JP7215024B2 - Network system, electronic equipment and authority transfer method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a network system, an electronic device, and an authority transfer method.

Conventionally, in order to simplify network access restrictions and prevent the leakage of business information, users can access specific networks only from electronic devices (for example, MFPs (Multifunction Peripherals) and printers) that have been legally authenticated. Technology has been developed to prevent access to Also, in network access restriction technology, a technology is already known in which user authentication is performed via a separate authentication server or the like.

Further, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique of sharing data held in an added or changed data holding device among a plurality of data processing devices.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200002 discloses a technique for replacing an old MFP on which multiple licensed applications are installed with a new MFP. Specifically, to invalidate the application of the old MFP, the function invalidation proof key information including the device ID is registered in the license issuing server. In addition, after copying the application installed in the old MFP to the new MFP, copy completion certification key information is registered in the license server. After the license server accepts the copy completion certification key information and the function invalidation certification key information, the application license is transferred to the new MFP.

However, according to the techniques disclosed in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2, when a user wants to use another device that has not been authenticated by a device that has been authenticated by the user, only the user's operation is performed. However, there is a problem that authentication processing and transfer of access authority cannot be performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is an object of the present invention to transfer access rights by a user's operation while maintaining security in electronic devices connected to the same network.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a first device to which a predetermined user is authorized to access, and the predetermined user provided in the same network as the first device. and a second device to which the user is not granted access authority, the first device, based on the access authority transfer operation performed by the predetermined user, the first device Layout information is used when transferring the access authority given to the device to the second device.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it is effective in the electronic device connected to the same network that the access right can be migrated by operation by a user, maintaining security.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a network system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a diagram explaining the network I/F. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the authority transfer means of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a request for transfer of access authority to the image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing completion of transfer of access authority to the image forming apparatus. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of a network system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of layout information. FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of authority transfer means of the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment.

Exemplary embodiments of a network system, an electronic device, and an authority transfer method will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a network system 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the network system 100 includes an image forming apparatus A that is electronic equipment, an image forming apparatus B that is electronic equipment, and an authentication management system 1 . Image forming apparatus A is connected to network N1. Further, the image forming apparatus B is connected to the network N2. The image forming apparatuses A and B are, for example, MFPs (Multifunction Peripherals) having at least two functions out of a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function.

It is assumed that the networks N1 and N2 publish information necessary for business, such as web pages that can be operated and referred to by users via the image forming apparatuses A and B, databases, and the like.

The authentication management system 1 manages users who access the image forming apparatus A. FIG. The authentication management system 1 includes a device authentication system and a user authentication system. That is, the image forming apparatus A uses the authentication management system 1 to perform user authentication. Specifically, users a, b, and c authenticated by the image forming apparatus A can connect to the network N1 only through the image forming apparatus A. FIG. That is, for users a, b, and c, image forming apparatus A is the first apparatus to which access authority is granted.

The authentication management system 1 also manages users who access the image forming apparatus B. FIG. The image forming apparatus B uses the authentication management system 1 to perform user authentication. Specifically, users d, e, and f authenticated by image forming apparatus B can connect to network N2 only through image forming apparatus B. FIG. That is, for users a, b, and c, image forming apparatus B is a second apparatus (another apparatus) to which they are not authorized to access.

As described above, in the network system 100 of the present embodiment, users can be managed in association with the image forming apparatuses A and B, and access to specific networks N1 and N2 can be controlled for the users. It's becoming

Note that image forming apparatus A and image forming apparatus B are connected by a LAN (Local Area Network) 2 via a plurality of network I/Fs 301 (see FIG. 4), which will be described later, and can communicate with each other. . However, as described above, the user can operate only the image forming apparatuses A and B that are managed and authenticated for each of the image forming apparatuses A and B. FIG. LAN2 is a network for discovering electronic devices of the same type.

