisional registration and the approval by a specific user such as an administrator is necessary to perform the main registration, the logged-in user is the IC card. Can be confirmed to be temporarily registered. When the OK key 6d displayed in the screen is operated, the card information registration unit 43 notifies a specific user such as an administrator that the card information has been temporarily registered (step S114). This notification is performed, for example, by sending an e-mail to the e-mail address of the administrator.

  If the temporary registration is not possible in step S111, the card information cannot be registered, so the card information registration unit 43 ends the process without performing the main registration or temporary registration of the card information.

  Through the processing as described above, the user can register the IC card 9 possessed by the user in the image forming apparatus 1. If the card information of the IC card 9 is fully registered, then the user can perform user authentication using the IC card 9, and the user ID and password for the operation panel 4 can be obtained. The operation efficiency is improved compared to the case where user authentication is performed by manually inputting. In addition, when the card information of the IC card 9 can be fully registered, it is possible to reduce the work burden on the administrator when registering the IC card.

  On the other hand, when the card information of the IC card 9 is temporarily registered, a process for switching the temporarily registered card information to the main registration is further performed based on a specific user operation. Hereinafter, this process will be described.

  First, a process for the administrator of the image forming apparatus 1 to switch temporarily registered card information to main registration will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure performed by the control computer 20 of the image forming apparatus 1 when the administrator switches temporary registration to main registration. This process is performed when a specific user such as an administrator logs in to the image forming apparatus 1. When a specific user such as an administrator logs in to the image forming apparatus 1 (step S200), the control computer 20 causes the card information registration unit 43 to function accordingly and out of the user information 28 stored in the storage device 26. Thus, all user information whose card information is temporarily registered is extracted (step S201). Then, an IC card temporary registration guidance screen is displayed on the display unit 5 of the operation panel 4 (step S202). FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the IC card temporary registration guidance screen displayed on the display unit 5 of the operation panel 4 at this time. As shown in FIG. 13, a list of temporarily registered card information is displayed on this screen. In the illustrated example, the screen configuration displays the card ID and the user name. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and more detailed information including the card type and the company code may be displayed. Also, at the bottom of the screen, a registration key 6e for authorizing the administrator to switch the temporary registration to the main registration, a discard key 6f for discarding the temporarily registered card information, and the temporarily registered card information A cancel key 6g that does not perform processing is displayed. Then, the administrator operates the registration key 6e, the discard key 6f, or the cancel key 6g in a state where at least one card information is selected from the card information displayed as a list.

  After displaying the IC card temporary registration guidance screen, the control computer 20 waits until the administrator performs the above-described operation (step S203). When the operation is performed by the administrator (YES in step S203), the operation is performed. Is instructed to switch to the main registration (step S204). If the operation is an instruction to switch to main registration, the card information registration unit 43 changes the card information in the temporary registration state selected by the administrator to main registration (step S205). As a result, the user who possesses the IC card 9 can subsequently perform user authentication using the IC card 9. Therefore, even if the temporarily registered IC card 9 is a credit card or a cash card that the user has uniquely, if the approval of the administrator is obtained, the IC card 9 is subsequently used. User authentication can be performed. Then, the card information registration unit 43 notifies the user that the IC card 9 is available (step S206). This notification is performed, for example, by sending an e-mail to the e-mail address of the user who temporarily registered the IC card 9.

  On the other hand, if the operation performed by the administrator is not an instruction to switch to the main registration (NO in step S204), the control computer 20 determines whether or not the operation is a discard of card information (step S204). S207). Here, when the operation by the administrator is not the discard of the card information (NO in step S207), the process is ended as it is. On the other hand, when the administrator has instructed to discard the card information, the card information registration unit 43 deletes the temporarily registered card information from the user information 28 (step S208). For example, if temporary registration has been made but the administrator does not permit the use of the temporarily registered IC card 9, the administrator cancels the temporary registration of the card IC, and the card information is obtained from the user information 28. Is deleted. In this case, user authentication cannot be performed using the IC card 9. Then, the card information registration unit 43 notifies the user that the card information of the temporarily registered IC card 9 has been discarded (step S209). This notification is performed, for example, by sending an e-mail to the e-mail address of the user who temporarily registered the IC card 9.

  Through the processing as described above, the card information that has been temporarily registered can be switched to the main registration or discarded by the administrator. Such an approval work by the administrator is lighter than the work of registering each IC card in association with each user, and the work burden on the administrator is reduced compared to the conventional work. Will be. When the administrator switches the temporarily registered card information to the main registration, even if the IC card 9 is a card such as a credit card, the user can use it to perform user authentication, Operation efficiency is improved compared to the case where user authentication is performed by manually inputting a user ID and password to the operation panel 4.

