JP4866373B2 - Image forming apparatus, interrupt management method, and interrupt management program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions related to image forming processing, an interrupt management method, and an interrupt management program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “multifunction machine”) in which functions of each apparatus such as a printer, a copy machine, a facsimile machine, and a scanner are housed in one housing is known.

  When such an image forming apparatus is shared by a plurality of users, for example, while one user is performing a large amount of copy processing using the copy function, another user temporarily uses the interrupt copy function. In some cases, the convenience of the image forming apparatus is improved and the workability is improved by entering an interrupted state (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3340299

  However, in such an image forming apparatus, a function that prevents another person from impersonating the user and executing a job while the user who has previously executed the copy function is not in front of the multifunction peripheral. There was a possibility that illegal interrupt processing was performed. In particular, an image forming apparatus that charges for a job has a problem that proper charging cannot be performed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is possible to prevent an unauthorized person from impersonating a genuine user and executing a job at the time of interruption or after completion of interruption, and at the time of the prevention, An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, an interrupt management method, and an interrupt management program that are appropriate and convenient.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the invention according to claim 1 is an image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions related to image forming processing, and a user interface means for receiving a request from a user; Control means for performing execution control in response to a request from the user interface means, performing interrupt processing and authentication processing during execution, application logic means for providing a plurality of functions related to image formation processing, and the application logic Device service means for providing a common service used by the means.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs authentication processing in a session from user login to logout, Session management means for performing user authentication in association with a session; and request management means for executing and controlling a request from a user only when the session provided by the session management means is appropriate.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the session management unit requests user authentication at the time of interruption.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, the session management unit determines whether to permit interruption based on information indicating superiority or inferiority between users. .

  The invention according to claim 5 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the session management means displays a lock screen after completion of the interruption to request user authentication, and displays an operation screen by an authentication operation. It is characterized by returning.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, when the session management unit is interrupted by the same user as the user at login, the user authentication at the time of interrupt is performed. It is characterized by omitting password confirmation.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the session management unit displays an authentication screen after completion of the interruption, and when a session of the logged-in user exists, The operation screen of the session is displayed, and when there is no session of the logged-in user, the operation screen is displayed after generating the session by determining that the session is interrupted.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a session of the logged-in user exists and a job is being executed in the restored session, and the user himself / herself is interrupted. If performed, user authentication is not performed.

  The invention according to claim 9 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein when there is a logged-in user session and there are a plurality of the user sessions, the most recently generated session is stored. An operation screen is displayed.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the seventh aspect, when the user in use has finished the operation by interruption and the user's session remains, the user authentication is performed. The operation screen of the most recently generated session is displayed.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the seventh aspect, on the operation screen, the name of a user in use, the number of logged-in users, and other jobs are interrupted and interrupted. An icon indicating that the process is being executed is displayed.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, the session management unit checks the password in the second and subsequent user authentications when there is a continuous interruption from the same user. Is omitted.

  The invention according to a thirteenth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the twelfth aspect, wherein the session management unit generates another interrupt process from the same user within a predetermined time after a certain interrupt process ends. In this case, the password confirmation in the user authentication of another interrupt process is omitted.

  The invention according to a fourteenth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the fifth aspect, wherein the session managing means locks after the end of the second and subsequent interruptions when there is a continuous interruption from the same user. The screen display is omitted.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the session management unit can set whether or not to display a lock screen after completion of the interruption. .

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fifteenth aspect, the lock screen display is configured to display a lock screen for each interrupt job using a lock key. .

  According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the sixteenth aspect, when the lock screen display setting is OFF, the lock screen is not displayed at the end of the normal interruption, and the state before the interruption is displayed. The screen is returned to the operation screen, and the lock screen is displayed at the end of the interruption performed while the lock screen is displayed by the lock key.

  The invention according to claim 18 is the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the authentication operation of the user authentication includes presentation of a non-contact type IC card, password input, and the like. It is characterized by performing in combination.

  The invention according to claim 19 is the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the authentication operation of the user authentication includes insertion of a contact type IC card and input of a password. It is performed in combination, and a lock screen is displayed by removing the contact type IC card.

  The invention according to claim 20 is an interrupt management method for managing interrupt processing in an image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions related to image forming processing, the step of managing requests from a user by user interface means, Performing execution control in response to a request from the user interface means by the control means, performing interrupt processing and authentication processing during execution, and providing a plurality of functions related to image formation processing by the application logic means; Providing a common service used from the application logic means by the device service means.

  The invention according to claim 21 is characterized in that the interrupt management method according to claim 20 is executed by a computer.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the user interface means manages requests from the user, the control means performs execution control on the requests from the user interface means, and performs interrupt processing and authentication processing during execution. The application logic means provides a plurality of functions related to the image forming process, and the device service means provides a common service used by the application logic means. And the authentication process can be shared.

  According to the invention of claim 2, in the control means, the session management means performs user authentication by associating the user in the session with a plurality of provided functions, and the session provided by the session management means by the request management means is appropriate. Since the request from the user is executed and controlled only in such a case, authentication is always required to start the application, and access control by only a genuine user can be achieved.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the session management means requests user authentication at the time of interruption, even if the user being executed is not in front of the apparatus, the job is executed by interruption while impersonating another user. The effect that it can prevent is produced. In particular, the effect is great when charging a job.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 4, since the session management means determines whether or not to interrupt based on information indicating superiority or inferiority between users, not only when the authentication input information does not match the registration information, For example, there is an effect that it is possible to determine whether the interruption is permitted or not by comparing the interrupted user with the authority or job title of the interrupting user.

