JP5687239B2 - Operator authentication server having operator authentication function, operator system, operator authentication method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an operator authentication server having an operator authentication function, an operator system, an operator authentication method, and a program.

  In recent electrical appliances, technical sophistication and complexity have progressed, and it often takes time for users to become familiar with all the functions installed. Furthermore, it is often difficult for a user who is a final consumer to deal with a failure or perform a repair diagnosis when a failure occurs in the appliance.

  For this problem, there is known a method in which an operator performs remote support (remote maintenance) to operate the appliance remotely or to instruct a user remotely. In particular, a method is also known in which an operator performs remote support while visually recognizing the same screen as a user who is actually in front of the appliance.

  For example, when sharing a screen between a user terminal and a support terminal, a method of sharing a screen while preventing leakage of personal information and secret information to an operator who views the shared screen is disclosed ( Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-3000983 A

  However, there are many cases where information related to personal information and business secrets is stored in the appliance. For this reason, it is often undesirable to give an operator the authority to directly operate the appliance without confirming the profile from the viewpoint of business risk.

  For example, in the method described in Patent Document 1, the user can only blind the content displayed on the screen of the user terminal. Therefore, it is necessary for the user to monitor whether information that should not be displayed is output on the screen while the operator is performing the remote support operation, which is a heavy burden on the user.

  From the background as described above, the inventor of the present invention confirms the operator's own company, the company in which he / she works, the length of service, the long-term person in charge of the user, and the like to the operator. We have invented a method for giving a sense of security to the user by confirming whether or not the authority to directly operate the appliance can be given.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an operator authentication server having an operator authentication function, an operator system, an operator authentication method, and a program for requesting access permission from an administrator of the appliance at the time of connection to the appliance. And

  The present invention provides the following solutions.

The invention according to the first aspect includes an electrical appliance, an operator terminal that is communicably connected to the electrical appliance, an administrator terminal that is used by an administrator of the electrical appliance, and is communicably connected to the administrator information. An authentication server with a database,
Using an access permission request received from the operator terminal, from an administrator information database, a contact identifying means for identifying a contact of an administrator of the appliance,
Access permission request relay means for transmitting the operator information received from the operator terminal and the access permission request to the administrator terminal;
An access permission issuing means for receiving an access permission issuing request from the administrator terminal and transmitting the access permission to the operator terminal;
An authentication server is provided.

  According to the first aspect of the invention, the electrical appliance, the operator terminal that is communicably connected to the electrical appliance, and the manager terminal that is used by the manager of the electrical appliance are communicably connected and managed. The authentication server provided with the operator information database uses the access permission request received from the operator terminal to identify the contact information of the manager of the electrical appliance from the administrator information database, and receives the operator from the operator terminal. Information and the access permission request are transmitted to the administrator terminal. Furthermore, an access permission issue request is received from the administrator terminal, and the access permission is transmitted to the operator terminal.

  Therefore, according to the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to provide an operator authentication server having an operator authentication function that requests access permission from an administrator of the electrical appliance when connecting to the electrical appliance. .

The invention according to the second feature is an authentication server which is the invention according to the first feature,
Authentication information receiving means for receiving authentication information for accessing the electrical appliance from the administrator terminal;
An authentication server is provided.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, the authentication server according to the first aspect of the invention further receives authentication information for accessing the electrical appliance from the administrator terminal.

  These above inventions are authentication server categories, but even the method and program categories exhibit the same actions and effects according to the categories.

The invention according to the third feature includes an electrical appliance,
An operator terminal that is connected to the appliance so as to be communicable and used by an operator;
An authentication server communicably connected to the operator terminal;
An administrator terminal that is communicably connected to the authentication server and used by an administrator of the appliance;
An operator system comprising:
The operator terminal is
Access permission request transmitting means for transmitting operator information of the operator and an access permission request to the electrical appliance to the authentication server;
With
The authentication server is
Using an access permission request received from the operator terminal, from an administrator information database, a contact identifying means for identifying a contact of an administrator of the appliance,
Access permission request relay means for transmitting the operator information received from the operator terminal and the access permission request to the administrator terminal;
An access permission issuing means for receiving an access permission issuing request from the administrator terminal and transmitting the access permission to the operator terminal;
With
The administrator terminal is
Operator authentication means for authenticating the access permission request based on the operator information;
An access permission issuance request transmission means for transmitting an access permission issuance request to the electrical appliance of the operator to the authentication server;
An operator system is provided.