  Next, a process for the user who temporarily registers the IC card to the image forming apparatus 1 to switch the temporarily registered card information to the main registration will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure performed by the control computer 20 of the image forming apparatus 1 when the user himself switches temporary registration to main registration. The control computer 20 monitors whether or not a remote login of the user has been performed from the computers 11 and 12 via the network interface 23 (step S300). If the remote login has been performed, the user who has logged in remotely Is identified (step S301). Then, the card information registration unit 43 functions, and the card information registration unit 43 determines whether there is provisionally registered card information in the user information 28a of the user who has logged in remotely (step S302). If there is no provisionally registered card information, the process is terminated. On the other hand, if there is provisionally registered card information (YES in step S302), the card information registration unit 43 changes the card information in the provisional registration state to main registration (step S303). As a result, the user who has logged in remotely can switch the card information temporarily provisionally registered to the main registration, and then can perform user authentication using the IC card 9. Therefore, even if the temporarily registered IC card 9 is a credit card or a cash card, it can be used for user authentication thereafter. Then, the card information registration unit 43 notifies the user that the IC card 9 is available (step S304). This notification is performed, for example, by sending an e-mail to the e-mail address of the user who temporarily registered the IC card 9 (that is, the user who logged in remotely). Further, the fact that the IC card 9 can be used may be displayed on the display screen displayed on the computer 11 or 12 by remote login to the image forming apparatus 1.

  Through the processing described above, the user himself / herself accesses the image forming apparatus 1 via the network 10 and makes a predetermined processing request such as remote login to switch the temporarily registered card information to the main registration. Can do. Therefore, in this case, the approval work by the manager is not necessary, and the work burden on the manager can be reduced.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment described above, the case where the authority information 37 given in advance for each user is set in the user information 28 before registering the card information of the IC card is illustrated. On the other hand, in this embodiment, even if various information such as authority information is not set in advance in the user information 28, a mode in which such information can be registered at the time of card information registration will be described.

  FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment. The difference between the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment and the first embodiment is information stored in the storage device 26. As in the first embodiment, the storage device 26 stores a program 27 executed by the CPU 21 of the control computer 20 and user information 28. In the case of this embodiment, authority information is further stored. 51, department information 53, setting information 55, and IC card level setting information 57 are stored in advance.

  The other points of the image forming apparatus 1 in the present embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment. For example, the control computer 20 reads and executes the program 27 by the CPU 21 of the control computer 20, and the control computer 20 is shown in FIG. It functions as the user authentication unit 41, the card information acquisition unit 42, the card information registration unit 43, and the like. However, in the present embodiment, there are two modes in which the user performs manual input on the operation panel 4 to perform user authentication and log in to the image forming apparatus 1. As in the first embodiment, the first mode is a mode in which a registered user registered in advance in the user information 28 logs in. In this case, the registered user is identified as an authenticated user by user authentication, and the image It becomes a login user for the forming apparatus 1. The second mode is a mode in which the image forming apparatus 1 is logged in as a public user. Here, the public user refers to all general users of the image forming apparatus. In this case, it is not specified that the authenticated user is one registered user in the user authentication, but is specified as a public user.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of user information 28a before and after IC card registration for a registered user. (A) shows a state before IC card registration, and (b) shows a state after IC card registration. . For example, as illustrated in FIG. 16A, the user information 28a of the registered user includes information such as a user name 31, a user ID 33, and a password 34. Here, the difference from the first embodiment is that the user information 28a in FIG. 16A does not include the authority information 37.

  When the registered user who has logged into the image forming apparatus 1 registers the IC card 9, the card information 36 recorded in the IC card 9 is registered in the user information 28a as shown in FIG. 16B. . If the IC card 9 to be registered at this time is a predetermined IC card, the card information 36 is permanently registered as in the first embodiment. If it is not a predetermined IC card, the card information 36 is provisionally registered.