  According to the invention of claim 5, since the session management means displays the lock screen after the interruption ends and requests user authentication, after the end of the job execution of the genuine user who interrupted, the other party It is possible to prevent the job from being executed by impersonating the user. Furthermore, when an appropriate authentication operation is performed for the user authentication displayed on the lock screen, the operation screen is returned to, so that an authentic user before interruption can return to the previous job and execute it. .

  According to the invention of claim 6, when the session management means interrupts the same user as the user at the time of login, the password confirmation in the user authentication at the time of interruption is omitted. There is an effect that the trouble of inputting the password can be saved.

  According to the invention of claim 7, the session management means displays an authentication screen after completion of interruption, and if there is a logged-in user session, displays the operation screen of the logged-in user and logs in the logged-in user session If there is no session, the operation screen is displayed after generating a session based on the determination that there is an interruption, so that it is possible to display and operate an appropriate operation screen according to the presence or absence of session information.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, when there is a session of a logged-in user and a job is being executed in the restored session, and the user himself / herself is interrupted, user authentication is performed. Since this is not performed, there is an effect that it is possible to save the user from inputting the password many times.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, when there is a logged-in user session and there are a plurality of user sessions, the operation screen of the most recently generated session is displayed. Even in such a case, it is possible to perform processing in order from the latest session and return to the session being executed.

  According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, when the user in use has finished the operation by interruption and the user's session remains, the operation of the most recently generated session is performed without user authentication. Since the screen is displayed, it is possible to return to the original operation screen being executed.

  According to the invention of claim 11, on the operation screen, the name of the user being used, the number of logged-in users, and an icon indicating that interrupt processing is being executed by interrupting another job are displayed. Since the display is made, it is possible to easily grasp the interrupt status just by looking at the operation screen.

  According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, when the session management means continuously interrupts from the same user, the password confirmation in the second and subsequent user authentications is omitted, so that the user has to input the password many times. There is an effect that can be omitted.

  According to the invention of claim 13, when another interrupt process from the same user occurs within a certain time after the end of a certain interrupt process by the session management means, in the user authentication of another interrupt process Since the password confirmation is omitted, there is an effect that it is possible to save the user from inputting the password many times.

  According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, if the session management means continuously interrupts from the same user, the lock screen display after the end of the second and subsequent interruptions is omitted, so that the user repeatedly inputs the password. There is an effect that it is possible to save time and effort.

  According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, since it is possible to set whether or not the session management means displays the lock screen after completion of the interruption, it is possible to save the user from inputting the password when the display is set to non-display. When set to display, the security can be enhanced. Further, which effect is to be emphasized can be freely set according to the situation.

  According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, the lock screen can be displayed for each interrupt job using the lock key, so that the lock screen can be displayed at the start of interrupt or at the end of interrupt. There is an effect that it can be set to be performed.

  According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, when the lock screen display setting is OFF, when the normal interruption ends, the lock screen is not displayed and the operation screen before the interruption is returned, and the lock key is used for locking. Since the lock screen is displayed at the end of the interruption performed while the screen is displayed, security can be ensured.

  According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, since the non-contact type IC card presentation and the password input are combined as an authentication operation for user authentication, it is possible to save the trouble of inputting the user name. Play. Furthermore, when canceling the display of the lock screen, it is possible to confirm with the same user only by presenting the non-contact type IC card, so that it is possible to save time by omitting password input.

  According to the nineteenth aspect of the present invention, since the insertion of the contact IC card and the password input are combined as an authentication operation for user authentication, it is possible to save the trouble of inputting the user name. Play. Furthermore, since the lock screen is displayed by removing the contact type IC card, it is possible to prevent forgetting to lock the screen.

  According to the twentieth aspect of the present invention, user requests are managed by the user interface means, execution control is performed on the requests from the user interface means by the control means, and interrupt processing and authentication processing are performed during execution. The application logic means provides a plurality of functions related to image formation processing, and the device service means provides a common service used from the application logic means. There is an effect that the interrupt process and the authentication process can be shared.

  According to the invention of claim 21, since the interrupt management method according to claim 20 can be executed by a computer, interrupt processing and authentication processing are common to all applications even if they are not implemented in the application. There is an effect that it can be made into a computerized program.

  Embodiments of an image forming apparatus, an interrupt management method, and an interrupt management program according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the configuration of the multifunction machine 10 according to the first embodiment. The software architecture of the multifunction machine 10 is divided into three layers, a presentation layer 12, a logic layer 14, and a device layer 16, and each layer has a component. Further, a common function 18 that is commonly used from each layer is provided. The presentation layer 12, the logic layer 14, and the device layer 16 are configured so as not to affect the configuration of other layers even when the processing in each layer is changed.

  The multifunction machine 10 includes a user interface 120, a control 140, an application logic 150, a device service 160, a device 170, and an aspect 180 as functional configurations.

  The user interface 120 is a component of the presentation layer 12. Control 140 and application logic 150 are components of logic layer 14. Device service 160 and device 170 are components of device layer 16. The aspect 180 belongs to the common function 18.

  The user interface 120 receives a request from a user such as a user or a web service. Then, the execution of the request is delegated to the control 140 of the logic layer 14.

  The control 140 activates a necessary function when performing execution control of a request from the user interface 120. The necessary functions mentioned here include, for example, a single function executed by a single device such as reading and printing, and a function such as copy and scan transmission realized by combining these functions. The application logic 150 is a group of functions provided by the multifunction machine 10 and includes functions such as reception and transmission in addition to the above-described reading and printing.