Here, hardware configurations of the image forming apparatuses A and B will be described.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of image forming apparatuses A and B. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatuses A and B have a configuration in which a controller 10 and an engine section (Engine) 60 are connected by a PCI (Peripheral Component Interface) bus. The controller 10 is a controller that controls the overall control of the image forming apparatuses A and B, drawing, communication, and input from the operation display section 20 . The engine unit 60 is a printer engine or the like connectable to the PCI bus, such as a black-and-white plotter, a 1-drum color plotter, a 4-drum color plotter, a scanner, or a facsimile unit. The engine section 60 includes an image processing section such as error diffusion and gamma conversion in addition to a so-called engine section such as a plotter.

The controller 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a north bridge (NB) 13, a system memory (MEM-P) 12, a south bridge (SB) 14, a local memory (MEM-C) 17, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 16 and a hard disk drive (HDD) 18 , and a north bridge (NB) 13 and an ASIC 16 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 15 . . The MEM-P 12 further has a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12a and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12b.

The CPU 11 performs overall control of the image forming apparatuses A and B, has a chipset consisting of NB13, MEM-P12 and SB14, and is connected to other devices via this chipset.

The NB 13 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 11 with the MEM-P 12, SB 14, and AGP 15, and has a memory controller that controls reading and writing with respect to the MEM-P 12, a PCI master, and an AGP target.

The MEM-P 12 is a system memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, a memory for developing programs and data, a drawing memory for a printer, etc., and consists of a ROM 12a and a RAM 12b. The ROM 12a is a read-only memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, and the RAM 12b is a writable and readable memory used as a memory for developing programs and data, a drawing memory for a printer, and the like.

SB 14 is a bridge for connecting NB 13 with PCI devices and peripheral devices. The SB 14 is connected to the NB 13 via a PCI bus, to which a network interface (I/F) 301 and the like are also connected.

A network I/F 301 is a physical I/F to a network for communication. Details will be described with reference to FIG.

The ASIC 16 is an image processing IC (Integrated Circuit) having hardware elements for image processing, and serves as a bridge connecting the AGP 15, PCI bus, HDD 18 and MEM-C 17, respectively. This ASIC 16 includes a PCI target and AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that forms the core of the ASIC 16, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C 17, and multiple DMACs (Direct Memory) that rotate image data by hardware logic. Access Controller) and a PCI unit that transfers data to and from the engine section 60 via the PCI bus. The ASIC 16 is connected to an FCU (Facsimile Control Unit) 30, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) 40, and an IEEE 1394 (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) interface 50 via a PCI bus. The operation display section 20 is directly connected to the ASIC 16 .

The MEM-C 17 is a local memory used as a copy image buffer and code buffer, and the HDD 18 is a storage for storing image data, programs, font data, and forms.

AGP15 is a bus interface for graphics accelerator cards that was proposed to speed up graphics processing, and by directly accessing MEM-P12 with high throughput, it speeds up the graphics accelerator card. .

FIG. 3 is a diagram explaining the network I/F 301. As shown in FIG.

The network I/F 301 provided in the image forming apparatuses A and B communicates the content instructed by the CPU 11 as a control unit only through an appropriate network.

As shown in FIG. 3, the network I/F 301 of this embodiment has three physical I/Fs (network I/F 301a, network I/F 301b, network I/F 301c).

Network I/Fs 301a and 301b are wired LAN I/Fs. A network I/F 301c is a wireless LAN I/F. In the present embodiment, the network I/Fs 301a and 301b are wired LANs, but are not limited to this, and may be wireless LAN I/Fs.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, three physical I/Fs (network I/F 301a, network I/F 301b, and network I/F 301c) are prepared, but this is not limitative. A plurality of I/Fs may be divided and implemented by software instead of by hardware.

