JP2014130542A - Image formation device, session management method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image formation device, session management method and program capable of reducing chances that a session by a user who has just logged in to the image formation device is deleted.SOLUTION: An image formation device comprises a server processing unit for receiving an access request from a client device, a storage unit for storing identification information used to identify a session of the access and session information including last access time showing the time when the session is last used, and a session management unit for overwriting session information having the oldest last session time stored in the storage unit with session information of a new session, when the session information of the new session cannot be stored in the storage unit because a number of sessions reaches an upper limit.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a session management method, and a program.

  A technique is known in which an image forming apparatus has a server function, and a user browses or changes settings of the image forming apparatus from a client device such as a PC (Personal Computer).

  As such a technique, for example, an HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) protocol is known. In communication using the HTTP protocol, a user of an image forming apparatus accesses a web server in the image forming apparatus using a web browser of an information processing apparatus such as a PC.

  The HTTP protocol establishes a connection between a web browser and the web server whenever a request is sent from the web browser (client) to the web server. When the response of the request is returned to the client, the connection is disconnected. Therefore, when there are a plurality of requests in the web server, it cannot be determined whether or not the requests are from the same web browser.

  If the web page can be accessed by anyone, the web server does not need to determine whether the request is from the same web browser. However, in the case of access to a web page that requires browsing authority, the web server side needs to identify the web browser that requested access.

  As a method for the web server to identify the web browser, a method for performing user login authentication is known. That is, the web server holds login information for identifying a user from login to logout, and displays a web page accessible by the user's authority on the user's web browser.

  Management of login information of a web browser includes session management that manages a series of information from login to logout as a session. In session management, an upper limit is set for the number of sessions that a web server can accept. Therefore, when the number of sessions allowed by the web server is exceeded, login of a new session cannot be accepted. In order to avoid this, a technique for releasing a low-priority session is already known in order for the web server to accept login of a new session.

  As a technique for managing a session, for example, Patent Document 1 is known. Patent Document 1 discloses an invention of a data processing apparatus that prevents processing requests from being executed due to lack of sessions.

  However, in the conventional session management, when a new user session is created when the number of server sessions reaches the upper limit, the user session immediately after logging in to the image forming apparatus may be deleted. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and provides an image forming apparatus, a session management method, and a program that reduce the deletion of a user session immediately after login to the image forming apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a server processing unit that accepts an access request from a client device, identification information that identifies the access session, and the session When storing the session information including the last access time representing the last used time, and when the session information of the new session cannot be stored in the storage unit by reaching the upper limit, A session management unit that overwrites the session information stored in the storage unit with the oldest session information with the session information of a new session.

  In the session management method of the present invention, the server processing unit accepts an access request from a client device, the storage unit uses identification information for identifying the access session, and the session is used last. A step of storing session information including a last access time representing a time, and when the session management unit cannot store session information of a new session in the storage unit when the number of sessions reaches an upper limit, Overwriting the session information stored in the storage unit with the oldest last access time with the session information of a new session.

  Further, the program of the present invention includes a computer, a server processing unit that accepts a request for access from a client device, identification information that identifies the session of access, and a last access time that represents a time when the session was last used. And the last access time stored in the storage unit when the session information of a new session cannot be stored in the storage unit because the number of sessions reaches the upper limit. Is made to function as a session management unit that overwrites the oldest session information with the session information of a new session.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus, a session management method, and a program that can reduce the deletion of a user session immediately after logging in to the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of session information managed by the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of HTTP request information managed by the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the session management method of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a sequence when logging in to the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a sequence for logging out from the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a main part of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an image forming apparatus, a session management method, and a program will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of an image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment includes an operation panel 250, a controller 300, and a printer engine 400. The operation panel 250 includes a browser 251. The controller 300 includes a network interface 210, a controller processing unit 220, a print control unit 230, a server processing unit 240, a session management unit 260, and a storage unit 270.

  The image forming apparatus 200, the client apparatus 100a, the client apparatus 100b, and the client apparatus 100n are connected via a network 600. The connection means to the network 600 may be wired or wireless. The client device 100a includes a browser 101a. The client device 100b includes a browser 101b. The client device 100n includes a browser 101n.

  Note that the number of terminals connected to the network 600 is not limited to three and may be any number. Hereinafter, when the client device 100a, the client device 100b, and the client device 100n are not distinguished, they are simply referred to as the client device 100. When the browser 101a, the browser 101b, and the browser 101n are not distinguished, they are simply referred to as the browser 101.