According to the third aspect of the invention, an electrical appliance, an operator terminal that is communicably connected to the electrical appliance and used by an operator, an authentication server that is communicably connected to the operator terminal, and the authentication server An operator system that is communicably connected to and is used by an administrator of the appliance.
The operator terminal transmits operator information of the operator and an access permission request to the electrical appliance to the authentication server.
Further, the authentication server uses the access permission request received from the operator terminal, identifies the contact information of the manager of the appliance from the administrator information database, and receives the operator information received from the operator terminal, The access permission request is transmitted to the administrator terminal. Furthermore, an access permission issue request is received from the administrator terminal, and the access permission is transmitted to the operator terminal.
The administrator terminal authenticates the access permission request based on the operator information, and transmits an access permission issuance request to the electrical appliance of the operator to the authentication server.

The invention according to the fourth feature is an electrical appliance, an operator terminal that is communicably connected to the electrical appliance, and an administrator terminal that is used by an administrator of the electrical appliance. An operator authentication method executed by an authentication server equipped with a database,
Using the access permission request received from the operator terminal, from the administrator information database, identifying the contact information of the electrical appliance administrator;
Transmitting the operator information received from the operator terminal and the access permission request to the administrator terminal;
Receiving an access permission issuance request from the administrator terminal and transmitting the access permission to the operator terminal;
An operator authentication method is provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided an electrical appliance, an operator terminal that is communicably connected to the electrical appliance, and an administrator terminal that is used by an administrator of the electrical appliance. To an authentication server with a database,
Using the access permission request received from the operator terminal, from a manager information database, identifying the contact information of the manager of the appliance,
Transmitting the operator information received from the operator terminal and the access permission request to the administrator terminal;
Receiving an access permission issuance request from the administrator terminal and transmitting the access permission to the operator terminal;
An authentication server program for executing the above is provided.

  According to the present invention, an operator authentication server having an operator authentication function, an operator system, an operator authentication method, and a program for requesting access permission from an administrator of the appliance upon connection to the appliance are provided. Is possible.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an outline of an operator system 1 which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of an operator system 1 which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the operator terminal 150, the authentication server 200, and the administrator terminal 300. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of access permission issuance processing executed by the operator terminal 150, the authentication server 200, and the administrator terminal 300. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing the relationship between the authentication server 200 and a plurality of administrator terminals 300. FIG. 6 is an example of an access permission request display screen displayed by the administrator terminal 300. FIG. 7 is an example of an authentication information input screen displayed by the administrator terminal 300. FIG. 8 shows the contents of the administrator information table in the administrator information database 250.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is merely an example, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to this.

  The outline of the present invention will be described. In the present invention, when an operator performs remote support for an electrical appliance, the contact information of the administrator who manages the electrical appliance is specified from the administrator information database, and then the operator's information is notified to the administrator. Then, by starting the remote support after obtaining authentication of access permission from the administrator, it is possible to give the administrator a sense of security in remote support.

[Overview of operator system 1]
First, an outline of an operator system 1 which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the operator system 1, when a malfunction occurs in the electrical appliance 10 that is the target of remote support, the electrical appliance 10 requests a connection for remote support work from a predetermined operator terminal 150 (step S01).

  Here, the operator terminal 150 that requests the connection is determined in advance because the operator of the company A is often in charge of remote support in the case where a malfunction occurs in the electrical product of the company A. This is because in view of the gist of the present invention that an access permission is issued to each operator. Here, “predetermined” means that the connection request destination is determined not by the operator terminal 150 as hardware but by the operator in charge of the remote support or the group to which the operator belongs. It is.

  In this embodiment, the processing is started by a connection request from the electrical appliance 10, but the request is not an essential configuration, and the operator terminal 150 actively connects to the electrical appliance 10 for the purpose of regular maintenance or the like. You may go.

  Next, the operator terminal 150 attempts to connect to the appliance 10. On the other hand, the electrical appliance 10 returns a message that the access permission issued by the authentication server 200 is necessary for connection to the electrical appliance 10.

  Next, the operator terminal 150 transmits an access permission request to the electrical appliance 10 together with information on the operator who uses the operator terminal 150 to the authentication server 200 (step S02). The authentication server 200 that has received the access permission request uses the identifier of the appliance 10 included in the access permission request to obtain the contact information of the administrator of the appliance 10 from the administrator information database 250 provided in the authentication server 200. Extract (step S03).