In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus A can access the specific network N1 via the network I/F 301a. That is, the network I/F 301a is set so as not to be used for purposes other than accessing the network N1. Note that the image forming apparatus A uses a separately prepared network I/F such as the network I/F 301b or the network I/F 301c in order to discover an electronic device having the same configuration (for example, the image forming apparatus B) in the same network. As a result of communication within F301 using a specific protocol, it is determined whether or not there is an electronic device of the same type (for example, image forming apparatus B). Image forming apparatus A can add or delete electronic devices of the same type (for example, image forming apparatus B) determined to exist in the network.

The network connecting the authentication management system 1 that performs user authentication may be accessed through the network I/F 301b or through the network I/F 301c.

As described above, the network I/F 301a is used only for accessing the network N1, so it is isolated from the network I/Fs 301b and 301c. In addition, the network I/F 301b and the network I/F 301c may be made incapable of communicating with each other.

Moreover, in order to improve the convenience of the network, the network I/F 301b and the network I/F 301c may be connected to the LAN 2 so that they can communicate with each other. For example, it is possible to separate the network I/F 301b from a network (LAN2) for discovering electronic devices of the same type, and the network I/F 301c from a network managed by the image forming apparatuses A and B, and the like.

As a method of identifying a network, a format that allows communication only to the same network by using an IP address and a subnet mask may be used. can be separated by registering in advance and communicating only with them. As a result, it is possible to determine whether or not the network is the same without adding a new identifier or the like.

The programs executed by the image forming apparatuses A and B of the present embodiment are files in an installable format or an executable format, and are stored on a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or the like. provided on a computer-readable recording medium.

Alternatively, the programs executed by the image forming apparatuses A and B of this embodiment may be stored in a computer connected to a network such as the Internet, and provided by being downloaded via the network. Also, the programs executed by the image forming apparatuses A and B of the present embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

Further, the programs to be executed by the image forming apparatuses A and B of the present embodiment may be configured so as to be pre-installed in a ROM or the like and provided.

The programs executed by the image forming apparatuses A and B of this embodiment have a module configuration including the authority transfer means 201 (see FIG. 4). By executing it, the authority transfer means 201 is loaded onto the RAM 12b, and the authority transfer means 201 is generated on the RAM 12b.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the authority transfer means 201 of the image forming apparatuses A and B. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, authority transfer means 201 of image forming apparatuses A and B includes transfer determination means 202 , authentication means 203 , communication means 204 , and notification means 205 .

The transfer determination unit 202 is a control unit that detects an instruction from the user to transfer the access authority to the image forming apparatuses A and B, and determines whether or not the user's access authority can be transferred. Also, the shift determination means 202 is a control unit that transmits the determination result to the notification means 205 .

Authentication unit 203 is a control unit that confirms that a user who has accessed image forming apparatus A or image forming apparatus B is a legitimate user. Authentication means 203 performs user authentication using a conventional server certificate, client certificate, or the like to confirm that the user is authorized.

A communication unit 204 is a control unit that controls communication with networks N1 and N2 outside the image forming apparatuses A and B, and the like. As described above, the communication means 204 communicates within the network using a specific protocol and determines whether or not the same type of device exists within the network. Also, the communication means 204 identifies the network using any one of an IP address, a Mac address, and a subnet mask.

The notification unit 205 is a control unit that appropriately notifies the user of the determination result received from the migration determination unit 202 and information received from other modules.

Here, a case will be described where the user a requests the image forming apparatus A to transfer the access authority when the network N2 of the image forming apparatus B is to be used.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a request for transfer of access authority to image forming apparatus A when image forming apparatus B uses network N2.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, image forming apparatus A (authority transfer means 201) receives a transfer request for access authority to image forming apparatus B from user a (step S1).

More specifically, the user a selects the image forming apparatus B from the device information of the same network displayed on the operation display unit 20 of the image forming apparatus A, and issues an access authority transfer request to the image forming apparatus A. do. At this time, when image forming apparatus B is designated, authority transfer means 201 (notification means 205) of image forming apparatus A displays a dialog such as "Do you want to transfer access authority?" to prompt user a to transfer the access authority.

