JP7247689B2 - Information processing device and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device and program.

In Patent Document 1, use permission data in which program identification information and device identification information are associated with each other is received, and program identification information of a program to be started and device identification of an image forming apparatus to be started. A license management system is disclosed that determines refusal to start a program based on information and received use permission data.

JP 2013-037705 A

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to add a function to execute a specific process to an information processing apparatus that is shared by a plurality of groups, but that function cannot be used by users belonging to other groups. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing device and a program capable of doing so.

[Information processing device]
The present invention according to claim 1 is a storage means for storing user information indicating which group each user belongs to,
an authentication means for authenticating a user;
When a function to execute a specific process is newly added, the group to which the user authenticated by the authentication means belongs is identified using the user information, and the function is used for the identified group. granting means for granting authority and, when deletion processing of a group is performed, deleting usage authority granted for each function to the group for which deletion processing has been performed;
and restriction means for restricting use of the function based on the usage authority.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a pattern image for activating the added function is displayed depending on whether the group to which the user authenticated by the authentication means belongs is granted use authority. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display control means for controlling whether or not.

In the present invention according to claim 3, the display control means does not display a pattern image for activating a function for which use authority is not granted to a group to which the user authenticated by the authentication means belongs. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, which controls.

In the present invention according to claim 4, the display control means displays a pattern image for activating the function to which the use authority is granted to the group to which the user authenticated by the authentication means belongs. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the information processing apparatus controls to

In the present invention according to claim 5, when the function to be added by the user has already been added, the adding means adds the function after receiving an operation to add the function from the user. 4. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a group to which a user authenticated by said authenticating means belongs is given permission to use an added function.

The present invention according to claim 6 is the information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising deleting means for deleting a function when deletion processing of all groups to which usage rights have been granted for a function has been performed. is.

[program]
The present invention according to claim 7 is a storage step of storing user information indicating which group each user belongs to;
an authentication step for authenticating a user;
When a function to execute a specific process is newly added, the group to which the user authenticated in the authentication step belongs is identified using the user information, and the function is used for the identified group. a granting step of granting authority and deleting the usage authority granted for each function to the group for which deletion processing is performed when the deletion processing of the group is performed;
a restricting step of restricting use of the function based on the usage authority;
It is a program that causes a computer to execute

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a function for executing a specific process is added to an information processing apparatus shared by a plurality of groups, users belonging to other groups can use the function. It is possible to provide an information processing apparatus capable of preventing
Moreover, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus capable of deleting a deleted group without being aware of the usage authority of the deleted group.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus capable of ascertaining whether or not a design image is displayed to determine whether or not the user has the right to use it.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus capable of not displaying a pattern image to a user who does not have usage authority.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus capable of displaying a pattern image to a user who has usage rights.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus capable of avoiding redundant storage of the same function while it seems to the user that the function is added according to the operation. can provide.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus capable of preventing any group from remaining with a function that is not authorized to use.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when a function for executing a specific process is added to an information processing apparatus shared by a plurality of groups, users belonging to other groups can use the function. It is possible to provide a program that can make it impossible.
Moreover, according to the present invention as defined in claim 7, it is possible to provide a program that can be deleted without being aware of the usage authority for the deleted group.

1 is a diagram showing the system configuration of an image forming system according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a user information management table stored in a management table storage unit 37; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an application management table stored in a management table storage unit 37; FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining processing when a user installs a new application in the image forming apparatus 10. FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the details of the process of determining whether or not the same application has been installed, which is shown in step S104 of the flowchart of FIG. 6; FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining processing when a user uses the image forming apparatus 10. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen displayed on an operation panel 41 of the image forming apparatus 10; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen displayed on an operation panel 41 of the image forming apparatus 10; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen displayed on an operation panel 41 of the image forming apparatus 10; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of changing the application management table when a user of company B installs the “simple translation” application; FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of change in the application management table when Company A leaves the shared office;

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image forming system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

An image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, is installed in a so-called shared office where multiple companies occupy the same office so that it can be used by multiple companies. Sometimes. In FIG. 1, in order to simplify the explanation, one image forming apparatus 10 is installed in a shared office occupied by three companies A, B, and C. are shown for joint use.

In the image forming system of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 10 for shared use and a plurality of terminal devices 20 of companies A, B, and C are connected via a network 30. It is configured as

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 can be connected to the Internet via the network 30. FIG.