  The device service 160 is a component having lower functions commonly used by the application logic 150. The device 170 is a component for operating the OS and hardware such as device control. Even when the OS and hardware are changed, wrapping is performed so as not to affect the upper layers.

  The aspect 180 handles logic that affects each of the subcomponents described above. Specifically, access control, history, billing, and the like. Each subcomponent can be plugged in or customized, so that it is possible to avoid concentrated specification changes in the logic.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining specific processing of each component. Here, processing at the time of copying will be described. When a local UI (user interface) (not shown) of the user interface 120 receives a copy request from the user, it sends a copy request to the session management 142 and request management 144 of the control 140. As an order, first, authentication by the session management 142 is performed. If the authentication is successful, the user interface 120 of the application is displayed so that a request can be accepted. When the job is confirmed with the start button 34, the user interface 120 passes the session information and request (job information) obtained as a result of the authentication to the request management 144.

  The session management 142 is responsible for associating a user with an activity (a series of processes executed in the system) from the user login to the logout (session). In addition, the session management 142 performs user authentication in order to specify a user who requests an operation. A feature of the present invention is that user authentication is requested at the time of interruption, or a lock screen is displayed after completion of interruption, and if authentication is obtained by an authentication operation, a session is generated and passed to the request management 144. When authentication is not obtained by the authentication operation, the session management 142 does not generate a session. Furthermore, the session management 142 grasps the expiration date of the session and holds the authentication information while the session is valid. If there are consecutive interruptions from the same user, confirmation of the password in the second and subsequent user authentications may be omitted. Thereby, the trouble that the same user inputs the password many times can be saved. Furthermore, when there are consecutive interrupts from the same user, the lock screen displayed after the end of the interrupt may be omitted from the lock screen after the end of the second and subsequent interrupts. Thereby, the trouble that the same user repeatedly inputs the password can be saved.

  The request management 144 determines the execution order of a plurality of requests, and executes the requests based on the priority order. Further, the request management 144 manages the life cycle of the request, and implements a return to normal processing for a request that has ended abnormally. The request management 144 does not execute the application unless a valid session is received from the session management 142. The application can be executed only from the request management 144. The legitimate session here is a case where the user ID of the session has the authority to execute the application.

  The data management 162 of the device service 160 manages user information that is used in common. When user authentication is performed by the session management 142 described above, the user information is acquired by accessing the data management 162.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a data structure of a session used in the image forming apparatus of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the session of the present invention includes an anonymous session 20, a login session 22, a login session (interrupt flag ON) 24, screen contexts 26 and 28, and the like.

  The anonymous session 20 is generated when the system is activated. The login session 22 is generated at the time of login. The login session (interrupt flag ON) 24 is generated at the time of interruption. The screen contexts 26 and 28 reconfigure the screen based on the context information when the interrupt is released and the lock screen is released.

  Such session information is passed from the session management 142 to the request management 144 when a request is started or when an interrupt is requested, and in subsequent application execution, access control and accounting based on the session information (user ID) are performed. Control can be performed.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an operation unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. 4 includes a liquid crystal touch panel 31, a numeric keypad 32, a clear / stop key 33, a start key 34, a preheat key 35, a reset key 36, an interrupt key 37, an initial setting key 38, a new reservation key 39, and a job list. The key 40, the copy key 43, the copy server key 44, and the like.

  An operation screen corresponding to the function is sequentially displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 31, and various functions in the multifunction machine 10 can be executed by pressing the touch panel or operating the numeric keypad 32.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the operation screen examples in FIGS. 5 to 8 and the time charts in FIGS.

  FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an authentication screen when logging in, FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating a login screen when a non-contact type IC card is used, and FIG. FIG. 5-4 is a diagram showing a login screen when using an IC card, FIG. 5-4 is a diagram showing an authentication screen by a registered user of the IC card, and FIG. 5-5 is a diagram showing an authentication failure screen; FIG. 5-6 is a diagram illustrating an authentication success screen.

  6A is a diagram illustrating an operation screen during a copy operation, FIG. 6-2 is a diagram illustrating an authentication screen at the time of interruption, and FIG. 6C is a diagram illustrating an authentication failure screen. FIG. 6-4 is a diagram illustrating an interrupt operation screen after successful authentication, and FIG. 6-5 is a diagram illustrating a lock screen.

  7A is a diagram illustrating an interrupt screen when a non-contact type IC card is used, and FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating an authentication screen when a non-contact type IC card is used. -3 is a diagram showing a lock screen when a non-contact type IC card is used.

  8A is a diagram illustrating an interrupt screen when a contact type IC card is used, and FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating an insertion request screen when the contact type IC card is removed. 3 is a diagram showing a lock screen when a contact type IC card is used, and FIG. 8-4 is a diagram showing an interrupt release screen when a contact type IC card is used.

  9 to 11 are time charts for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 12 is a hardware configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  First, as shown in FIG. 9, when a session is started from the user interface 120 to the session management 142 at the time of system startup (step S200), the session management 142 generates an anonymous session 20 (step S202), and the anonymous session Is returned to the user interface 120 (step S204).

  Subsequently, after detecting that the login key 41 is pressed (step S206), the user interface 120 requests the session management 142 to log in (step S208). The session management 142 requests authentication information from the user interface 120 (step S210), the user interface 120 displays a login screen (step S212), and accepts an input from the user (step S214).

  The login screen shown in FIG. 5A is configured so that a user name and a password can be input, and the input is accepted by pressing the OK button after the input. As shown in FIG. 9, the session management 142 acquires user information to be collated with the data management 162 (step S216) and confirms it (step S218). Furthermore, the session management 142 generates a login session (step S220), and returns the generated login session 1 to the user interface 120 (step S222).