Next, when image forming apparatus A (authority transfer means 201) receives a request for transfer of access authority to image forming apparatus B in step S1, it checks whether user a who has requested is an authorized user or not. (Step S2).

For example, the authentication means 203 of the authority transfer means 201 refers to the client certificate written in the ID chip embedded in the employee ID of the user a, etc., and checks against the external authentication management system 1. Confirm the authorized user. It should be noted that the confirmation of the authorized user is not limited to this, and any method such as face authentication may be used as long as the user can be accurately authenticated.

The authentication management system 1 responds to the image forming apparatus A with the result of the authorized user confirmation (step S3).

Image forming apparatus A (transfer determination unit 202 of authority transfer unit 201) permits transfer of access authority to user a when there is a response from authentication management system 1 to the effect that user a is an authorized user. For example, authority transfer means 201 (notification means 205) of image forming apparatus A displays a dialog such as "your request has been accepted" on operation display unit 20, and proceeds to the next sequence. Note that if the authorized user confirmation fails, the authority transfer means 201 (notification means 205) of the image forming apparatus A displays a dialog such as "request rejected" on the operation display unit 20, Do not move to the next sequence.

In addition, when the authority transfer unit 201 (notification unit 205) of the image forming apparatus A can confirm that the user a is an authorized user, the authorization management system 1 requests the transfer from the user a to the image forming apparatus B. is notified to request permission for the transfer of the access authority (step S4). At this time, the authority transfer unit 201 (notification unit 205 ) of the image forming apparatus A passes necessary user information acquired by the image forming apparatus A to the authentication management system 1 .

When the authentication management system 1 receives a request for permission to transfer the access authority to the image forming apparatus B from the image forming apparatus A, first, the attributes of the user a who requested the transfer of the access authority (currently belonging floor and access authority information) is confirmed (step S5).

The authentication management system 1 determines whether or not the transfer of the access authority desired by the user a is permitted, and only when the permission is confirmed, issues a user transfer notification to the image forming apparatus B to which the access authority is transferred. (Step S6). At this time, the authentication management system 1 also sends a parameter that can identify the user a whose access authority is to be transferred.

Image forming apparatus B prepares to accept user a after receiving the user transition notification. This user transfer notification is used when the user a participates in the image forming apparatus B in the access authority transfer completion sequence, which will be described later.

In addition, the authentication management system 1 receives a user transfer permission request for access rights from the image forming apparatus A, and uses the result of determining whether or not to transfer the access rights as a parameter of this user transfer permission response to the image forming apparatus. A is notified (step S7). Therefore, when the authentication management system 1 determines that the transfer of the access authority desired by the user A cannot be permitted, the authentication management system 1 issues a user transfer permission to the image forming apparatus A without issuing a user transfer notification to the image forming apparatus B. Only issue responses.

The authority transfer unit 201 (notification unit 205) of the image forming apparatus A receives the parameter notified in step S7 and notifies the user a of the result as to whether or not the access authority can be transferred (step S8).

For example, when the transfer of the access authority is permitted, the authority transfer unit 201 (the notification unit 205) of the image forming apparatus A outputs "The access authority can be transferred to the image forming apparatus B. Please transfer immediately." is displayed on the operation display unit 20 to notify the result to the user a. On the other hand, if the transfer of access authority is not permitted, the authority transfer means 201 (notification means 205) of image forming apparatus A displays a dialog such as "Access authority cannot be transferred." , notify user a of the result.

Next, a case will be described in which the user a completes the transfer of the access authority to the image forming apparatus B when the network N2 of the image forming apparatus B is to be used.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing the completion of transfer of access authority to image forming apparatus B when image forming apparatus B uses network N2.

First, as shown in FIG. 6, image forming apparatus A (authority transfer means 201) receives a participation request to image forming apparatus B from user a (step S11).