  In the present embodiment, when the card information 36 is a predetermined IC card 9 that can be fully registered, along with the registration of the card information 36, authority information 52, department information 54, and setting information are based on the card information 36. 56 is also registered. Here, the authority information 52 is information extracted from the authority information 51 stored in the storage device 26 based on the card information 36, and the department information 54 is card information from the department information 53 stored in the storage apparatus 26. 36, information extracted based on 36. The setting information 56 is information extracted from the setting information 55 stored in the storage device 26 based on the card information 36. The card information 36, the authority information 52, the department information 54, and the setting information 56 are associated with each other together with the user name 31 and the manual authentication information 32. If the card information 36 is specified, the user name 31, the manual authentication is thereby performed. Each of the information 32, the authority information 52, the department information 54, and the setting information 56 can be specified.

  Next, FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of user information 28b before and after IC card registration for public users, where (a) shows the state before IC card registration and (b) shows the state after IC card registration. ing. For example, as shown in FIG. 17A, the user information 28b of the public user includes only information related to the user name 31, and the user name 31 is recorded as a public user.

  When the public user who has logged in to the image forming apparatus 1 registers the IC card 9, the card information 36 recorded in the IC card 9 is registered in the user information 28b as shown in FIG. 17B. . If the IC card 9 to be registered at this time is a predetermined IC card, the card information 36 is permanently registered as in the first embodiment. If it is not a predetermined IC card, the card information 36 is provisionally registered. As in the case of a registered user, when the card information 36 is a predetermined IC card 9 that can be fully registered, the authority information 52 and the department information 54 are registered based on the card information 36 when the card information 36 is registered. And setting information 56 are also registered.

  Registration of the card information 36, the authority information 52, the department information 54, and the setting information 56 in the user information 28 is performed by the card information registration unit 43 shown in FIG. 3 in this embodiment. When registering the card information in the user information 28, the card information registration unit 43 determines whether or not the card information is a predetermined IC card based on the company code included in the card information. Is read out, and the IC card level is determined based on the card ID included in the card information.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the IC card level setting information 57. As shown in FIG. 18, in this example, if the company code is “10001234”, it is determined that the IC card 9 is a predetermined IC card. In the IC card level setting information 57, an IC card level is set for each card ID of a predetermined IC card. Therefore, the card information registration unit 43 can determine the level of the IC card 9 from which the card information is acquired by referring to the IC card level setting information 57.

  Then, the card information registration unit 43 extracts authority information 52 to be registered in the user information 28 from the authority information 51 stored in the storage device 26 based on the IC card level determined with reference to the IC card level setting information 57. . FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of the authority information 51 stored in the storage device 26. As shown in FIG. 19, in the authority information 51, authority regarding various functions of the image forming apparatus 1 when the authenticated user is a public user and authority regarding various functions of the image forming apparatus 1 when the authenticated user is a registered user are set. The authority for the registered user is further set according to the IC card level. For example, when the authenticated user is a public user, the usable functions of the image forming apparatus 1 have the most limited authority regardless of the IC card level. When the authenticated user is a registered user, the higher the IC card level is, the more usable functions of the image forming apparatus 1 are set, and a wider authority is set. Therefore, the card information registration unit 43 extracts authority information corresponding to the authenticated user and the IC card level from the authority information 51 and registers it as authority information 52 in the user information 28.

  The card information registration unit 43 reads the department information 53 stored in the storage device 26, and acquires department information 54 related to the department to which the authenticated user belongs based on the card ID included in the card information. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of department information 53 stored in the storage device 26. As shown in FIG. 20, information related to the department to which the user belongs when the company code is “10001234” is set in the department information 53. The card information registration unit 43 can identify the department to which the user who is the owner of the IC card 9 that acquired the card information belongs by referring to the department information 53. Therefore, the card information registration unit 43 extracts information related to the department corresponding to the card ID from the department information 53 and registers it as the department information 54 in the user information 28.

  The card information registration unit 43 extracts setting information 56 to be registered in the user information 28 from the setting information 55 stored in the storage device 26 based on the IC card level determined with reference to the IC card level setting information 57. . Here, the setting information 55 is setting information for various functions that can be used when an authenticated user logs in to the image forming apparatus 1. In the present embodiment, as an example, the case of setting information for the browser unit 46 will be described. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of the setting information 55 stored in the storage device 26. As shown in FIG. 21, in the setting information 55, different proxy settings are registered according to the IC card level. For example, when the IC card level is level 1, the proxy setting permits access to only a part of the company site. When the IC card level is level 2, proxy settings permit access to all sites in the company. Further, when the IC card level is level 3, proxy settings permit access to all internal sites and external sites. The card information registration unit 43 extracts setting information corresponding to the IC card level from such setting information 55 and registers it as setting information 56 in the user information 28.

  Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, when the logged-in user registers the IC card 9, if the IC card 9 is a predetermined IC card, the user information 28a, 28b, 28c, Can automatically register authority information 52 corresponding to the login user.

  Next, a processing procedure when the image forming apparatus 1 registers the IC card 9 based on the operation of the user who owns the IC card 9 in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure performed by the control computer 20 of the image forming apparatus 1 when registering the IC card 9 in the second embodiment. First, the control computer 20 displays an initial screen on the display unit 5 of the operation panel 4 (step S400). Here, as in the first embodiment, an initial screen as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed.

  The control computer 20 accepts an operation by the user while the initial screen is displayed (step S401). When the control computer 20 detects that the login key 6a is operated, the control computer 20 performs user authentication and puts the image forming apparatus 1 into the login state. Transition (step S402). Then, it is specified whether the authenticated user specified by the user authentication is a registered user or a public user (step S403). When specifying the authenticated user, the control computer 20 displays an IC card registration confirmation screen on the display unit 5 of the operation panel 4 (step S404). Again, as in the first embodiment, a screen as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed. When a key operation is performed by the login user, it is determined whether or not an IC card registration is instructed (step S405). If the IC card is not registered (NO in step S405), the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the login user instructs registration of the IC card (YES in step S405), the card information acquisition unit 42 stores the card information recorded in the IC card 9 possessed by the login user via the IC card reader 8. Obtain (step S406).

  Then, the control computer 20 causes the card information registration unit 43 to function and determines whether or not the acquired card information can be identified (step S407). If the card information is not identifiable (NO in step S407), the card information registration unit 43 ends the process without registering the acquired card information.

  On the other hand, if the card information can be identified (YES in step S407), the card information registration unit 43 determines whether or not the company code included in the acquired card information is a predetermined code (step S408). ). Thereby, it is determined whether or not the IC card 9 that has read the card information is a predetermined IC card. If the company code is a predetermined code (YES in step S408), the card information registration unit 43 executes a main registration process for registering the acquired card information in the user information 28 (step S409). On the other hand, if the company code is not a predetermined code (NO in step S408), the card information registration unit 43 next determines whether or not the authenticated user (login user) is a registered user (step S410). . If the authenticated user is a registered user (YES in step S410), the card information registration unit 43 executes a temporary registration process (step S411) for temporarily registering the acquired card information in the user information 28. Exit. If the authenticated user is not a registered user (NO in step S410), since the reliability of both the authenticated user and the IC card 9 is low, the process ends without registering card information.

  FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a detailed processing procedure of the main registration processing (step S409) in the present embodiment. When the card information registration unit 43 determines that the IC card 9 from which the card information has been acquired is a predetermined card, first, the card information registration unit 43 determines the IC card level (step S421). At this time, the card information registration unit 43 reads the IC card level setting information 57 from the storage device 26, and determines the level based on the acquired card information. Then, the card information registration unit 43 determines whether or not the authenticated user (login user) is a registered user (step S422). If the authenticated user is a registered user (YES in step S422), the card information registration unit 43 refers to the authority information 51 stored in the storage device 26, and authority information based on the IC card level determined in step S421. 52 is extracted (step S423). On the other hand, if the authenticated user is a public user (NO in step S422), the card information registration unit 43 refers to the authority information 51 stored in the storage device 26 and obtains authority information 52 corresponding to the public user. Extract (step S424).

  Next, the card information registration unit 43 refers to the department information 53 stored in the storage device 26, and extracts department information 54 relating to the department to which the user belongs based on the card ID included in the card information (step S425). Further, the card information registration unit 43 refers to the setting information 55 stored in the storage device 26, and extracts setting information 56 based on the IC card level determined in step S421 (step S426).

  Thereafter, the card information registration unit 43 acquires the card information 36 acquired from the IC card 9, the authority information 52 acquired in step S423 or S424, and the user information 28a of the authenticated user (login user) in step S425. The department information 54 and the setting information 56 acquired in step S426 are fully registered. Then, the card information registration unit 43 performs main registration of various information including card information in the user information 28a, and then displays a main registration confirmation screen on the display unit 5 of the operation panel 4 (step S428). This screen is a screen that allows the authenticated user to confirm that the card information main registration has been completed. And this registration process (step S409) is complete | finished by this screen display.

  On the other hand, the temporary registration process in step S411 is the same as steps S111 to S113 shown in FIG. 5, and after temporary registration of card information, a temporary registration guide screen is displayed on the display unit 5 of the operation panel 4. Further, the manager is notified that the card information has been temporarily registered, and the process is terminated.