The terminal device 20 generates print data and transmits the generated print data to the image forming device 10 via the network 30 . The image forming apparatus 10 receives print data transmitted from the terminal device 20 and outputs an image corresponding to the print data on paper. It should be noted that the image forming apparatus 10 is a so-called multifunction device having a function of executing specific processing such as a print function, a scan function, a copy function, and a facsimile function.

In such an image forming apparatus, an application program (hereinafter abbreviated as an application) associated with a function for executing specific processing can be installed and added later. By performing license authentication and installing the application, the user can add and use functions according to the user's purpose.

However, for example, if the application is a paid application and it is necessary to perform license authentication and pay a fee in order to install it on the image forming device, there is no problem with the image forming device used in the shared office as described above. Occur.

Specifically, in the image forming apparatus as described above, if a machine license is applied, which permits the use of an application on a device-by-device basis, the license belongs to the machine. can be used by the users of company B and company C without permission.

Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, such problems are addressed by adopting the following configuration.

Next, FIG. 2 shows the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 in the image forming system of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a CPU 11, a memory 12, a storage device 13 such as a hard disk drive, and a communication interface ( IF) 14 , a user interface (UI) device 15 including a touch panel or liquid crystal display and a keyboard, a scanner 16 and a print engine 17 . These components are connected to each other via a control bus 18 .

The print engine 17 prints an image on a recording medium such as printing paper through processes such as charging, exposure, development, transfer, and fixing.

CPU 11 executes predetermined processing based on a control program stored in memory 12 or storage device 13 to control the operation of image forming apparatus 10 . In this embodiment, the CPU 11 reads and executes a control program stored in the memory 12 or the storage device 13. It is also possible to provide

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 realized by executing the above control program.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment includes an authentication unit 31, an operation input unit 32, a display unit 33, a data transmission/reception unit 34, a control unit 35, and an image reading unit 36. , a management table storage unit 37 and an image output unit 38 .

The authentication unit 31 authenticates users who use the image forming apparatus 10 . Specifically, the authentication unit 31 authenticates the user by reading the user ID from the ID card held by the user. The authentication is not limited to reading by an ID card, and any authentication means that can uniquely identify the user, such as face authentication, iris authentication, input of a password or passcode, etc., may be used.

The display unit 33 is controlled by the control unit 35 and displays various information to the user. The operation input unit 32 inputs various operation information performed by the user.

The data transmission/reception unit 34 transmits/receives data to/from the terminal device 20 . Although not shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 is also connected to an Internet line and a telephone line, and the data transmitting/receiving section 34 also transmits/receives data via these lines.

The control unit 35 generates print data based on the print job received by the terminal device 20 via the data transmission/reception unit 34, and outputs the generated print data from the image output unit 38, thereby executing print processing. . The control unit 35 also converts the document image read by the image reading unit 36 into print data, and outputs the print data from the image output unit 38 to execute the copy process.

The image reading unit 36 reads the image of the set document under the control of the control unit 35 . The image output unit 38 outputs an image onto a recording medium such as printing paper under the control of the control unit 35 .

The management table storage unit 37 stores a user information management table, which is user information indicating which group each user belongs to, an application management table for managing applications installed in the image forming apparatus 10, and the like. Remember.

An example of the user information management table stored in this management table storage unit 37 is shown in FIG.

In the user information management table, as shown in FIG. 4, the group IDs and group names of groups that jointly use the image forming apparatus 10 correspond to the user IDs, user names, etc. of each user belonging to each group. It is stored with

When the image forming apparatus 10 is used, the user is authenticated by the authentication unit 31 and the user ID is specified. Therefore, by referring to the user information management table shown in FIG. can identify the group to which it belongs.

An example of the application management table stored in the management table storage unit 37 is shown in FIG.

In the application management table, as shown in FIG. 5, the application IDs and names of the applications installed in the image forming apparatus 10, as well as the group IDs and group names of the groups to which usage rights are granted for each application. are stored in association with each other.

For example, an application with an application ID of "10001" and an application name of "Simple Translation" has usage rights for "Company A" with a group ID of "10012345" and "Company B" with a group ID of "10012346". Granted.

Here, when a new application is installed in the image forming apparatus 10, the control unit 35 authenticates the user who is installing the application by the authentication unit 31, and the user authenticated by the authentication unit 31 is authenticated by the authentication unit 31. The group to which it belongs is specified using the user information stored in the management table storage unit 37 . Then, the control unit 35 grants the use authority of the newly installed application to the specified group.

Specifically, the control unit 35 adds the newly installed application to the application management table shown in FIG. 5, and registers the group to which usage authority is granted as a usable group.

