JP6048290B2 - Network setting information acquisition system and acquisition method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention includes an authentication server and an image processing device that can be connected to each other, and a portable terminal device that can communicate with the image processing device and a short-range wireless communication unit, so that the portable terminal device is connected to a network. The present invention relates to a network setting information acquisition system and acquisition method for acquiring network setting information.

  When connecting a mobile terminal device to a Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) environment in an office, it is necessary to input network setting information such as SSID (Service Set Identifier) and password. If you do not know such information, Wi-Fi environment Can not be used.

  However, the network setting operation for inputting SSID information and password to an electronic device to be connected wirelessly has a problem that it is troublesome for the user. Further, the network setting operation is difficult unless it is a user who is familiar with the operation of an electronic device desired to be connected wirelessly, and it is difficult to say that this operation can be easily performed by anyone.

  Furthermore, since SSID information and passwords are often a series of meaningless characters and numbers themselves, there is a risk that an input error may occur when the user manually inputs them.

  For these problems, Patent Document 1 discloses wireless setting on the mobile terminal device side by transmitting setting information in a personal computer wirelessly connected in advance to the mobile terminal device using short-range wireless communication or the like. A technique for performing is disclosed. In addition, a method has been proposed in which settings are made with simple operations by operating the Wi-Fi router.

JP 2003-229872 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, authentication management of the user of the mobile terminal device or the mobile terminal device itself is not performed, and anyone who uses the LAN environment can use the LAN environment when they are available. There was a security problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a technical background, and provides a network setting information acquisition system and an acquisition method capable of easily performing network settings in a mobile terminal device while ensuring security. This is the issue.

The above problem is solved by the following means.
(1) An authentication server and an image processing device that can be connected to each other, and a portable terminal device that can communicate with the image processing device and short-range wireless communication means, the authentication server for authenticating a user The authentication user information and the information about the network accessible by the user are stored in association with each other, the storage means for storing the information about the image processing apparatus connected to the network, and the user information and the image from the image processing apparatus. Receiving means for receiving information that can identify the processing apparatus itself, information that can identify the user information and the image processing apparatus itself received by the receiving means, and user information for authentication stored in the storage means, Information about the network accessible to the user and the image processing devices connected to the network A determination unit that determines whether the user indicated by the user information is accessible to the network to which the image processing apparatus is connected based on the information, and the determination unit determines that the network is accessible Includes notification means for notifying the image processing apparatus of network setting information for connecting to the network, the image processing apparatus receiving the user information from the portable terminal device, and the receiving means Transmitting means for transmitting the received user information and information that can identify the image processing apparatus itself to the authentication server; and when the network setting information is notified from the authentication server, the setting information is transmitted to the portable terminal device. Notification means for notifying via the short-range wireless communication means, and the portable terminal device includes the short-range wireless communication Transmitting means for transmitting user information to the image processing device via means, and registration means for acquiring the network setting information from the image processing device via the short-range wireless communication means and registering the setting information And a network setting information acquisition system.
(2) The network setting information acquisition system according to (1), wherein there are a plurality of the networks.
(3) Information about the file server accessible by the user is stored in the storage unit of the authentication server, and the authentication server notifies the image processing apparatus of information about the file server together with the network setting information. The network setting information acquisition system according to item 1 or 2, wherein the mobile terminal device is notified of information about the file server together with the network setting information.
(4) If the user cannot access the network, the authentication server notifies the image processing apparatus to that effect, and the image processing apparatus notifies the portable terminal device that the user cannot access the network. 4. The system for acquiring network setting information according to any one of 3 above.
(5) The location information of the image processing apparatus is stored in the storage unit of the authentication server, and when the user cannot access the network, the authentication server can perform other image processing connected to the network accessible by the user. 5. The network setting information acquisition system according to item 4, wherein the position information of the apparatus is notified to the image processing apparatus, and the image processing apparatus notifies the position information of the other image processing apparatus to the mobile terminal device.
(6) Usage restriction information for the image processing apparatus of the user is stored in the storage unit of the authentication server, and the authentication server notifies the image processing apparatus of the usage restriction information together with network setting information. 6. The network setting information acquisition system according to any one of 1 to 5 above, wherein the usage restriction information is notified to the mobile terminal device together with the network setting information.
(7) Acquisition of network setting information executed in a system including an authentication server and an image processing device that can be connected to each other, and a portable terminal device that can communicate with the image processing device and near field communication means. The authentication server stores authentication user information for authenticating a user in association with information about a network accessible by the user, and information about an image processing apparatus connected to the network. A receiving step for receiving user information and information capable of specifying the image processing device itself from the image processing device, and the user information received in the receiving step and the image processing device itself can be specified. Information, authentication user information stored in the storage means, and user Whether or not the user indicated by the user information can access the network to which the image processing apparatus is connected based on the information on the network accessible by the user and the information on the image processing apparatus connected to the network A determination step for determining whether or not the image processing apparatus notifies the image processing apparatus of network setting information for connecting to the network when it is determined that access is possible in the determination step, and The processing device includes a receiving step of receiving user information from the mobile terminal device, a transmitting step of transmitting the user information received in the receiving step and information that can identify the image processing device itself to the authentication server, and the authentication server If the network setting information is notified from A notification step of notifying the portable terminal device of the constant information via the short-range wireless communication means, wherein the portable terminal device transmits user information to the image processing device via the short-range wireless communication means. Network setting information, characterized by: performing a transmission step, and a registration step of acquiring the network setting information from the image processing device via the short-range wireless communication means and registering the setting information How to get