  The client apparatus 100 is an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, or a mobile terminal such as a tablet terminal, a smartphone, or a mobile phone. The server 101 of the image forming apparatus 200 can be accessed using the browser 101 of the client apparatus 100.

  The configuration of the image forming apparatus 200 will be described. The network interface 210 is an interface for connecting to the network 600. The network interface 210 may be a wired system or a wireless system. Moreover, both methods may be used. The controller processing unit 220 executes processing requested by the controller 300 by linking the functional blocks of the controller 300. The print control unit 230 instructs the printer engine 400 such as a print request.

  The server processing unit 240 accepts access requests from the browser 101a, browser 101b, browser 101n, and browser 251. Accordingly, the server processing unit 240 receives reference or change of the settings of the image forming apparatus 200 from the client apparatus 100a, the client apparatus 100b, the client apparatus 100n, and the operation panel 250.

  The operation panel 250 includes a browser 251. The operation panel 250 is a panel for the user of the image forming apparatus 200 to operate the image forming apparatus 200. A user of the image forming apparatus 200 can access the server processing unit 240 of the controller 300 using the browser 251.

  The session management unit 260 manages a session of a browser that is accessing the server processing unit 240 according to an instruction from the server processing unit 240. Further, the session management unit 260 authenticates access from the user with a user ID, a password, or the like.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of session information 280 managed by the image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment. The session information 280 includes a session ID 281 and a last access time 282. The session ID 281 is identification information for identifying a session established by authenticating access from the user. The last access time 282 represents the time when the session ID 281 was last used. The session information 280 is managed as an array from the 0th to the Nth, for example.

  The session management unit 260 associates the user ID of the user authenticated by the session management unit 260 with the session ID 281. Thereby, the session management part 260 implement | achieves the access according to the authority of user ID.

  When the number of sessions reaches the upper limit and the new session information 280 cannot be created, the session management unit 260 overwrites the session information 280 with the oldest last access time 282 with the session information 280 of the new session.

  The session management unit 260 changes the operation when new session information 280 cannot be created by identifying the access request source device and reaching the upper limit of the number of sessions according to the access request source device. May be.

  For example, the session management unit 260 identifies the access request source device, and if the access request source device is a device other than the operation panel 250 of the image forming apparatus 200, a new session number is reached by reaching the upper limit. When the correct session information 280 cannot be created, an error message indicating that the session cannot be established may be transmitted to the apparatus.

  That is, when the new session information 280 cannot be created and the access request source is the client device 100, the session management unit 260 transmits an error message indicating session full to the client device 100 as usual, and the access request source In the case of the operation panel 250, the session information 280 having the oldest last access time 282 may be overwritten with the session information 280 by the access request from the browser 251 of the operation panel 250.

  As a result, the session management unit 260 prevents an already established session from being easily deleted, and a session by access from the operation panel 250 can always be established.

  Further, the session management unit 260 may perform timeout control according to the validity period of the session information 280. That is, the session management unit 260 may operate as follows. The session management unit 260 refers to the last access time 282 of the session information 280 when the session information 280 is requested from the web browser. If the valid period of the session information 280 has passed, the session management unit 260 notifies the web browser of a session timeout. At this time, the session management unit 260 deletes the session information 280 that has timed out.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the storage unit 270 stores information necessary for managing a session such as the session information 280 in the form of a table or the like. The printer engine 400 receives print data from the print control unit 230 of the controller 300 and prints an image.

  The network interface 210, the controller processing unit 220, the print control unit 230, the server processing unit 240, and the session management unit 260 may be realized by hardware such as an IC (Integrated Circuit) or a CPU (Central Processing Unit). ) Or the like. Moreover, you may implement | achieve using both hardware and software.

  Next, the session management method of the image forming apparatus 200 will be described by taking as an example the case where the server processing unit 240 of the image forming apparatus 200 is a web server using the HTTP protocol. First, the HTTP request information 330 used by the image forming apparatus 200 of the present embodiment for session management will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of HTTP request information 330 managed by the image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment.

  In the example of FIG. 3, the case of the HTTP request 310 from the browser 251 of the operation panel 250 to the server processing unit 240 of the controller 300 will be described. However, from the browser 101 of the client device 100, the server processing unit 240 of the controller 300. The same applies to the case of the HTTP request 310.

  The HTTP request 310 includes a request line 311, a request header 312, a blank line 313, and a message body 314. The request line 311 is an essential part of the HTTP request 310. The request line 311 describes a method, a resource URI, and HTTP version information. The request line 311 is described as “POST / index.html HTTP / 1.1”, for example.