  If the authentication is successful, the user's default screen data is obtained by accessing the data management 162 (step S224). As a result, a copy operation screen as shown in FIG. 5-6 is displayed (see step S226 in FIG. 10).

  If the authentication fails, an authentication failure screen as shown in FIG. 5-5 is displayed. Here, only the phrase “authentication failed” is displayed, but it may be displayed whether the cause of the authentication failure is a different user name or password. In the case of re-inputting, the re-input button is pressed, but when a certain time has passed without being pressed, the login authentication screen of FIG. If only the password is different, the screen shown in FIG. 5-4 may be displayed to re-enter the password.

  In FIG. 5B, instead of inputting the user name, an ID corresponding to the user name may be input in a non-contact manner only by holding the non-contact type IC card. As shown in FIG. 5C, instead of inputting the user name, a contact IC card may be inserted and an ID corresponding to the user name may be input. As described above, when a registered user is recognized using a non-contact type IC card or a contact type IC card, only the password input screen of FIG. 5-4 is displayed for authentication.

  Subsequently, after setting the mode on the authentication success screen of FIG. 5-6, when the start key 34 is pressed and the user interface 120 detects this (step S228), the login session 1 and the request 1 are managed by the request management 144. (Step S230). When the request management 144 executes the application (step S232), the job 1 is returned to the request management 144 (step S234). During the copy operation, the operation screen shown in FIG. 6A is displayed.

  Here, when another user presses the interrupt key 37 of the operation unit 30 shown in FIG. 4, the LED of the hard key is turned on, and the user interface 120 detects the press of the interrupt key 37 (step S236), and the session. The management 142 is requested to log in (step S238). The present invention is characterized in that user authentication similar to that in steps S208 to S226 is requested at the time of this interruption. As shown in FIG. 6B, when the authentication screen at the time of interruption is displayed, the user name and password of the user who made the interruption are input.

  Here, if the authentication fails, an authentication failure screen as shown in FIG. 6-3 is displayed, and it is selected whether to cancel the interruption or to re-enter the authentication information. Here, only the word “authentication failed” is displayed, but it may be displayed whether the cause of the authentication failure is a different user name or password. If a certain time has passed without being canceled or selected, the screen returns to the copy operation screen of FIG. When inputting again, the screen returns to the authentication screen of FIG.

  If the authentication by the interrupting user is successful, the session management 142 returns the login session 2 to the user interface 120 (step S240). When the user interface 120 detects the start key (step S242), it passes the login session 2 and the request 2 to the request management 144 and requests an interrupt (step S244). As a result, the request management 144 interrupts job 1 that is operating for the application 150 (step S246), and executes request 2 that is an interrupt job (step S248). When the application 150 that executed the interrupt job returns job 2 to the request management 144 (step S250), the request management 144 returns an interrupt to the user interface 120 (step S252). During interruption, the operation screen shown in FIG. 6-4 is displayed (step S254).

  When the interrupt operation in FIG. 6-4 is completed, the hard key LED is turned off by pressing the interrupt key 37 again. When the user interface 120 detects the press of the interrupt key 37 (step S256), the request management 144 is notified. The interrupt is released (step S258). As a result, the request management 144 resumes the job 1 that has been suspended for the application 150 (step S260). The present invention is characterized in that the lock screen shown in FIG. Thereby, it is possible to prevent others from impersonating the user before interruption after the interrupted user's job execution is completed.

  In the present invention, whether or not to display the lock screen after completion of the interruption can be set by the following two methods. For example, (1) it is possible to uniformly set whether or not to display the lock screen in the initial setting or the setting by the administrator authority according to the operation status. (2) Even when the lock screen is not displayed in (1) above, the lock screen is displayed when the user in use presses the lock key 42 in the operation unit in FIG. be able to. If an interrupt occurs in this state, the lock screen is displayed when the interrupt job ends. If the lock key has not been pressed, the lock screen is not displayed and the screen before interruption is returned. That is, by using the lock key 42, it is possible to select whether to display the lock screen after the interruption is completed for each job. The lock key 42 may be a hard key or a soft key displayed on the operation panel.

  As described above, the lock screen shown in FIG. 6-5 is displayed when there is no operation for a certain period of time on the operation screen shown in FIG. 4 can also be displayed when the lock key 42 in the operation unit in FIG. 4 is pressed. When the password entered on the lock screen of FIG. 6-5 is successfully authenticated, the operation screen of FIG. 6-1 is returned to and the copy operation before interruption can be executed. Also, in the lock screen of FIG. 6-5, when there is no password input and the interrupt key 37 of the operation unit 30 is pressed, the authentication screen shown in FIG. 6-2 is displayed to interrupt again. User authentication may be performed.

  When using a non-contact type IC card and password authentication at the time of interruption, an authentication screen as shown in FIG. 7A is displayed to prompt the user to input a user ID while holding the IC card. In the case of a registered user, since the user is specified, the password input screen shown in FIG. When the user specified by holding the contactless IC card is the same user as before the interruption, the authentication success screen shown in FIG. 6-4 may be displayed without displaying FIG. This saves the user from having to enter a password.