More specifically, the user a, who has issued a transfer request to the image forming apparatus A in step S1 of FIG. Make a join request.

Next, upon receiving the request for participation in image forming apparatus B in step S11, authentication means 203 of authority transfer means 201 of image forming apparatus B checks whether or not user a who has made the request is an authorized user. (step S12). In this way, security is maintained by performing user confirmation even at the time of participation.

The authentication management system 1 responds to the image forming apparatus B with the result of the authorized user confirmation (step S13).

At the time of user a's participation request, image forming apparatus B (transfer determination unit 202 of authority transfer unit 201) confirms in advance whether a user transfer notification has been received from authentication management system 1, and The parameter for specifying the user a whose access authority is to be transferred is confirmed, and it is confirmed whether the user a who requested participation matches the user a who requested the transfer of access authority (step S14).

After confirming the user, image forming apparatus B (transfer determination unit 202 of authority transfer unit 201) sets the access authority of network N2 to user a as a member who can access network N2 (step S15). Further, in step S15, in order to indicate that the user is under the control of the image forming apparatus B, the attributes of the user a (currently assigned floor and access authority information) are changed.

That is, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that user a cannot use the network N1 temporarily when the access authority is transferred.

When the transfer of the access authority to the user a is completed, the authority transfer means 201 (notification means 205) of the image forming apparatus B notifies the user a to that effect via the operation display section 20 (step S16). For example, the authority transfer unit 201 (notification unit 205) of the image forming apparatus B displays a message such as "You can now access the network N2."

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to transfer the access authority by the user's operation while maintaining the security in the electronic devices connected to the same network.

(Second embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described.

The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that layout information is used when migrating access rights. Hereinafter, in the description of the second embodiment, the description of the same portions as those of the first embodiment will be omitted, and the portions different from those of the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of a network system 100 according to the second embodiment. The authentication management system 1 of the network system 100 shown in FIG. 7 has a layout information DB 1a. The layout information DB 1a stores layout information used when transferring access authority. The image forming apparatus A can use the layout information existing in the authentication management system 1 when migrating the user's access authority.

Here, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of layout information. As shown in FIG. 8, it is assumed that layout information for each floor is stored as layout information.

For example, in step S5 shown in FIG. 5, when the authentication management system 1 receives a request for permission to transfer the access authority to the image forming apparatus B from the image forming apparatus A, first, the user who requested the transfer of the access authority. Check attributes (current floor and access authority information). The authentication management system 1 of the present embodiment clearly indicates that the user a moves from position "1" on the floor X based on the layout information of the layout information DB 1a, and in addition to user authentication, confirmation on the layout is also performed. Improve security by enabling

In addition, image forming apparatus B (transfer determination unit 202 of authority transfer unit 201) performs the layout change based on the layout information sent from authentication management system 1 in the access authority transfer notification confirmation process in step S14 shown in FIG. A determination can be made as to whether or not there is a vacancy. Image forming apparatus B (transfer determination unit 202 of authority transfer unit 201) can perform control such as not granting new access authority to the user if there is no space on the layout, thereby achieving stronger security. You can manage migration of user access rights.

Also, if you set a person in charge of the layout, you can add a control that allows you to transfer the access rights of all users listed in the layout, making it possible to move access rights all at once when moving between floors. Become.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent unauthorized transfer of access rights.

(Third Embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment will be described.

The third embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in that a time limit is set for user access rights. Hereinafter, in the description of the third embodiment, the description of the same parts as those in the first embodiment or the second embodiment will be omitted, and the parts that differ from the first embodiment or the second embodiment will be omitted. I will explain the parts.

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the authority transfer means 201 of the image forming apparatuses A and B according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, authority transfer means 201 of image forming apparatuses A and B includes transfer determination means 202, authentication means 203, communication means 204, notification means 205, and time management means 206. there is

The time management means 206 is a control unit that manages time.