  The request header 312 describes additional information such as a language and a character code that can be used by the web browser. A blank line 313 indicates a delimiter between the header part of the HTTP request 310 and the message body part. In the message body 314, for example, when the method of the request line 311 is POST, the HTML form data is described as [HTML component name = HTML component name value]. When there are a plurality of HTML form data, they are linked by an ampersand (& sand).

  The HTTP response 320 includes a status line 321, a response header 322, a blank line 323, and a message body 324. The status line 321 describes an HTTP version and a response status code indicating the result of the HTTP request 310.

  The response header 322 describes information (Content-Type, Content-Length, etc.) related to data (HTML, etc.) of the HTTP response 320. A blank line 323 indicates a delimiter between the header part of the HTTP response 320 and the message body part. The message body 324 describes HTML data designated by the URL of the HTTP request 310.

  The HTTP request information 330 includes a request line 331, a request header 332, a reception IP address 333, and an IP address 334 of the operation panel. The server processing unit 240 stores HTTP request information 330 in the storage unit 270.

  The server processing unit 240 stores the request line 311 of the HTTP request 310 in the request line 331 of the HTTP request information 330. In addition, the server processing unit 240 stores the request header 312 of the HTTP request 310 in the request header 332 of the HTTP request information 330.

  In addition, the server processing unit 240 stores the transmission source IP address of the packet including the HTTP request 310 in the reception IP address 333 of the HTTP request information 330. Specifically, the IP address (reception IP address) acquired from the socketaddr_in structure of the TCP socket is stored in the reception IP address 333 of the HTTP request information 330.

  Further, the server processing unit 240 stores the IP address of the operation panel 250 established by socket communication with the operation panel 250 in the IP address 334 of the operation panel of the HTTP request information 330 when the image forming apparatus 200 is activated.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a session management method of image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment. The server processing unit 240 creates HTTP request information 330 in response to an access request (HTTP request 310) (step S1). The session management unit 260 acquires the received IP address 333 and the IP address 334 of the operation panel from the HTTP request information 330 (step S2).

  The session management unit 260 determines whether the number of sessions of users accessing the server processing unit 240 has reached the upper limit (step S3). If the number of sessions has reached the upper limit (step S3, Yes), the process proceeds to step S4. If the number of sessions has not reached the upper limit (step S3, No), session information 280 for the web access is newly created (step S7).

  The session management unit 260 determines whether or not the login request (session establishment request) source is the operation panel 250 by comparing the received IP address 333 acquired in step S2 with the IP address 334 of the operation panel. (Step S4). That is, the session management unit 260 determines that the login request source apparatus is the operation panel 250 when the received IP address 333 and the operation panel IP address 334 match.

  When the login request source is the operation panel 250 (step S4, Yes), the session management unit 260 refers to the last access time 282 of the session information 280, and stores the session information 280 having the longest unused time. The session information 280 of the newly created operation panel 250 is overwritten (step S5).

  If the login request source is an apparatus other than the operation panel 250 (step S4, No), the session management unit 260 transmits an error indicating session full to the apparatus (step S6).

  Note that the determination of whether or not the login request (session establishment request) source in step S4 is the operation panel 250 may use a file path or the like indicated in the request line 331 of the HTTP request information 330 instead of the IP address. Good.

  Next, a session management method of the image forming apparatus 200 of the present embodiment will be described using a sequence diagram. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a sequence when logging in to the image forming apparatus 200 of the present embodiment. In the example of FIG. 5, the case of logging in from the browser 251 of the operation panel 250 is described, but the same applies to the browser 101 of the client device 100.

  The user of the image forming apparatus 200 performs a login operation to the server processing unit 240 from the browser 251 of the operation panel 250 (step S11). The HTTP request 310 is transmitted from the browser 251 to the server processing unit 240 (step S12). The server processing unit 240 transmits a login request corresponding to the HTTP request 310 to the session management unit 260 (step S13).

  The session management unit 260 authenticates the login request (authentication of the user ID, password, etc.) (step S14). If the authentication result is normal, the session management unit 260 creates session information 280 for the login request (step S15).

  The session management unit 260 returns the session ID 281 of the session information 280 created in step S15 to the server processing unit 240 (step S16). The server processing unit 240 returns an HTTP response 320 including the session ID 281 to the browser 251 of the operation panel 250 (step S17).

  FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a sequence when logging out from the image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment. In the example of FIG. 6, the case of logging out from the browser 251 of the operation panel 250 will be described, but the same applies to the browser 101 of the client device 100.