  After the interruption, a lock screen is displayed as shown in FIG. Here, when the IC card is held over and the user is different from the user before the lock, the screen returns to the screen of FIG. 7-2 and authentication is performed by entering a password. When the interrupt key 37 of the operation unit 30 is pressed on the screen of FIG. 7-3, the screen returns to the screen of FIG. 7-1 and the non-contact type IC card is authenticated. Hold the IC card over the screen of FIG. 7-3, and if the user is the same as the user before locking, the screen returns to the copy operation screen of FIG. In the lock screen of FIG. 7-3, the lock is released by holding the non-contact type IC card. However, the lock screen may be released by inputting a password.

  Also, when using contact type IC card and password authentication at the time of interruption, an authentication screen as shown in FIG. 8A is displayed, and only when the user is different, the IC card of the user who interrupts by removing the previous IC card Prompt to insert. When it is detected that the previous IC card has been removed, the screen of FIG. 8-2 is displayed to prompt the interrupting user to insert the IC card. When the ID of the contact IC card is detected and the registered user is specified, the screen of FIG. 7-2 is displayed and password authentication is performed. If the “same user interrupt” button is pressed without removing the IC card in FIG. 8-1, a password is not requested (FIG. 7-2 is not displayed), and an interrupt screen (FIG. 6-2) is displayed. ).

  When it is detected that the contact type IC card has been removed halfway, the lock screen shown in FIG. 8-3 is displayed. If the user of the inserted IC card is different from the user before the lock, the screen shown in FIG. Return and authentication by password input is performed. Further, when the interrupt key 37 of the operation unit 30 is pressed on the screen of FIG. 8C, the screen returns to the screen of FIG. 8B, and authentication is performed by inserting a contact IC card. When the IC card is inserted on the screen of FIG. 8-3 and the user is the same as the user before the lock, the screen returns to the copy operation screen of FIG. When the authentication is successful and the interrupt operation is finished in FIG. 6-4 and the interrupt is canceled, the screen in FIG. 8-4 is displayed and an instruction is given to remove the contact IC card. When it is detected that the contact IC card has been removed, a lock screen shown in FIG. 8-3 is displayed. In this way, it is possible to prevent others from impersonating the user by displaying the lock screen after the interruption or when the IC card is removed.

  FIG. 11 continues from step S258 of FIG. That is, when the interruption is released, the log-in process of the user who logged in at the interruption is performed (steps S262 and 264), and the lock screen is displayed (steps S266 and 268). When it is confirmed that the input password is correct (steps S270 to S274), the copy screen before interruption is restored (step S276). As shown in the time chart of FIG. 11, when logout is requested from the user interface 120 to the session management 142 (step S262), the session management 142 deletes the login session (step S264). The session management 142 requests re-authentication to the user interface 120 (step S266), displays a lock screen (step S268), and accepts an input (step S270). The session management 142 acquires user information from the data management 162 in order to collate with the input information (step S272), and confirms the authentication information (step S274). If the authentication is successful, the screen context is returned (step S276).

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, user authentication is performed by displaying the lock screen at the time of interruption by the session management 142 and the request management 144 in the control 140 or after the interruption ends. It is possible to prevent a person from impersonating a user and executing a job. Also, if the authentication operation is the same as the previous user with an IC card or the like, the convenience and safety can be improved by omitting the password entry or by not displaying the lock screen, thereby saving the user's trouble. Both can be achieved.

  In addition to using contactless IC cards and contact IC cards as authentication methods, users can be identified by biometric authentication using fingerprints, retinas, veins, etc. A combination with password input, a USB authentication key, an RFID tag, or the like may be used. Further, the authentication may be performed using not only a local database but also a server such as LDAP or active directory.

  Further, the case where the interruption is rejected is not limited to the case where the authentication input information does not coincide with the registration information, but the interruption permission / inhibition may be determined based on information indicating superiority or inferiority between users. The information indicating superiority or inferiority between users is, for example, information for comparing the authority and job title of the interrupting user and the user who interrupts, and based on this, the permission or disapproval of the interrupt may be determined.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the multifunction machine 10. The multifunction machine 10 includes a scanner 50, a plotter 52, a device control unit 54 that controls the scanner 50 and the plotter 52, a network control unit 56 that communicates by connecting to a network, and a ROM 58 that stores various programs. A CPU 60 for controlling each part of the multifunction device 10 according to a program in the ROM 58, a RAM 62 and an SRAM 64 for storing various data necessary for controlling the multifunction device 10, and image data for holding image data read by the scanner 50. A memory 66, an operation panel 68, and an operation unit control unit 70 that controls the operation panel 68 are provided.

  Note that the layer structure of the multifunction machine 10 described with reference to FIG. 1 and the like is developed by the CPU 60 executing a program stored in the ROM 58 of FIG. 12, and various functions can be realized.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multifunction peripheral according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of a multifunction peripheral of a comparative example different from the multifunction peripheral of FIG. In the second embodiment, the characteristics of the configuration will be described by comparing the MFP according to the present invention with the configuration of the comparative example.

  13, the user interface 120 that receives a request from a service user from the upper level, the control 140 that the user interface 120 delegates execution of the request, and the controller 140 performs execution control of the request from the user interface 120. Application logic 150 that provides predetermined functions is configured in this order. The user interface 120 includes a system user interface 122 serving as a base, an authentication user interface 124 that creates a login screen, a copy user interface 126 that creates a copy screen, and the like. Further, the control 140 includes a session management 142 for associating a user with an activity during user login to logout (session), and for performing user authentication to specify a user who requests an operation. . Further, the application logic 15 includes a copy activity 152 that performs a series of processes related to copying among a plurality of applications.