Then, the control unit 35 restricts the use of the application based on the usage authority managed in the application management table.

Note that, if the application to be installed by the user has already been installed, the control unit 35 accepts an operation to install the application from the user, and then does not actually install the application. A process of only granting the usage authority of the installed application to the group to which the user authenticated by the authentication unit 31 belongs is executed.

By preventing redundant installation of applications in this manner, wasteful consumption of storage capacity for storing application data is suppressed.

For example, when a group that has been registered as a usable group has left the shared office and the group has been deleted, the control unit 35 applies an application to the deleted group. Delete the usage rights granted for each. That is, the control unit 35 deletes the group for which deletion processing has been performed from the application management table shown in FIG.

Then, when the deletion processing of all groups to which the use authority has been granted for a certain application has been performed, the control unit 35 actually deletes the application from the image forming apparatus 10 .

Note that even if a certain user performs an operation to uninstall an application, if the usage authority for that application has been granted to other groups, the control unit 35 Only remove usage rights for groups to which . In other words, if the application is authorized to use another group, the application itself is not deleted from the image forming apparatus 10, and only the group to which the user who uninstalled the application belongs is authorized to use the application. Deleted.

Then, when the user operates the image forming apparatus 10 , the control unit 35 displays an icon for starting the application on the display unit 33 . By operating the displayed icon, the user can activate the application associated with the desired function.

Here, an icon is a pattern image that is displayed on an operation screen and indicates an operation position for activating a specific application or transitioning to a specific screen. The graphic image may include not only designed graphics but also various characters such as alphabets, hiragana, katakana, and kanji.

Here, the control unit 35 displays an icon for starting the added application on the display unit 33 depending on whether or not the use authority is granted to the group to which the user authenticated by the authentication unit 31 belongs. control whether or not

Specifically, the control unit 35 controls the display unit 33 not to display an icon for starting an application for which use authority is not granted to the group to which the user authenticated by the authentication unit 31 belongs.

The control unit 35 also controls the display unit 33 to display an icon for activating an application that is authorized to the group to which the user authenticated by the authentication unit 31 belongs.

Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, a process when a user installs a new application in the image forming apparatus 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, when a user tries to install a new application in the image forming apparatus 10, the authentication unit 31 authenticates the user in step S101. Then, in step S102, the license of the application to be installed is authenticated.

When license authentication is successfully performed and the user instructs execution of installation, installation of the application is started in step S103.

At this time, in step S104, the control unit 35 determines whether or not the same application as the application instructed to be installed in step S103 has already been installed.

When it is determined in step S104 that the same application has not been installed, the control unit 35 executes an installation process of actually storing the application data in a predetermined storage unit in the image forming apparatus 10 in step S105. .

Then, in step S106, the control unit 35 adds the installed application to the application management table shown in FIG. Further, in step S107, the control unit 35 identifies the group to which the user who performed the installation operation belongs from the user information management table shown in FIG. 4, and registers the identified group as a usable group.

For example, the control unit 35 refers to the user information management table of FIG. Identify it as "Company A".

Next, details of the process of determining whether or not the same application has been installed, which is shown in step S104 of the flowchart of FIG. 6, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S201, the control unit 35 extracts the application ID of the application to be installed. Then, in step S202, the control unit 35 reads list information of application IDs of installed applications from the application management table shown in FIG.

Then, in step S203, the control unit 35 checks whether or not the application ID of the application to be installed is included in the list of application IDs of installed applications.

Then, if the list of application IDs of installed applications includes the application ID of the application to be installed (yes in step S204), control unit 35 determines that the already installed application Determine that there is.

If the application ID of the application to be installed is not included in the list of application IDs of installed applications (no in step S204), control unit 35 determines that the application has not been installed in step S206. I judge.

Next, the processing when the user uses the image forming apparatus 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, when a user attempts to use the image forming apparatus 10, the authentication unit 31 authenticates the user in step S301.

Then, in step S302, the control unit 35 searches for the group to which the authenticated user belongs from the user ID of the authenticated user and the user information management table shown in FIG.

Then, in step S303, the control unit 35 refers to the application management table of FIG. 5 to identify an application in which the group to which the authenticated user belongs is registered as a usable group.

Finally, in step S304, the control unit 35 displays an icon for activating the identified application on Table B Embodiment 33.

9 to 11 show examples of operation screens displayed on the operation panel 41 of the image forming apparatus 10 in this way.