  According to the invention described in (1) above, when the user connects the portable terminal device to the image processing device by short-range wireless communication and transmits user information, the image processing device receives the received user information and the image processing device itself. Is sent to the authentication server. The authentication server includes the received user information, information that can identify the image processing apparatus itself, authentication user information that is stored in the storage unit, information about a network that the user can access, and an image connected to the network. Based on the information about the processing device, it is determined whether or not the user indicated by the user information is accessible to the network to which the image processing device is connected. The network setting information is notified to the image processing apparatus, and the image processing apparatus notifies the mobile terminal apparatus of the network setting information. The mobile terminal device registers the notified network setting information.

  As described above, since the network setting information is notified to the mobile terminal device only when the user of the mobile terminal device is authenticated by the authentication server and can access the network, the network setting in the mobile terminal device is performed while ensuring security. It can be done easily.

  According to the invention described in the preceding item (2), the user can use this system even when there are a plurality of networks.

  According to the invention described in item (3) above, since the information about the file server is notified to the mobile terminal device together with the network setting information, the user can also use the file server from the mobile terminal device.

  According to the invention described in the above item (4), when the user cannot access the network, the mobile terminal device is notified that the access is impossible, so that the user can be informed.

  According to the invention described in (5) above, when the user cannot access the network, the location information of the image processing apparatus connected to the network accessible by the user is notified to the mobile terminal device. The user can connect to the network by using the image processing apparatus.

  According to the invention described in item (6) above, the use restriction information is notified to the mobile terminal device together with the network setting information, so that the user can recognize the use restriction information for the image processing apparatus.

  According to the invention described in (7) above, since the network setting information is notified to the mobile terminal device only when the user of the mobile terminal device is authenticated by the authentication server and can access the network, security is ensured. However, the network setting in the portable terminal device can be easily performed.

It is a block diagram of the acquisition system of the network setting information which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the authentication server used for the system of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the table preserve | saved at the authentication server. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image processing apparatus used for the system of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the portable terminal device used for the system of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the system of FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating operations of an authentication server, an image processing apparatus, and a mobile terminal device in the system of FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the example which an authentication server manages a some network.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network setting information acquisition system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  This network setting information acquisition system includes an authentication server 1, an image processing device 2, a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) 3 as a plurality of user terminals, a portable terminal device 4, and a wireless LAN router 5. The PC 3, the mobile terminal device 4, and the wireless LAN router 5 are connected to the network 6 in the office, and the authentication server 1 is connected to the network 6.

  In this embodiment, an MFP (Multi Function Peripherals), which is a multi-function digital multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scan function, and a facsimile function, is used as the image processing apparatus. Hereinafter, the image processing apparatus is also referred to as an MFP.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the authentication server 1 includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a storage unit 14, a display unit 15, an input device 16, a network interface unit (network I / F unit) 17, and the like. They are connected to each other via a bus 18.

  The CPU 11 comprehensively controls the entire server 1 by executing a program stored in the ROM 12. In particular, in this embodiment, user authentication information transmitted from the MFP 2 and information that can identify the MFP itself are received, user authentication is performed, and whether the user can access the network 6 to which the MFP 2 is connected is determined. If it is determined that it is accessible or it is determined that access is possible, processing such as notifying the MFP 2 of network setting information for connecting to the network is performed. Details will be described later.

  The ROM 12 is a storage medium that stores programs executed by the CPU 11 and other data.