  On the other hand, the MFP in the comparative example of FIG. 14 receives an application 190 including an application 192 made up of a plurality of software groups that provide a predetermined function from the upper level, and receives a processing request from the application 190 using a predefined function. An enabling application program interface (API) 210, a platform 200 that interprets a processing request from the application 190 and generates a hardware resource acquisition request, and the like are provided. The platform 200 includes control of an SCS (system control service) 202 that performs application management, operation unit control, system screen display, LED display, resource management, interrupt application control, etc., and an operation panel (operation panel) that serves as information transmission means. An OCS (operation panel control service) 204 is provided. The SCS 202 includes an authentication user interface 2020 for creating a login screen.

  Thus, in the case of the comparative example shown in FIG. 14, the API 210 is called from the application 192 side of the application 190 and an authentication request is made to the authentication user interface 2020 called SCS 202 of the platform 200 (step S500). A login screen display is displayed on the OCS (operation panel control service) 204 from the authentication user interface 2020 (step S502). In other words, when this module called SCS202 is called from each application such as a copy application or a FAX application, the authentication user interface is displayed on the operation screen for authentication, and the result is returned to the application 192 side at the time of login. Authentication is performed. For this reason, since the SCS 202 cannot be called unless the code for calling the SCS 202 (requesting authentication) is written in the program on the application side, it is possible to execute the application process without performing the authentication. . Therefore, for example, when an application is added later, it is necessary to write a code for requesting authentication to each application.

  However, according to the configuration of the multifunction peripheral of the present invention shown in FIG. 13, the system user interface 122 is higher than each application, and the system user interface 122 that executes processing before any application has a session at startup. The management 142 is requested to start a session (step S300, corresponding to S200 in FIG. 9), the session management 142 generates an anonymous session (step S302, corresponding to S202 in FIG. 9), and the system user interface 122 logs in (Step S304, corresponding to S208 in FIG. 9). Then, the session management 142 requests authentication information from the authentication user interface 124 (step S306, corresponding to S210 in FIG. 9), and creates and displays a login screen (step S308, corresponding to S212 in FIG. 9). The system user interface 122 accepts an input from the user on the login screen (step S310, corresponding to S214 in FIG. 9). The inputted authentication information is returned to the session management (return of S306, corresponding to the return of S210 of FIG. 9), and the session management performs authentication (S216 and later of FIG. 9).

  Only when this authentication process is successful, the system user interface 122 activates the copy activity 152 of the application logic 150 (step S400), and displays the application user interface via the copy user interface 126 (step S402) (step S402). S404) (S400 to S404 correspond to S226 in FIG. 10), so that authentication can always be executed without installing an authentication user interface on the application side. In other words, each application is configured to obtain the right to execute processing only after successful authentication, so it can be created without being aware of authentication in the application itself, so there is no need to implement authentication code in each application. You can always perform login authentication. This improves security and eliminates the need to implement an authentication code. This makes plug-in development easier and contributes to easier customization of multifunction devices.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, since the control 140 and the user interface 120 modules are arranged higher than the application logic 150, the authentication process is performed first, and after the authentication is successful, the application is not installed. Since it only needs to be executed, security is improved and code for authentication need not be installed in the application, so that plug-in development is facilitated and the multifunction device can be easily customized.

(Embodiment 3)
As a mode in which consecutive interruptions by the same user are performed, (b) when another interruption process by the same user occurs after logging out and logging out, and (b) before the interruption process ends. In addition, a case of multiple interrupts in which different interrupt processing by the same user has occurred can be considered. It can be considered that user authentication may be omitted because there are continuous interruptions from the same user. In addition, although it is not a continuous interrupt by the same user, (c) If another user interrupts the job of the user before the interrupt and then another user interrupts before the interrupt, Since the interruption by the same user was performed during the interruption of the job of the previous user, it can be considered that the password confirmation may be omitted. In the third embodiment, such various interrupt modes will be described.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining an operation screen when authentication is successful on the login screen and a transition to the login screen when certain conditions are met on the operation screen. The login screen 31 shown in FIG. 15 allows authentication information to be input in order to identify a user who requests an operation, and when the authentication is successful, logs in and displays the operation screen 80 to enable the operation.

  In the operation screen 80, when there is no operation for a certain period of time during job execution, the screen is locked and the login screen 31 is displayed. On the operation screen 80, if the job is not being executed and there is no operation for a certain period of time, automatic logout is performed. Further, when the lock key 42 is pressed while the operation screen 80 is displayed, the login screen 31 is displayed. When the logout key 41 is pressed, the logout is performed and the login screen 31 is displayed. Thus, in this embodiment, the lock screen is not displayed separately from the login screen.

  The interrupt process is a process in which there is a job that is already being executed, the job is interrupted, and its own job is interrupted. The user of the job being executed and the user who interrupts, or in the case of multiple interrupts, the interrupting user may be different from the user who interrupts and interrupts, or may be the same user.

  In the operation screen 80 of FIG. 15, the name of the user who is currently using the operation unit (here, “A”) 82, the number of logged-in users (here, “1”) 84, and the job being executed are displayed. An interrupt display 86 displayed when interrupt processing for interrupting and executing another job is performed can be displayed.

  First, when a different user performs an interrupt process while another user's job is being executed, the user presses the interrupt key 37 in FIG. 4 to display the login screen 31 in FIG. The interrupt screen can be executed by displaying the operation screen 80.

  Here, the continuous interruption mode (A) by the same user described above is a case where the same user logs in within a predetermined time and another interruption process occurs after the interruption is completed and the user logs out. In this case, it is considered that work by the same user is continuing, and there is no possibility that an unauthorized person will impersonate a genuine user. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the time and effort of authentication processing by omitting password confirmation. This fixed time is a time during which the work is considered to continue until another interrupt process is generated by the same user after the previous interrupt is finished, and the time when the other user is impersonating is low. Here, it is within a few minutes (for example, within 5 minutes), but can be changed as appropriate according to the installation location and environment of the image forming apparatus. If the next job is started without logging out after completion of the interrupt job, it is executed in the same interrupt session.