For example, the time management means 206 starts monitoring the time triggered by the user transition notification notified in step S6 shown in FIG. In addition, the time management unit 206 outputs the time that has elapsed since the notification of the user transition (considered as the user's movement time) at the confirmation of the transition notification in the image forming apparatus B in step S14 shown in FIG. By setting the travel time of the user in this way, the image forming apparatus B can determine whether or not to add access authority in step S14 shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, by setting the user's travel time, the access authority cannot be transferred after a certain period of time has passed, so security can be improved. In addition, security can be further improved by setting the user's travel time to the minimum possible time in consideration of the travel time between floors. Furthermore, the user movement time may be determined from layout information or the like.

In each of the above-described embodiments, transfer of access authority from image forming apparatus A to image forming apparatus B has been described. For convenience of explanation, the image forming apparatuses are limited to two, A and B, and the explanation is based on the premise that the access authority is transferred from A to B, but any number of image forming apparatuses may exist on the network. shall be That is, when there are two or more image forming apparatuses with the same configuration found on the same network, the transfer of access authority described in each of the above embodiments can be applied.

In each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which the image forming apparatus, which is an electronic device of the present invention, is applied to an MFP (complex machine) having at least two functions out of a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. Although described as an example, it can be applied to any image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a scanner, a facsimile machine, and the like.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, an example in which an image forming apparatus is applied as an electronic apparatus of the present invention will be described, but the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus, and can be applied to various electronic apparatuses such as electronic blackboards and projectors. can be applied.

100 Network System 201 Authority Transfer Means 204 Communication Means 206 Time Management Means A First Device, Electronic Device B Second Device, Electronic Device

JP 2007-080224 A JP 2009-271680 A

Claims (7)

A network comprising a first device to which access authority is granted to a predetermined user, and a second device provided in the same network as the first device and to which the access authority to the predetermined user is not granted In the system
When transferring the access authority given to the first device to the second device based on the access authority transfer operation executed by the predetermined user, the first device transfers layout information to use the
A network system characterized by: In an electronic device to which access authority for a predetermined user has been granted and which is connected by a network to another device to which the access authority for the predetermined user has not been granted,
an authority transfer means for transferring the access authority granted to the electronic device to the other device based on the access authority transfer operation performed by the predetermined user;
wherein the authority transfer means uses layout information when transferring the access authority;
An electronic device characterized by: In an electronic device to which access authority for a predetermined user has been granted and which is connected by a network to another device to which the access authority for the predetermined user has not been granted,
an authority transfer means for transferring the access authority granted to the electronic device to the other device based on the access authority transfer operation performed by the predetermined user;
The authority transfer means comprises time management means for managing time,
The authority transfer means restricts the transfer of the access authority after a certain period of time has passed by the time management means.
An electronic device characterized by: The authority transfer means comprises communication means for communicating within the network using a specific protocol and determining whether or not a device of the same type exists within the network;
The authority transfer means adds the access authority to the device of the same type determined to exist in the network by the communication means.
4. The electronic device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: the communication means identifies the network using either an IP address, a Mac address, or a subnet mask;
5. The electronic device according to claim 4, characterized in that: An authority transfer method in an electronic device to which an access authority for a predetermined user has been granted and which is connected by a network to another device to which the predetermined user has not been granted access authority, comprising:
an authority transfer step of transferring the access authority granted to the electronic device to the other device based on the access authority transfer operation performed by the predetermined user;
wherein the authority transfer step utilizes layout information when transferring the access authority;
An authority transfer method characterized by: An authority transfer method in an electronic device to which an access authority for a predetermined user has been granted and which is connected by a network to another device to which the predetermined user has not been granted access authority, comprising:
an authority transfer step of transferring the access authority granted to the electronic device to the other device based on the access authority transfer operation performed by the predetermined user;
The authority transfer step includes a time management step of managing time,
The authority transfer step restricts the transfer of the access authority after a certain period of time has passed by the time management step.
An authority transfer method characterized by:

Images