  Next, the authentication server 200 relays an access permission request to the extracted administrator contact information (step S04). The administrator terminal 300 determines whether to permit access based on the operator information received from the authentication server 200. When permitting access, the administrator terminal 300 transmits an access permission issue request to the authentication server 200 (step S05).

  At this time, the administrator terminal 300 may also send authentication information required for accessing the electrical appliance 10 to the authentication server 200 in addition to the access permission issue request. Examples of the authentication information include an ID and a password. When an administrator inputs authentication information such as the ID and password, access to the electrical appliance 10 can be restricted by the authentication information without directly transmitting the authentication information to the operator.

  Upon receiving the access permission issue request, the authentication server 200 issues an access permission to the operator terminal 150 and transmits it (step S06). Here, the issuing may be generation of data used in access permission verification. An example of the data is a data structure called an access token.

  The operator terminal 150 that has received the access permission connects to the electrical appliance 10 using the access permission, and performs various operations including remote support (step S07). The above is the outline of the operator system 1 which is one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

[System configuration of operator system 1]
FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of the operator system 1. The operator system 1 includes an electrical appliance 10, a public network 3 (Internet network, third generation, fourth generation communication network, etc.), an operator terminal 150, an authentication server 200, and an administrator terminal 300.

  The electrical appliance 10 is connected to the operator terminal 150 via the public line network 3. The operator terminal 150 is connected to the authentication server 200 via the public line network 3. The authentication server 200 and the administrator terminal 300 may be connected via a local area network or may be connected via the public line network 3. The communication in the operator system 1 may be wireless communication or wired communication.

  The electrical appliance 10 is a household or business electrical appliance capable of performing data communication. For example, in addition to a personal computer, a television, a telephone, and a computer, a mobile phone, a portable information terminal, a netbook terminal, a slate Not only information appliances such as terminals, electronic book terminals, portable music players, audio components, content playback / recording players, printers, fax machines, copiers, scanners, MFPs (multifunctional peripheral devices, multifunction printers), Also includes white goods such as refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers / dryers, fans, air conditioners, electric stoves, rice cookers, microwave ovens, electric lighting, servers, routers, gateways, NAS (Network Attached Storage), and the like.

  The operator terminal 150 is a general information terminal used by an operator who supports the electrical appliance 10.

  The administrator terminal 300 is a general information terminal used by the administrator of the electrical appliance 10.

  The authentication server 200 is a server that relays access permission requests and the like of the operator terminal 150 and the administrator terminal 300 and performs various processes.

[Description of each function]
The configuration of each device will be described with reference to FIG. The authentication server 200 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and the like as the control unit 201, and a device for enabling communication with other devices as the communication unit 202. For example, a device compatible with WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) compliant with IEEE 802.11 is provided. In addition, the authentication server 200 includes a data storage unit such as a hard disk, a semiconductor memory, a recording medium, or a memory card as the storage unit 203 that stores data and files. The storage unit 203 includes an administrator information database 250.

  In the authentication server 200, when the control unit 201 reads a predetermined program, the access permission request relay module 204 and the access permission issue module 205 are realized in cooperation with the communication unit 202. In the authentication server 200, the control unit 201 reads a predetermined program, thereby realizing the administrator information specifying module 206 in cooperation with the storage unit 203.

  As with the authentication server 200, the electrical appliance 10 includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like as the control unit 11, and can be connected as a communication unit 12 using, for example, a WiFi compatible device compliant with IEEE 802.11 or a wired cable. A device that realizes data communication, such as a device that performs the above-described process.

  In the electrical appliance 10, the control unit 11 reads the predetermined program, thereby realizing the access permission confirmation module 13 in cooperation with the communication unit 12.

  As with the authentication server 200, the operator terminal 150 includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like as the control unit 151, and can be connected as a communication unit 152 using, for example, a WiFi compatible device compliant with IEEE 802.11 or a wired cable. A device that realizes data communication, such as a device that performs the above-described process.

  In the operator terminal 150, when the control unit 151 reads a predetermined program, the remote support module 153, the access permission request transmission module 154, and the access permission reception module 155 are realized in cooperation with the communication unit 152.