  The RAM 13 is a storage medium that provides a work area when the CPU 11 operates according to the operation program.

  The storage unit 14 includes a storage medium such as a hard disk, and stores information for performing user authentication, information for determining whether the network is accessible to the user, and the like.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, user information for authentication (denoted as a user name) for user authentication, information on a network accessible to the user, and use by a user connected to the network A table (A) in which an IP address of a valid MFP (denoted as an associated MFP), a file server that the user is permitted to use, and MFP usage restriction information set for the user are associated with each other. ing.

  In addition, access point information (SSID and password) and (table (B)) as network setting information for connecting to each network, and installation location information (table (C)) as position information of each MFP are also stored. ing. In addition, various application programs and data are also stored. The access point information may be stored in the MFP 2.

  The display unit 15 includes a CRT, a liquid crystal display device, and the like, and displays various messages and an input reception screen, selection screen, and the like for the user.

  The input device 16 is used for an input operation by a user, and includes a keyboard, a mouse, and the like.

  The network interface unit 17 functions as a communication unit that transmits and receives data to and from the MFP 2 and other external devices via the network 6 and the like.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the MFP 2.

  The MFP 2 includes a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, a scanner unit 24, a storage unit 25, a printer unit 26, an operation panel 27, a network controller (N1C) 28, a short-range wireless communication unit 29, and the like. ing.

  The CPU 21 controls the entire MFP 2 and controls basic functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scan function, and a facsimile function. In addition, the user information transmitted from the mobile terminal device 4 is transmitted to the authentication server 1 together with the IP address identifying the own device via the network controller 28, or the network setting information notified from the authentication server 1 is transmitted. A process of receiving and notifying the mobile terminal device 4 via the short-range wireless communication unit 29 is executed.

  The ROM 22 is a memory for storing an operation program of the CPU 21 and the like.

  The RAM 23 is a memory that provides a work area when the CPU 21 operates based on an operation program.

  The scanner unit 24 is a reading unit that reads an image of a document placed on a document table (not shown) and outputs image data.

  The storage unit 25 is configured by a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), for example, image data of a document read by the scanner unit 24, or data transmitted from the PC 3, the portable terminal device 4 or the like. Etc. are stored.

  The printer unit 26 prints image data of a document read by the scanner unit 24, data designated by the portable terminal device 4 and the like according to an instructed mode.

  The operation panel 27 is used for various input operations and the like, and includes a display unit 271 including a touch panel type liquid crystal display for displaying a message, an operation screen, and the like, a numeric keypad, a start key, a stop key, and the like. A key input unit 272 is provided.

  The network controller 28 transmits and receives data by controlling communication with the PC 3 and other image forming apparatuses on the network and other external devices such as user terminals.

  The short-range wireless communication unit 29 receives user information from the mobile terminal device 4 or transmits network setting information or the like to the mobile terminal device 4 by a short-range wireless communication technology such as NFC. In addition, in order to receive user information, the card reader 20a which reads user authentication information from the portable terminal device 4 is provided.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the mobile terminal device 4. The mobile terminal device 4 is a smartphone, a tablet terminal, electronic paper, or the like. The mobile terminal 2 includes a CPU 41, a RAM 42, a storage unit 43, a display unit 44a, an operation unit 44b, a Wi-Fi module 45, a LAN controller 46, a USB interface 47, a short-range wireless communication unit 48, and the like.

  The CPU 41 controls the entire mobile terminal device 4 in an integrated manner, and operates according to an OS (Operating System) that is basic software and various applications.

  The RAM 42 is a memory serving as a work area when the CPU 41 operates according to an operation program.

  The storage unit 43 stores various data, applications, and the like, and a hard disk device or the like is used. In this embodiment, programs such as a basic OS and applications are stored, and user information for specifying a user who uses the mobile terminal device 4 is stored.

  The display unit 44a includes a device such as a liquid crystal, and the operation unit 44b includes a touch panel provided on the display unit 44a and capable of touch input operation. The touch operation is usually performed by a gesture operation that defines the operation content according to the number of touched fingers and the movement of the fingers.

  The Wi-Fi module 45 is an interface for wireless connection to the network 6, and the LAN controller 46 controls communication with an external device such as the PC 3. The USB interface 47 is an interface for connecting the mobile terminal device 4 to other devices by wire. The near field communication unit 48 performs near field communication with the MFP 2.