  The user of the image forming apparatus 200 performs an operation for logging out from the server processing unit 240 from the browser 251 of the operation panel 250 (step S21). The HTTP request 310 is transmitted from the browser 251 to the server processing unit 240 (step S22). The server processing unit 240 transmits a logout request corresponding to the HTTP request 310 to the session management unit 260 (step S23).

  The session management unit 260 deletes the session information 280 including the session ID 281 included in the logout request (step S24).

  The session management unit 260 returns information (such as no session ID) indicating that the session ID 281 has been deleted to the server processing unit 240 (step S25). The server processing unit 240 returns an HTTP response 320 including information (such as no session ID) indicating that the session ID 281 has been deleted to the browser 251 of the operation panel 250 (step S26).

  Next, an example of a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a main part of the image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment. The hardware configuration of the main part of the image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment includes an operation panel 250, a controller 300, and a printer engine 400.

  The operation panel 250 is a liquid crystal panel or the like. The controller 300 includes a CPU 501, a memory 502, a NIC (Network Interface Card) 503, and an auxiliary storage device 504.

  The CPU 501 executes a program expanded from the auxiliary storage device 504 to the memory 502. The memory 502 is a main storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory). The auxiliary storage device 504 is an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an optical drive, or the like. The NIC 503 is an interface for connecting to the network 600.

  The program executed by the image forming apparatus 200 of the present embodiment is a file in an installable format or an executable format, such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or the like. It is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium and provided as a computer program product.

  The program executed by the image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment may be configured to be stored by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. Further, the program executed by the image forming apparatus 200 of the present embodiment may be configured to be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  The program of the image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment may be configured to be provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like.

  The program executed by the image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment includes the above-described functional blocks (network interface 210, controller processing unit 220, print control unit 230, server processing unit 240, session management unit 260, and storage unit 270). ). As the actual hardware, the functional blocks are loaded onto the main storage device when the CPU 501 reads the program from the storage medium and executes it. That is, each functional block is generated on the main storage device.

  Note that some or all of the above-described units (network interface 210, controller processing unit 220, print control unit 230, server processing unit 240, and session management unit 260) are not realized by software, but may be hardware such as an IC. It may be realized by hardware.

  As described above, according to the image forming apparatus 200 of the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the deletion of the user session immediately after login to the image forming apparatus 200.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100: Client apparatus 100a: Client apparatus 100b: Client apparatus 100n: Client apparatus 101: Browser 101a: Browser 101b: Browser 101n: Browser 200: Image forming apparatus 210: Network interface 220: Controller processing section 230: Print control section 240: Server Processing unit 250: Operation panel 251: Browser 260: Session management unit 270: Storage unit 280: Session information 281: Session ID
282: Last access time 300: Controller 310: HTTP request 311: Request line 312: Request header 313: Blank line 314: Message body 320: HTTP response 321: Status line 322: Response header 323: Blank line 324: Message body 330: HTTP request information 331: Request line 332: Request header 333: Received IP address 334: IP address of operation panel 400: Printer engine 501: CPU
502: Memory 503: NIC
504: Auxiliary storage device 600: Network

JP 2011-013892 A

Claims (4)

A server processing unit that accepts access requests from client devices;
A storage unit for storing session information including identification information for identifying the session of the access and a last access time indicating a time when the session was last used;
When session information of a new session cannot be stored in the storage unit due to the number of sessions reaching the upper limit, the session information stored in the storage unit with the oldest last access time is changed to the session of the new session. An image forming apparatus comprising: a session management unit that overwrites information. When the access request source is an apparatus other than the operation panel of the image forming apparatus, the session management unit stores session information of a new session in the storage unit when the number of sessions reaches an upper limit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when it is not possible, an error message indicating that the session cannot be established is transmitted to the apparatus. A server processing unit accepting an access request from a client device;
A storage unit storing session information including identification information for identifying the session of the access and a last access time representing a time when the session was last used;
When the session management unit cannot store the session information of a new session in the storage unit by reaching the upper limit of the number of sessions, the session information stored in the storage unit is the oldest session information, Overwriting with session information of a new session. Computer
A server processing unit that accepts access requests from client devices;
A storage unit for storing session information including identification information for identifying the session of the access and a last access time indicating a time when the session was last used;
When session information of a new session cannot be stored in the storage unit due to the number of sessions reaching the upper limit, the session information stored in the storage unit with the oldest last access time is changed to the session of the new session. A program that functions as a session manager that overwrites information.

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