  The continuous interrupt mode (b) by the same user is a case of multiple interrupts in which another interrupt process is generated by the same user before a certain interrupt process is completed. When interrupting another job of his / her own interrupt processing, the user can execute the interrupt processing without displaying the login screen 31 by pressing the interrupt key 37 shown in FIG. In the case of (b), multiple interruptions are caused by the same user, so that it is possible to reduce the labor of authentication processing by omitting user authentication. Here, when the interrupt key 37 in FIG. 4 is pressed, the login screen 31 is displayed. If the input user name is the same as the user of the job being executed, password confirmation is omitted. May be.

  In addition, although the interruptions are not continuous by the same user, the mode (c) is a case where another user interrupts the job of the user before the interruption and the user before the interruption further interrupts. . In this mode, the job of the user before interruption was interrupted by another user's interruption, and multiple interruptions were performed by the user before interruption, and the same user was interrupted while the job of the user before interruption was interrupted. Therefore, similarly to the above-described aspects (a) and (b), it is possible to reduce the labor of the authentication process by omitting the password confirmation.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a login screen including a user list during login. The login screen 31 in FIG. 15 may be a login screen 31 having a user list as shown in FIG. The logged-in user name data is grasped by the system on the login screen, so it is possible to add the logged-in user list 98.

  As described above, in the login screen 31 of FIG. 16, when the logged-in user performs an interruption or the like, the trouble of inputting the user name 90 using the software keyboard displayed by pressing the input button 92 is as follows. It is only necessary to select a user (A, B, C,...) From the user list 98. In particular, in the case of the above aspects (a) to (c), it is possible to save the trouble of inputting the password 94 using the software keyboard displayed by pressing the input button 96. That is, authentication processing can be performed simply by selecting a user name from the user list 98 and pressing the OK button 99.

  FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a session data structure used in the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, the session according to the third embodiment includes an anonymous session 100, a login session 102, a screen context 103, a login session 104, a screen context 105, an interrupt session 106 by the same user as the login session 102, and a screen context. 107 or the like.

  The anonymous session 100 is generated when the system is activated. The login session 102 with the user ID (A) is generated at the time of login, and the login session 104 with the user ID (B) is generated at the time of interruption to the login session 102. The interrupt session 106 is generated when the same user ID (A) interrupts the login session 102.

  FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram for changing an operation screen to be displayed depending on whether or not a login session of an authenticated user exists. In step 219-1 in FIG. 18, it is determined whether or not an authenticated user login session exists. If the authenticated user login session exists (YES), the latest session of the authenticated user is returned to the user interface 120. (Step S219-2). Referring to FIG. 17, the latest session is the interrupt session 106 when the user ID is (A), and the login session 104 when the user ID is (B). The screen contexts 103, 105, and 107 are reset based on the context information when the interruption is canceled or the logged-in user succeeds in the re-login (corresponding to the lock screen release in the first embodiment). Composed.

  Such session information is passed from the session management 142 to the request management 144 when a request is started or when an interrupt is requested, and in subsequent application execution, access control and accounting based on the session information (user ID) are performed. Control can be performed.

  FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram in the case of interrupting another job while executing its own job. For example, in step S236 of the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 10, the interrupt key 37 may be pressed in order to interrupt another job by itself during execution of the job. As an example, when a user who is performing a large number of copies by himself / herself wants to make another copy of only one sheet, an interruption may be performed during his / her job execution. In this case, as shown in FIG. 19, when the user interface 120 detects pressing of the interrupt key 37 (step S236), the session management 142 is requested to generate an interrupt session (step S237-1), and the session management is illustrated. 17 interrupt sessions 106 are generated (step S237-2) and returned to the user interface (step S273-3).

  In this way, it is possible to interrupt another job by itself during execution of the job, and in this case, the interrupt session 106 is generated. At this time, as a continuous interrupt mode (b) by the same user, since multiple interrupts are generated to generate another interrupt process by the same user before a certain interrupt process is completed, user authentication can be omitted. Further, since multiple interruptions by the same user return to the same user's job after the interruption ends, the login screen display after the interruption ends can be omitted, and unnecessary authentication processing can be prevented.

  FIG. 20 is a sequence diagram regarding logout processing when multiple interrupts are performed. In FIG. 20, when the user interface 120 detects a logout key (step S261), it requests logout processing from session management (step S262), and deletes the login session (step S264). In response to the logout request, the parent session of the deleted session is returned to the user interface (step S265-1). Here, the parent session and the child session are relative concepts, and a login session 102 (child session) is generated from an anonymous session (parent session) 100 that is generated when the system is started, and the login session 102 (parent session). When there is an interruption for (session), an interrupt session 106 (child session) is generated. Therefore, when the interrupt session 106 is terminated and deleted (step S262), the login session 102 which is the parent session is returned (step S263-1). When the login session 102 ends, the anonymous session 100 that is the parent session is returned. In this case, as in the case of system startup, login to the session management is requested (step S263-2), and processing from step S208 in FIG. 9 to step S226 in FIG. 10 is performed.

  In FIG. 20, if the returned parent session is the login session or interrupt session of the user, the authentication process is unnecessary because the user returns to the user session, and the user interface 12 returns the screen context (step S263). -3) The screen before interruption is reconstructed based on the context information.