  Through the processing as described above, the authentication user himself / herself can register the IC card 9 possessed by the authenticated user in the image forming apparatus 1, and the authority of the function that allows the authenticated user to use the image forming apparatus 1. The department of the authenticated user, the proxy settings for the browser unit 46, and the like can be automatically registered. It is not necessary for the administrator to set these for each user, and the workload of the administrator is significantly reduced.

(Modification)
As mentioned above, although several embodiment regarding this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the thing of the content mentioned above. That is, various modified examples in which the above-described embodiment is modified can be applied to the present invention.

  For example, in the first embodiment, the user information 28 is stored in the storage device 26 of the image forming apparatus 1, and the card information registration unit 43 stores the IC card in the user information 28 stored in the storage device 26. In the above description, the card information read from 9 is registered. In the second embodiment, user information 28, authority information 51, department information 53, setting information 55, and IC card level setting information 57 are stored in the storage device 26 of the image forming apparatus 1. The card information registration unit 43 extracts the information extracted from the authority information 51 and the information extracted from the department information 53 together with the card information read from the IC card 9 with respect to the user information 28 stored in the storage device 26. In the above description, the mode in which the information extracted from the setting information 55 is registered has been described. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to these forms. For example, user information 28, authority information 51, department information 53, setting information 55, IC card level setting information 57, and the like may be stored in the server device 13 instead of the storage device 26 of the image forming apparatus 1. good. In this case, when the card information registration unit 43 functions in the control computer 20 of the image forming apparatus 1, the card information registration unit 43 stores data in the server device 13 while performing data communication with the server device 13 via the network 10. Processing for registering information such as card information 36, authority information 52, department information 54, and setting information 56 is performed on the user information 28 that has been set. Even in this case, the procedure similar to the procedure described above can be adopted as the processing procedure in the card information registration unit 43.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 4 Operation panel 5 Display part (display means)
6 Operation input section (operation input means)
8 IC card reader (IC card reader)
10 Network 20 Control Computer 23 Network Interface 26 Storage Device (Storage Unit)
28 User information 36 Card information 37 Authority information 57 IC card level setting information 41 User authentication unit (user authentication means)
42 Card information acquisition unit (card information acquisition means)
43 Card information registration section (Card information registration means)
46 Browser part (browser means)
37 Authority information 53 Department information 55 Setting information

Claims (8)

An operation input means for receiving an operation input by a user;
Card information acquisition means for acquiring card information recorded on the IC card;
User authentication based on input information input from the operation input means or card information acquired by the card information acquisition means, and user information set for each user, and a user authentication means for specifying an authenticated user;
When the card information acquisition unit acquires card information in a state where the user authentication unit specifies the authentication user based on input information from the operation input unit, the card information is stored in the user corresponding to the authentication user. Card information registration means for registering information,
An image forming apparatus comprising:   When registering the card information in the user information, the card information registration means is configured to make the user authentication means referable during user authentication based on the card information and the user authentication means as a user. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of temporary registration that cannot be referred to at the time of authentication is selected and registered.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the card information registration unit switches the card information of temporary registration to main registration when a main registration approval command is input from a specific user. A network interface for connecting to a network and communicating with an external device;
When the card information registration means receives a predetermined processing request from the external device via the network interface in a state where the card information is temporarily registered, the card information registration means switches the card information of the temporary registration to the main registration. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2.   When registering the card information in the user information, the card information registration means acquires department information related to a user's department that is set in advance for each IC card, and for the user information corresponding to the authenticated user 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the card information and department information corresponding to the card information are registered.   When registering the card information in the user information, the card information registration means obtains authority information relating to a user's function use authority set in advance for each IC card, and stores the user information corresponding to the authenticated user in the user information. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the card information and authority information corresponding to the card information are registered. Display means for displaying various information;
Browser means for accessing the network to obtain a browsing image, and displaying the browsing image on the display means;
Further comprising
When registering the card information in the user information, the card information registration unit acquires setting information regarding proxy settings of the browser unit that is set in advance for each IC card, and the user information corresponding to the authenticated user The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the card information and setting information corresponding to the card information are registered. An IC card registration method for user authentication using an IC card,
Receiving an input operation for performing user authentication by manual operation;
Based on the input information input in the input operation, referring to user information set for each user and performing user authentication to identify an authenticated user;
Obtaining card information recorded on an IC card in a state where the authenticated user is specified;
Registering the card information in the user information corresponding to the authenticated user;
An IC card registration method characterized by comprising:

Images