  As with the authentication server 200, the administrator terminal 300 includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc. as the control unit 301, and can be connected as a communication unit 302 using, for example, a WiFi compatible device compliant with IEEE 802.11 or a wired cable. And a device that realizes data communication. In addition, the administrator terminal 300 includes a display unit that outputs and displays data and images controlled by the control unit as the input / output unit 303, and also includes a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like that accept input from the user or supporter. .

  In the administrator terminal 300, the control unit 301 reads a predetermined program, thereby realizing an access permission request receiving module 304 in cooperation with the communication unit 302. In the administrator terminal 300, the control unit 301 reads a predetermined program, thereby realizing an access permission issue request transmission module 305 in cooperation with the communication unit 302 and the input / output unit 303. In the administrator terminal 300, the control unit 301 reads a predetermined program, thereby realizing the access permission request display module 306 in cooperation with the input / output unit 303.

[Access permission issuance processing]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of access permission issuance processing executed by the operator terminal 150, the authentication server 200, and the administrator terminal 300. This access permission issuing process will be described.

  First, the remote support module 153 of the operator terminal 150 tries to access the electrical appliance 10 (step S11). The access permission confirmation module 13 of the electrical appliance 10 determines whether access permission is required for access to the previous electrical appliance, and if access permission is required, the operator terminal 150 that is the access source Make sure you are receiving

  Here, when the connection to the electrical appliance 10 does not require access permission, the connection between the operator terminal 150 and the electrical appliance 10 is established without performing access permission issuing processing. The following describes a case where the connection to the appliance 10 requires access permission.

  The access permission request transmission module 154 of the operator terminal 150 transmits information on an operator who uses the operator terminal 150 and an access permission request to the electrical appliance 10 to the authentication server 200 (step S12). The access permission request relay module 204 of the authentication server 200 receives the operator information and the access permission request from the operator terminal 150 (step S13).

  Next, the administrator information specifying module 215 of the authentication server 200 uses the information related to the electrical appliance 10 included in the received access permission request from the administrator information database 250 included in the authentication server 200 to The contact information of the administrator of the product 10 is extracted (step S14).

  FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing the relationship between the authentication server 200 and a plurality of administrator terminals 300. When relaying the access permission request, the authentication server 200 needs to correctly identify the administrator terminal 300a used by the administrator of the appliance 10 among the plurality of administrator terminals 300a, 300b, 300c, and 300d. Hereinafter, this method will be specifically described. Note that each administrator terminal 300 is not a requirement as hardware, but is specified by the administrator who uses it.

  FIG. 8 shows the contents of the administrator information table in the administrator information database 250. In the present embodiment, in order to uniquely specify the electrical appliance 10, the network ID to which the electrical appliance 10 is connected and the “printer PR-01” assigned to each managed electrical appliance are used. Although a combination of device names is used, it may be information for specifying the electrical appliance 10, and is not limited thereto.

  For example, when the received access permission request is for the electrical appliance 10 identified by the network ID “A” and the device name “printer PR-01”, the administrator contact information is “BOB JOHN”. "Bbb@ggg.com" is extracted. The contact information is represented by a mail address in the present embodiment, but is not limited thereto, and may be a contact information such as a telephone number or a user ID on the message system.

  In addition to the received operator information, the operator ID in the manager information table and the operator information obtained using the operator ID may be handled as the operator information received in the previous period.

  The access permission request relay module 204 of the authentication server 200 relays the received operator information and the access permission request to the administrator terminal 300 using the extracted administrator contact information (step S15). The access permission request receiving module 304 of the administrator terminal 300 receives the operator information and the access permission request (step S16).

  Here, the access permission request display module 306 of the administrator terminal 300 displays an access permission request display screen. FIG. 6 is an example of an access permission request display screen displayed by the administrator terminal 300. On the access permission request display screen, a face photograph 322 and a profile 323 are displayed as the operator information in addition to the access permission request summary 321 and the appliance information 324.

  An administrator who uses the administrator terminal 300 refers to the operator information on the access permission request display screen, and presses the permission button 325 when permitting access to the electrical appliance 10. The access permission issue request transmission module 305 of the administrator terminal 300 receives the input and transmits an access permission issue request for the access permission request to the authentication server 200 (step S17).

  At this time, the administrator terminal 300 may also send authentication information required for accessing the electrical appliance 10 to the authentication server 200 in addition to the access permission issue request. In this case, the access permission request display module 306 of the administrator terminal 300 displays an authentication information input screen and accepts input of authentication information from the administrator.

