JP2011243074A - Ic card authentication method, apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To treat multiple types of IC cards by multiple types of IC card readers without requiring a user to change the IC card readers.SOLUTION: The IC card authentication method includes: forming, in response to a system reset pulse (41) at power-on or an initialization instruction input from an operation panel 17, connection information by associating a port number with a reader-type number as type identification information of an API function, for each of IC card reader connection ports 23-25; and polling the IC card reader connected to the port through each port to read authentication information from the IC card.

Description

  The present invention relates to an IC card authentication method, apparatus, and program for reading and authenticating authentication information from an IC card.

  As disclosed in Patent Document 1 below, the image forming apparatus includes an IC card reader. When the user inserts or holds the IC card in the IC card reader, user authentication is performed and the login state is set. Become.

  Conventionally, one image forming apparatus has only one IC card reader.

JP 2004-214958 A

  For this reason, for example, different types of IC cards and IC card readers are used for an image forming apparatus installed in a domestic company and an image forming apparatus installed in an overseas affiliated company. A plurality of IC card readers are prepared, and software corresponding to these is installed in the image forming apparatus, and the user needs to replace the IC card reader in accordance with the type of IC card possessed by the user. It was complicated.

  In view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an IC card authentication method, apparatus, and program for enabling a plurality of types of IC card readers to support a plurality of types of IC cards without requiring the user to replace the IC card reader. Is to provide.

In the first aspect of the present invention, in the IC card authentication method in which the computer reads and authenticates the authentication information from the IC card,
(A) In response to the occurrence of the IC card reader connection state initialization event, the connection with the IC card reader is attempted for each of a plurality of IC card reader connection ports using respective API functions of a predetermined plurality of types. If established, the storage means stores the connection information in which the port identification information and the type identification information are associated with each other,
(B) The IC card reader connected to the port is periodically polled by the API function of the corresponding type via the port corresponding to each port identification information included in the connection information and authenticated from the IC card. Read information.

  In the second aspect of the IC card authentication method, apparatus, and program according to the present invention, in the first aspect, the IC card reader connection state initialization event is a reset of the computer or an IC card reader connection state initialization instruction from the input means. Occurs based on input.

  According to the configuration of the first aspect, in response to the occurrence of the IC card reader connection state initialization event, the port identification information and the API function type identification information are associated with each other for each of the plurality of IC card reader connection ports. The connection information is created, and the authentication information is read from the IC card by polling the IC card reader connected to the port through each port based on the connection information. Accordingly, there is no need to replace the IC card reader, and the operability is improved.

  According to the configuration of the second aspect, even if the IC card reader connection state is changed after the computer is turned on, the connection information is updated by inputting an initialization instruction.

  Other objects, characteristic configurations and effects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description read in connection with the appended claims and the drawings.

3 is a functional block unit of an authentication processing unit provided in the image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic flowchart which shows the process of the IC card reader connection state initialization part in FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the table stored in the IC card reader connection state memory | storage part in FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows the specific example performed by the process of FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 10.

  In the image forming apparatus 10, the CPU 21 is coupled to the PROM 13, DRAM 14, hard disk drive 15, network interface 16, operation panel 17, scanner 18, printer 19, fax modem 20, and communication unit 21 via the interface 12.

  The PROM 13 is, for example, a flash memory, and stores a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System), an OS (Operating System), various drivers, and an application for functioning as an image forming apparatus. This application includes an authentication program. The DRAM 14 is used as a main storage device. The hard disk drive 15 stores printing data, image data read by the scanner 2A, and facsimile reception data. The operation panel 17 is provided with keys and a display panel. The scanner 18 is used as an input device for printing and facsimile transmission, and is used for generating an image file. The printer 19 includes a print engine, a paper feed unit, a conveyance unit, and a paper discharge unit. The bitmap data generated in the DRAM 14 is supplied, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum based on the data. This image is developed with toner, and the toner image is transferred and fixed on a sheet, and discharged.

  The communication unit 21 mediates between the interface 12 and the IC card reader, and includes hardware such as a USB interface, an RS232C interface, or a network interface, and a corresponding software driver. The communication unit 21 is selectively connected to the port 23, 24 or 25 of the multiplexer 22, and the switching is performed by the switching control unit 26 for the multiplexer 22.

  The switching control unit 26 has an initial mode and a scan mode. In the initial mode, the port 23, 24, or port 25 is selected for the multiplexer 22 in response to an instruction from the IC card reader connection state storage unit 44. In the scan mode, the ports 23, 24, and 25 are selected at regular intervals, for example, every second.

  Any type of IC card reader, for example, any of IC card readers 27, 28 and 29 can be connected to the ports 23, 24 and 25, respectively. However, the IC card reader needs to be provided with the same type of communication interface as the communication unit 21.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block unit of an authentication processing unit related to the authentication program.