First, FIG. 9 shows an example of an operation screen in a state where none of the users have been authenticated and logged in. In FIG. In the operation screen example shown in FIG. 9, a home screen is shown, and only basic icons corresponding to copy, scan, fax, and print are displayed.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a home screen when a user belonging to company A logs in after being authenticated in such a state.

Here, in the example of the application management table shown in FIG. 5, Company A is registered as a usable group for three applications, "Simple Translation", "Simple Copy", and "Print Anywhere".

Therefore, when a user belonging to company A logs in, the three application icons of "simple translation", "easy copy", and "print anywhere" are added to the basic icons and displayed on the home screen.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the home screen when a user belonging to company C has authenticated and logged in. FIG.

Here, in the example of the application management table shown in FIG. 5, company C is registered as a usable group only for the application "print anywhere".

Therefore, when a user belonging to company C logs in, only the icon of the application "print anywhere" is added to the basic icons and displayed on the home screen.

Next, how the application management table shown in FIG. 5 is changed according to deletion of a group or installation of a new application will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13. FIG.

First, an example of changing the application management table when the user of company B installs the "simple translation" application when the application management table is in the state shown in FIG. 12A will be described.

In the state where the application management table is shown in FIG. 12A, when the user of company B installs the "simple translation" application, the control unit 35, since the "simple translation" application has already been installed, Only the process of adding Company B to the available group of the "Easy Translation" application is performed.

As a result, the application management table is changed to the state shown in FIG. 12B, and two groups, Company A and Company B, are registered as available groups for the "simple translation" application.

Next, an example of changing the application management table when Company A leaves the shared office when the application management table is in the state shown in FIG. 13A will be described.

In the state of the application management table shown in FIG. 13A, when company A leaves the shared office and the usage registration of company A is deleted in the image forming apparatus 10, the control unit 35 delete company A from the available group.

As a result, the application management table is changed to the state shown in FIG. 13(B), the available group for the "simple translation" application is only company B, and the available group for the "simple copy" application no longer exists. .

Therefore, the control unit 35 executes a process of uninstalling the “Easy Copy” application to erase the application data from the image forming apparatus 10 .

As a result, the application management table is changed to the state shown in FIG. 13C, and the installed application is only the "simple translation" application.

[Modification]
In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the image forming apparatus 10 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to such a case, and an information processing apparatus shared by a plurality of groups. If there is, the present invention can be similarly applied.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a case where an application is installed in the image forming apparatus 10, which is an information processing apparatus, has been described. The present invention can be applied in the same way even when adding to .

10 image forming apparatus 11 CPU
12 memory 13 storage device 14 communication interface 15 user interface device 16 scanner 17 print engine 18 control bus 20 terminal device 30 network 31 authentication section 32 operation input section 33 display section 34 data transmission/reception section 35 control section 36 image reading section 37 management table storage Section 38 Image Output Section 41 Operation Panel

Claims (7)

storage means for storing user information indicating which group each user belongs to;
an authentication means for authenticating a user;
When a function to execute a specific process is newly added, the group to which the user authenticated by the authentication means belongs is identified using the user information, and the function is used for the identified group. granting means for granting authority and, when deletion processing of a group is performed, deleting usage authority granted for each function to the group for which deletion processing has been performed;
Restriction means for restricting use of the function based on the usage authority;
Information processing device with Display control means for controlling whether or not to display a pattern image for activating the added function, depending on whether or not use authority is granted to the group to which the user authenticated by the authentication means belongs. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The display control means according to claim 2, wherein said display control means controls not to display a pattern image for activating a function for which use authority is not granted to a group to which a user authenticated by said authentication means belongs. Information processing equipment. 3. Information according to claim 2, wherein said display control means controls to display a pattern image for activating said function, which is authorized to a group to which said user authenticated by said authentication means belongs. processing equipment. If the function to be added by the user has already been added, the granting means accepts an operation to add the function from the user, and is authenticated by the authentication means without adding the function. 4. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a group to which the user belongs is given authority to use the added function. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising deletion means for deleting a function when deletion processing has been performed for all groups to which use rights have been granted for a function. a storage step of storing user information indicating which group each user belongs to;
an authentication step for authenticating a user;
When a function for executing a specific process is newly added, the group to which the user authenticated in the authentication step belongs is identified using the user information, and the function is used for the identified group. a granting step of granting authority and deleting the usage authority granted for each function to the group for which deletion processing is performed when the deletion processing of the group is performed;
a restricting step of restricting use of the function based on the usage authority;
A program that causes a computer to run

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