  Next, the outline of the operation of the system of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  After transmitting the network connection request to the MFP, the mobile terminal device 4 transmits user information that can specify the user who uses the mobile terminal device 4 to the MFP 2 via the short-range wireless communication unit 48 (FIG. 6). (A) (B) circled numbers 1). Specifically, for example, after the user information transmission button is pressed to activate the short-range wireless communication unit 48, the mobile terminal device 4 is brought close to the card reader 29a. In this embodiment, the user information has been described as being stored in the storage unit 43, but the user may input it to the mobile terminal device 4 each time.

  The MFP 2 reads the user information via the card reader 29a, and transmits the read user information and MFP information such as an IP address for specifying the own apparatus to the authentication server 1 (FIGS. 6A and 6B). ) Circled number 2), inquires whether the user can access the network 6 in the area where the MFP 2 is installed.

  The authentication server 1 collates the held user authentication information with the user information transmitted from the MFP. If the user is a corresponding user, the authentication server 1 is based on the table (A) in FIG. 3 and the transmitted MFP information. Then, it is determined whether or not the user indicated by the user information can access the network 6 to which the MFP 2 is connected (circle numeral 3 in FIG. 6B).

  If access is impossible, the authentication server 1 notifies the MFP 2 of inaccessible information. If access is possible, the authentication server 1 sends network setting information (SSID, password, etc. as access point information) for connecting to the network to the MFP 2. (Circle number 4 in FIGS. 6A and 6B).

  The MFP 2 notifies the mobile terminal device 4 of the received inaccessible information or access point information (circled number 5 in FIGS. 6A and 6B).

  The mobile terminal device 4 registers the notified access point information (circled number 6 in FIG. 6B), thereby enabling wireless connection to the network 6.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing individual processes of the authentication server 1, the MFP 2, and the mobile terminal device 4 when the operation of the system described above is performed.

  In step S <b> 11, the mobile terminal device 4 transmits a network connection request to the MFP 2.

  When the user transmits user information by holding the portable terminal device 4 over the card reader 29a, the MFP 2 acquires the user information in step S22, and then transmits the user information and MFP information to the authentication server 1 in step S23. Wait for transmission from the authentication server 1.

  When the authentication server 1 receives the user information and the MFP information in step S31, the authentication server 1 determines in step S32 whether the user indicated by the user information is permitted to access the network to which the MFP is connected.

  If permitted (authorized in step S32), the access point information is transmitted to the MFP 2 in step S33. If it is not permitted (no permission in step S32), inaccessible information is transmitted to the MFP 2 in step S34.

  In step S <b> 24, the MFP 2 receives the access point information or the inaccessible information and transmits them to the mobile terminal device 4.

  In step S12, the mobile terminal device 4 receives access point information or inaccessible information, and in step S13, determines whether or not access to the network is possible based on the reception result.

  If access is possible (possible in step S13), access point information is registered in step S14, set to a set value, and then connection permission is displayed on the display unit 44a in step S15. If access is not possible (impossible in step S13), connection impossible is displayed on the display unit 44a in step S16.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the user holds the mobile terminal device 4 over the card reader 29a, user information is transmitted to the MFP 2 by short-range wireless communication, and is transmitted from the MFP 2 to the authentication server 1. Is determined to be accessible to the network to which the MFP 2 is connected. If the access is not possible, the impossible information is notified. If the access is possible, the access point information is notified from the authentication server 1 to the MFP 2, and the MFP 2 carries the information. The terminal device 4 is notified. The access point information notified from the MFP 2 to the mobile terminal device 4 is registered in the mobile terminal device 2.

  Therefore, since the access point information is notified to the mobile terminal device 4 only when the user of the mobile terminal device 4 is authenticated by the authentication server 1 and can access the network, the network in the mobile terminal device 4 is secured while ensuring security. Easy to set up.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  For example, when the user cannot access the network to which the MFP 2 is connected, the inaccessible information is transmitted to the mobile terminal device 4, but the tables (A) and (C) in FIG. Based on this, the mobile terminal 4 may be notified of the location information of the MFP 2 connected to the network accessible by the user. As a result, the user connects to the notified MFP 2 and transmits user information, and as a result, can be wirelessly connected to the network.

  In addition, when the user can access the network to which the MFP 2 is connected, the mobile terminal device 4 is also notified of access point information and information about available file servers defined in the table of FIG. The mobile terminal device 4 may reflect this file server in the application so that the user can use it.