  In this way, logout processing for multiple interrupts, etc., returns to your session, so authentication processing is unnecessary, and by omitting the lock screen display after the end of the interrupt, the same user can repeatedly enter the user name and password. It is possible to save the trouble of inputting.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the specific process of each component. It is explanatory drawing of the data structure of the session used for the image forming apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the operation part of the image forming apparatus concerning this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the authentication screen in the case of logging in. It is a figure which shows the login screen at the time of using a non-contact-type IC card. It is a figure which shows the login screen at the time of using a contact-type IC card. It is a figure which shows the authentication screen by the registered user of an IC card. It is a figure which shows an authentication failure screen. It is a figure which shows an authentication success screen. It is a figure which shows the operation screen during copy operation. It is a figure which shows the authentication screen at the time of interruption. It is a figure which shows an authentication failure screen. It is a figure which shows the interruption operation screen after authentication success. It is a figure which shows a lock screen. It is a figure which shows the interruption screen at the time of using a non-contact-type IC card. It is a figure which shows the authentication screen at the time of using a non-contact-type IC card. It is a figure which shows the lock screen at the time of using a non-contact-type IC card. It is a figure which shows the interruption screen at the time of using a contact-type IC card. It is a figure which shows the insertion request | requirement screen when a contact type IC card is removed. It is a figure which shows the lock screen at the time of using a contact type IC card. It is a figure which shows the interruption cancellation | release screen at the time of using a contact type IC card. 6 is a time chart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. 6 is a time chart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. 6 is a time chart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multifunction machine according to a second embodiment; FIG. FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of a multifunction peripheral of a comparative example different from the multifunction peripheral of FIG. 13. It is a figure explaining an operation screen when authentication succeeds on a login screen, and shifting to a login screen when certain conditions are met on the operation screen. It is a figure which shows the example of a login screen provided with the user list during login. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a data structure of a session used in the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which changes the operation screen displayed according to whether the login session of the authenticated user exists. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram when interrupting another job while executing its own job. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram relating to logout processing when multiple interrupts are performed.

Explanation of symbols

10 MFP 12 Presentation layer 50 Login screen 60 Operation screen 62 User name 64 Number of users 66 Interrupt display 120 User interface 122 System user interface 124 Authentication user interface 126 Copy user interface 14 Logic layer 140 Control 142 Session management 144 Request management 150 Application Logic 152 Copy activity 16 Device layer 160 Device service 162 Data management 170 Device 18 Common function 180 Aspect

Claims (21)

An image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions related to image forming processing,
User interface means for accepting requests from users;
Control means for performing execution control in response to a request from the user interface means, and performing interrupt processing and authentication processing during execution;
Application logic means for providing a plurality of functions related to image forming processing;
Device service means for providing a common service used from the application logic means;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The control means includes
Session management means for performing authentication processing in a session from user login to logout and performing user authentication by associating the identified user with the session;
Request management means for controlling execution of a request from a user only when the session provided by the session management means is appropriate;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the session management unit requests user authentication upon interruption.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the session management unit determines whether to permit interruption based on information indicating superiority or inferiority between users.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the session management unit displays a lock screen after the interruption ends, requests user authentication, and returns to the operation screen by an authentication operation.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the session management unit omits password confirmation in user authentication at the time of interruption when an interruption from the same user as the user at the time of login occurs. The session management means displays an authentication screen after completion of interruption,
If there is a session for the logged-in user, the operation screen for that session is displayed.
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when there is no session of the logged-in user, an operation screen is displayed after generating a session by determining that the session is interrupted.   8. The image according to claim 7, wherein if the logged-in user's session exists and the job is being executed in the restored session and the user himself / herself is interrupted, user authentication is not performed. Forming equipment.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein when there is a session of a logged-in user and there are a plurality of sessions of the user, an operation screen of the most recently generated session is displayed. After the current user finishes the interrupt operation,
8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein when the user's session remains, the operation screen of the most recently generated session is displayed without performing user authentication.   8. The operation screen is displayed with an icon indicating that a user name being used, the number of logged-in users, and interrupt processing is being executed by interrupting another job at present. Image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the session management unit omits password confirmation in second and subsequent user authentications when there is a continuous interruption from the same user.   The session management means omits password confirmation in user authentication of another interrupt process when another interrupt process from the same user occurs within a predetermined time after the end of an interrupt process. Item 13. The image forming apparatus according to Item 12.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the session management unit omits a lock screen display after the end of the second and subsequent interruptions when there is a continuous interruption from the same user.   6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the session management unit can set whether or not to display a lock screen after completion of interruption.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the lock screen display setting displays a lock screen for each interrupt job using a lock key. If the lock screen display setting is off,
At the end of normal interruption, return to the operation screen before interruption without displaying the lock screen,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 16, wherein a lock screen is displayed at the end of an interruption performed while the lock screen is displayed with a lock key.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the authentication operation for user authentication is performed by combining presentation of a non-contact type IC card and password input.   18. The authentication operation for user authentication is performed by combining insertion of a contact IC card and password input, and a lock screen is displayed by removing the contact IC card. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. An interrupt management method for managing interrupt processing in an image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions related to image forming processing,
Managing user requests by means of a user interface;
Performing execution control in response to a request from the user interface means by the control means, and performing interrupt processing and authentication processing during execution;
Providing a plurality of functions related to image forming processing by application logic means;
Providing a common service used by the device logic means from the application logic means;
An interrupt management method comprising:   An interrupt management program for causing a computer to execute the interrupt management method according to claim 20.

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