  For example, the IC card reader 27 can read a type A IC card 30, the IC card reader 28 can read type B and C IC cards 31 and 32, and the IC card reader 29 can be a type D IC card. The card 33 can be read.

  The IC card reader connection state initialization unit 40 responds to a reset pulse from the reset pulse generation unit 41 or a specific flag set from the UI unit 42 (the logical sum 43 of both transitions to “1”). Through the process. This process is for checking which type of IC reader is connected to each of the ports 23, 24 and 25 and storing the result in the IC card reader connection state storage unit 44.

  The reset pulse generator 41 generates a reset pulse in response to turning on the power to the image forming apparatus 10 or pressing the reset button. The UI unit 42 sets the flag in response to a specific key being pressed in a state where the IC card setting screen is displayed on the display unit of the operation panel 17 according to the operation of the operation panel 17. .

  Blocks 40, 42 and 45 in FIG. 1 are composed of programs stored in the CPUs 11 and 13, and blocks 44 and 47 are storage areas in the DRAM 14 and PROM 13, respectively. The switching control unit 26 is composed of programs stored in the CPUs 11 and 13 or hardware.

  Here, there are three types of IC card readers that can be handled by the image forming apparatus 10, and each is identified by the reader type numbers 0, 1, and 2. For example, IC card readers 27, 28 and 29 are reader type numbers 1, 0 and 2, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3B, the IC card readers of the reader type numbers 0, 1 and 2 can support API function calls of API group names A, B and C, respectively. Stored in advance and copied to the IC card reader connection state storage unit 44 when the system is reset. API functions 0 to 2 are connection establishment functions in API groups of API group names (for example, DLL file names) A, B, and C, respectively. Port numbers for identifying the ports 23, 24, and 25 are set to 0, 1, and 2, respectively.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart showing processing of the IC card reader connection state initialization unit 40. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of data stored in the IC card reader connection state storage unit 44. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the processing of FIG. Hereinafter, the parenthesized characters are step identification codes in FIG.

  (S0) The flag is reset, the switching control unit 26 is set to the initial mode, and an initial value 0 is substituted for the port number variable i.

  (S1) The multiplexer 22 is made to select the port of the port number variable i through the switching control unit 26.

  (S2) The initial value 0 is substituted for the reader type number j.

  (S3) The IC card reader connection state initialization unit 40 transmits the API function j call information to the IC card reader 27 via the communication unit 21 and the multiplexer 22, and calls the API function j to the IC card reader (command Attempt to establish a connection. If the IC card reader supports the API function j, for example, a binary value “True” is supplied as a return value to the IC card reader connection state initialization unit 40 via the multiplexer 22 and the communication unit 21 (connection is established). If not, error information such as an error code or binary value “False” is supplied to the IC card reader connection state initialization unit 40 as a return value. In other words, the interfaces of the IC card readers 27 to 29 are configured in this way.

  That is, before the API function j call is supplied to the main body of the IC card reader, whether or not the API function j is compatible with the IC card reader is checked at the preceding stage, and if a negative determination is made, an error occurs. The information is supplied as a return value to the IC card reader connection state initialization unit 40, and when an affirmative determination is made, a call to the API function j is supplied to the main body of the IC card reader, and the return value is sent via the preceding stage. This is supplied to the IC card reader connection state initialization unit 40.

  (S4) If the return value of the API function j indicates connection establishment, the process proceeds to step S5, and if not, the process proceeds to step S6.

  (S5) The IC card reader connection state storage unit 44 defines a table (portion storage area is secured) associating port number variable i and reader type number j as shown in FIG. The value of the reader type number j is written in the address corresponding to the port number variable i, and the process proceeds to step S8.

  (S6) The value of the leader type number j is incremented by 1.

  (S7) If j <rmax, the process returns to step S3; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S8. Here, rmax is the number of IC card reader types, and rmax = 3 in the case of FIG.

  (S8) The value of the port number variable i is incremented by 1.

  (S9) If i <pmax, the process returns to step S1, otherwise the process ends. Here, pmax is the number of ports of the multiplexer 22.

  By such an IC card reader connection state initialization process, for example, the operation shown in FIG. 4 is performed, and the table shown in FIG. 3A is created.

  Returning to FIG. 1, after this initialization processing, the authentication information reading unit 46 sets the switching control unit 26 in the scan mode, and according to the selection state (port number i) of the switching control unit 26, the authentication information reading unit 46 of FIG. The reader type number j is read from the table, and then the API group name corresponding to the reader type number j is read from the table of FIG. 3B, and this is sent to the IC card reader via the communication unit 21 and the switching control unit 26. A polling function in the API group is called (a command is given) to poll the IC card.