  When the user can access the network to which the MFP 2 is connected, the usage restriction information of the MFP 2 defined in the table of FIG. 3A is also notified to the mobile terminal device 4 together with the access point information, and the mobile terminal The apparatus 4 may be reflected in the application so that the user can use the MFP 2 within the range of the use restriction.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the authentication server 1 may manage a plurality of networks 6. In the example of FIG. 8, the network system A in the head office and the network system B in the branch office are managed by one authentication server 1, and the user can use this system in both the head office and the branch office.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the authentication server 1 and the MFP 2 are configured as separate apparatuses has been described, but the MFP 2 may have a function as the authentication server 1.

1 Authentication server 11 CPU
14 Storage Unit 2 Image Processing Device 21 CPU
23 Storage Unit 29 Short-range Wireless Communication Unit 4 Mobile Terminal Device 41 CPU
48 Short-range wireless communication unit

Claims (7)

An authentication server and an image processing device that can be connected to each other, and a portable terminal device that can communicate with the image processing device by short-range wireless communication means,
The authentication server is
Storage means for storing authentication user information for authenticating a user and information about a network accessible by the user, and storing information about an image processing apparatus connected to the network;
Receiving means for receiving user information and information capable of specifying the image processing apparatus itself from the image processing apparatus;
The user information received by the receiving means, information that can identify the image processing apparatus itself, authentication user information that is stored in the storage means, information about a network that the user can access, and a network connection Determination means for determining whether the user indicated by the user information is accessible to the network to which the image processing apparatus is connected based on the information about the image processing apparatus.
A notification means for notifying the image processing apparatus of network setting information for connecting to the network when the determination means determines that access is possible;
With
The image processing apparatus includes:
Receiving means for receiving user information from the mobile terminal device;
Transmitting means for transmitting user information received by the receiving means and information capable of specifying the image processing apparatus itself to the authentication server;
When the network setting information is notified from the authentication server, notification means for notifying the setting information to the portable terminal device via the short-range wireless communication means;
With
The portable terminal device
Transmitting means for transmitting user information to the image processing apparatus via the short-range wireless communication means;
A registration unit that acquires the network setting information from the image processing apparatus via the short-range wireless communication unit and registers the setting information;
A system for acquiring network setting information, comprising:   The network setting information acquisition system according to claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of the networks. The storage means of the authentication server stores information about a file server accessible by the user,
The authentication server notifies the image processing apparatus of information about the file server together with the network setting information,
The network processing information acquisition system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the image processing device notifies the mobile terminal device of information about the file server together with the network setting information. If the user cannot access the network, the authentication server notifies the image processing device to that effect,
The network setting information acquisition system according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus notifies the mobile terminal device that the user cannot access the network. The storage means of the authentication server stores position information of the image processing device,
If the user cannot access the network, the authentication server notifies the image processing device of positional information of other image processing devices connected to the network accessible by the user,
The network setting information acquisition system according to claim 4, wherein the image processing device notifies the mobile terminal device of position information of the other image processing device. The storage means of the authentication server stores usage restriction information for the user's image processing apparatus,
The authentication server notifies the image processing apparatus of the use restriction information together with the network setting information,
The network processing information acquisition system according to claim 1, wherein the image processing device notifies the mobile terminal device of the use restriction information together with the network setting information. A network setting information acquisition method executed in a system including an authentication server and an image processing device that can be connected to each other, and a portable terminal device that can communicate with the image processing device and near field communication means. And
The authentication server is
The authentication user information for authenticating the user and the information about the network accessible by the user are stored in association with each other, and the storage unit stores the information about the image processing apparatus connected to the network.
A receiving step for receiving user information and information capable of specifying the image processing apparatus itself from the image processing apparatus;
The user information received in the receiving step, information that can identify the image processing apparatus itself, authentication user information stored in the storage means, information about a network accessible by the user, and a network connected A determination step of determining whether or not the user indicated by the user information is accessible to the network to which the image processing device is connected based on the information about the image processing device.
A notification step of notifying the image processing device of network setting information for connecting to the network when it is determined that access is possible in the determination step;
Run
The image processing apparatus includes:
A receiving step of receiving user information from the mobile terminal device;
Transmitting the user information received in the receiving step and information that can identify the image processing apparatus itself to the authentication server;
When the network setting information is notified from the authentication server, a notification step of notifying the mobile terminal device of the setting information via the short-range wireless communication means;
With
The portable terminal device
A transmission step of transmitting user information to the image processing apparatus via the short-range wireless communication means;
A registration step of acquiring the network setting information from the image processing apparatus via the short-range wireless communication means and registering the setting information;
To obtain network setting information.

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