  FIG. 7 is an example of an authentication information input screen displayed by the administrator terminal 300. Examples of the authentication information include an ID and a password. When an administrator inputs authentication information such as the ID and password, access to the electrical appliance 10 can be restricted by the authentication information without directly transmitting the authentication information to the operator.

  In this embodiment, the administrator inputs an ID in the ID input box 331 and a password in the password input box 332, and presses the enter button 333. The access permission issue request transmission module 305 of the administrator terminal 300 receives the input and transmits the input authentication information to the authentication server 200.

  The access permission request relay module 204 of the authentication server 200 receives the access permission issue request from the administrator terminal 300 (step S18). The access permission issuing module 205 of the authentication server 200 issues an access permission based on the access permission issuing request, and the access permission request relay module 204 transmits the access permission to the operator terminal 150 (step S19). ). Here, when the authentication server 200 has received the authentication information from the administrator terminal 300, the authentication information is incorporated into the access permission at the same time as issuance.

  The access permission receiving module 155 of the operator terminal 150 receives the access permission (step S20). Then, using the access permission, a connection with the electrical appliance 10 is established and remote support is performed. The above is the processing procedure of the display magnification recommendation processing.

The means and functions described above are realized by a computer (including a CPU, an information processing apparatus, and various terminals) reading and executing a predetermined program. The program is provided in a form recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, CD (CD-ROM, etc.), DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, etc.), for example. In this case, the computer reads the program from the recording medium, transfers it to the internal storage device or the external storage device, stores it, and executes it. The program may be recorded in advance in a storage device (recording medium) such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or a magneto-optical disk, and provided from the storage device to a computer via a communication line.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these embodiment mentioned above. The effects described in the embodiments of the present invention are only the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are limited to those described in the embodiments of the present invention. is not.

  10 electrical appliances, 150 operator terminal, 200 authentication server, 250 administrator information database, 300 administrator terminal

Claims (3)

Electrical appliances,
An operator terminal that is connected to the appliance so as to be communicable and used by an operator;
An authentication server communicably connected to the operator terminal;
An administrator terminal that is communicably connected to the authentication server and used by an administrator of the appliance;
An operator system comprising:
The operator terminal is
Access permission request transmitting means for transmitting operator information of the operator and an access permission request to the electrical appliance to the authentication server;
With
The authentication server is
Using an access permission request received from the operator terminal, from an administrator information database, a contact identifying means for identifying a contact of an administrator of the appliance,
Access permission request relay means for transmitting the operator information received from the operator terminal and the access permission request to the administrator terminal;
An access permission issuing means for receiving an access permission issuing request from the administrator terminal and transmitting the access permission to the operator terminal;
With
The administrator terminal is
Operator authentication means for authenticating the access permission request based on the operator information;
An access permission issuance request transmission means for transmitting an access permission issuance request to the electrical appliance of the operator to the authentication server;
In addition,
The management terminal
An access permission request display for displaying an authentication information input screen for prompting input of authentication information required when accessing the electrical appliance, and transmitting the authentication information input to the authentication information input screen to the authentication server characterized Rukoto comprising means, the operator system.   2. The operator system according to claim 1, wherein the access permission issuing means of the authentication server of the authentication server incorporates the authentication information received from the management terminal into the access permission issue request and transmits the request to the operator terminal.   Electrical appliances,
  An operator terminal that is connected to the appliance so as to be communicable and used by an operator;
  An authentication server communicably connected to the operator terminal;
  An administrator terminal that is communicably connected to the authentication server and used by an administrator of the appliance;
  An operator authentication method executed by an operator system comprising:
  The operator terminal is
  Transmitting the operator information of the operator and an access permission request to the electrical appliance to the authentication server,
  The authentication server is
  Using the access permission request received from the operator terminal, from the administrator information database, identifying the contact information of the electrical appliance administrator;
  Transmitting the operator information received from the operator terminal and the access permission request to the administrator terminal;
  Receiving an access permission issuance request from the administrator terminal and transmitting the access permission to the operator terminal; and
  The administrator terminal is
  Authenticating the access permission request based on the operator information;
  Transmitting an issuance request for permission to access the electrical appliance of the operator to the authentication server, and
  The management terminal is
  Displaying an authentication information input screen that prompts input of authentication information required when accessing the electrical appliance, and executing the step of transmitting the authentication information input to the authentication information input screen to the authentication server An operator authentication method.

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