  For example, when the user holds the IC card 30 over the IC card reader 27 and the switching control unit 26 selects the port 23, a polling response is returned to the authentication information reading unit 46, and the control is transferred to the authentication unit 45. The authentication unit 45 operates the IC card reader 27 with a predetermined function of the API group name via the authentication information reading unit 46 to read the authentication information from the IC card 30, and obtains it for registration authentication. User authentication is performed with reference to the information storage unit 47. If the result indicates that the user is an authorized user, the function of the image forming apparatus 10 can be used.

  According to the first embodiment, in response to a system reset pulse at power-on or the like or an initialization instruction input from the operation panel 17, the port number and the API function type for each of the IC card reader connection ports 23 to 25 As shown in FIG. 3A, connection information in association with the reader type number that is also identification information is created, and based on this, the IC card reader connected to the port is polled through each port. Since the authentication information is read from the IC card, the user does not need to replace the IC card reader according to the type of IC card that the user possesses, and the operability is improved.

  Further, even if the IC card reader connection state is changed after the image forming apparatus 10 is turned on, the connection information is updated by inputting an initialization instruction from the operation panel 17.

  In the above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, the present invention includes various modifications, and other configurations that realize the functions of the respective components described in the above embodiments are used. However, other configurations that would be conceived by those skilled in the art from these configurations or functions are also included in the present invention.

  For example, although the case where the multiplexer 22 is used has been described in the above embodiment, the multiplexer 22 may not be used when the communication unit 21 is configured by a network interface. In this case, it is possible to simultaneously attempt connection establishment and polling for the IC card readers 27 to 29 by broadcasting.

  Further, instead of inputting an initialization instruction from the operation panel 27 to the IC card reader connection state initialization unit 40 via the UI unit 52, it detects that the IC card reader is connected to the port. The detection signal may be used as an initialization instruction input.

  Furthermore, it is a matter of course that the use information of the image forming apparatus may be written in the IC card using an IC card reader / writer instead of the IC card reader.

10 Image forming apparatus 11 CPU
12 Interface 13 PROM
14 DRAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Hard disk drive 16 Network interface 17 Operation panel 18 Scanner 19 Printer 20 Fax modem 21 Communication part 22 Multiplexer 23-25 Port 26 Switching control part 27-29 IC card reader 30-33 IC card 40 IC card reader connection state initialization part 41 Reset pulse generation unit 42 UI unit 44 IC card reader connection state storage unit 45 Authentication unit 46 Authentication information reading unit 47 Registered authentication information storage unit i Port number j Reader type number rmax Number of reader types pmax Number of ports

Claims (5)

In an IC card authentication method in which a computer reads and authenticates authentication information from an IC card,
(A) In response to the occurrence of the IC card reader connection state initialization event, the connection with the IC card reader is attempted for each of a plurality of IC card reader connection ports using respective API functions of a predetermined plurality of types. If established, the storage means stores the connection information in which the port identification information and the type identification information are associated with each other,
(B) Periodically polling the IC card reader connected to the port via the API function related to the corresponding type identification information via the port corresponding to each port identification information included in the connection information, Read authentication information from the card,
An IC card authentication method characterized by the above.   2. The IC card authentication method according to claim 1, wherein the IC card reader connection state initialization event is generated based on a reset of the computer or an IC card reader connection state initialization instruction input from an input unit. In an IC card authentication device that reads and authenticates authentication information from an IC card,
Event generation means for generating an IC card reader connection state initialization event;
Storage means;
In response to the occurrence of the IC card reader connection state initialization event, each of the plurality of IC card reader connection ports tries to establish a connection with the IC card reader using each API function of a predetermined plurality of types, and the connection is established. An IC card reader connection state initialization unit that stores connection information in which the port identification information is associated with the type identification information in the storage unit;
The IC card reader connected to the port is periodically polled by the API function related to the corresponding type identification information via the port corresponding to each port identification information included in the connection information, and authenticated from the IC card. Authentication information reading means for reading information;
An IC card authenticating device comprising:   4. The IC card authentication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the event generation means is a reset signal generation means for the computer or an input means for inputting an IC card reader connection state initialization instruction. In an IC card authentication program for authenticating a computer by reading authentication information from an IC card,
(A) In response to the occurrence of an IC card reader connection state initialization event, each of a plurality of IC card reader connection ports is caused to attempt to establish a connection with the IC card reader by using a predetermined plurality of types of API functions. Is established, the storage means stores the connection information in which the port identification information and the type identification information are associated with each other,
(B) The IC card reader connected to the port is periodically polled by the API function related to the corresponding type identification information via the port corresponding to each port identification information included in the connection information, and the IC Make the authentication information read from the card,
An IC card authentication program characterized by that.

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