Information processing system, information processing method, and information processing apparatus

Abstract

To enable login to an information processing apparatus from an electronic device by using account information registered on the information processing apparatus, without inputting account information to an operation unit of the electronic device.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus includes: a first management unit configured to manage account information; a first login request receiving unit configured to receive, from a mobile terminal, a first login request; a first authentication unit configured to allow login from the mobile terminal by comparing login information included in the first login request with login information included in the account information; a second management unit configured to associate the account information with identification information received from the mobile terminal allowed for login; a second login request receiving unit configured to receive, from an electronic device, a second login request; and a second authentication unit configured to allow login from the electronic device by comparing identification information included in the second login request with the identification information associated with the account information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a server device that accepts logins from users from a plurality of terminal devices, such as personal computers (PCs), mobile terminals, and electronic devices, used by the users, and provides predetermined services.

[0003] For example, in a server device capable of accepting access from a terminal device and a mobile phone, a technology is known that associates a member ID and password registered from a terminal device with unique identification information of the mobile phone, thereby centrally managing member information (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Using the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, a user can access a server device from a mobile phone and input account information such as a registered member ID and password into the mobile phone, thereby receiving services from the mobile phone in the same way as from a terminal device.

[0005] Meanwhile, there is a demand for logging in to an information processing device such as a server device from an electronic device shared by multiple users, such as an image forming device, by using account information such as a user ID and password registered in the information processing device.

[0006] However, in conventional technology such as that shown in Patent Document 1, in order to be able to log in to an information processing device from an electronic device using registered account information, the account information must be input into the operation unit of the electronic device.

[0007] One embodiment of the present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and enables logging in to an information processing device from an electronic device using account information already registered on the information processing device, without having to input account information into the operation unit of the electronic device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention is an information processing device capable of communicating with a mobile terminal used by a user, and includes a first management unit that manages account information including login information of the user, a first login request receiving unit that receives a first login request from the mobile terminal including the login information of the user, a first authentication unit that compares the login information included in the first login request with the login information included in the account information to permit login from the mobile terminal, a second management unit that, when identification information unique to the mobile terminal is received from the mobile terminal that has permitted login, associates the identification information with the account information, a second login request receiving unit that receives a second login request including the identification information from an electronic device, and a second authentication unit that compares the identification information included in the second login request with the identification information associated with the account information to permit login from the electronic device. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, it becomes possible to log in to an information processing device from an electronic device by using account information already registered in the information processing device, without inputting account information into an operation unit of the electronic device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a computer according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3]FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. [Diagram 5] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an information processing system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of account information according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing of the information processing system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of the mobile terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of the information processing device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an information processing system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing of an information processing system according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0012] <System configuration> 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment. The information processing system 1 includes an information processing device 100, a mobile terminal 110, and electronic devices such as an image forming device 120, all of which are connected to a communication network 10 such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network). The information processing system 1 is a system that enables a user 20 who has registered account information in the information processing device 100 to easily log in to an electronic device such as the image forming device 120 using the mobile terminal 110.

[0013] The information processing device 100 is, for example, an information processing device having a computer configuration, or a system including a plurality of information processing devices, and is communicably connected to a mobile terminal 110 and an image forming device 120 via a communication network 10. The information processing device 100 may also be called, for example, an authentication system or an authentication server. The information processing device 100 manages account information of the user 20, including identification information (hereinafter referred to as a user ID) for identifying the user 20 and login information such as a password. When the information processing device 100 receives a login request including login information from the mobile terminal 110 used by the user 20, the information processing device 100 compares the login information included in the login request with the login information included in the account information, and permits login from the mobile terminal 110.

[0014] Furthermore, the information processing device 100 manages identification information (hereinafter referred to as terminal identification information) specific to the mobile terminal used by the user 20 in association with the user's account information based on a predetermined registration operation by the user 20. When the information processing device 100 receives a login request including terminal identification information from an electronic device such as the image forming device 120, the information processing device 100 compares the terminal identification information included in the login request with the terminal identification information associated with the account information, and permits login from the electronic device.

[0015] The mobile terminal 110 is an information terminal such as a smartphone, tablet terminal, wearable terminal, or mobile phone used by the user 20, and has installed thereon an application program (hereinafter, referred to as an app) corresponding to the information processing system 1. By executing the app, the mobile terminal 110 executes a process of logging in to the information processing device 100, a process of registering the terminal identification information of the mobile terminal 110 to the information processing device 100, a process of transmitting the terminal identification information to an electronic device such as the image forming device 120, and the like.

[0016] For example, a user 20 who has registered account information in the information processing device 100 can log in to the information processing device 100 by launching an app on the mobile terminal 110 and performing a specified login operation on the login screen displayed by the app (login process).

[0017] Furthermore, the user 20 can associate terminal identification information unique to the mobile terminal 110 with the account information of the user 20 by performing a predetermined registration operation on a registration screen displayed by the application (registration process). Here, the identification information unique to the mobile terminal 110 (terminal identification information) can be, for example, a UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) ​​of the mobile terminal 110 or a UUID of an application. However, without being limited thereto, the terminal identification information can be various information capable of identifying the mobile terminal 110 within the information processing system 1, for example, identification information such as a telephone number of the mobile terminal 110 or a tag ID of NFC (Near Field Communication).

[0018] Furthermore, the user 20 can transmit the terminal identification information of the mobile terminal 110 to the electronic device such as the image forming device 120 by holding the mobile terminal 110 with the application activated over (bringing the mobile terminal 110 close to) the electronic device through the short-distance wireless communication 11 (transmission process). Here, for the short-distance wireless communication 11, it is desirable to use a communication method such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or NFC that is preset so that data communication is performed when the mobile terminal 110 approaches the electronic device within a distance of, for example, 0 cm to 20 cm, preferably 0 cm to 10 cm. This can reduce the risk of the terminal identification information being erroneously transmitted to the other electronic device even when another electronic device is installed in the vicinity of the electronic device such as the image forming device 120. Here, the following description will be given assuming that the short-distance wireless communication 11 is Bluetooth communication with a communication distance limited to 10 cm or less. Note that the Bluetooth communication includes BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) communication.

[0019] The image forming apparatus 120 is an example of an electronic device having a network communication function for communicating with the information processing apparatus 100 via the communication network 10 and a short-distance wireless communication function for communicating with the mobile terminal 110 by short-distance wireless communication 11. The electronic device according to the present embodiment may be, for example, an output device such as a PJ (Projector), an IWB (Interactive White Board: a white board having an electronic blackboard function capable of mutual communication), or a digital signage. The electronic device may also be, for example, a HUD (Head Up Display) device, an industrial machine, an imaging device, a sound collecting device, a medical device, a network home appliance, an automobile (Connected Car), or the like. Furthermore, the electronic device may also be, for example, a notebook PC (Personal Computer), a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a game machine, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a digital camera, a wearable PC, or a desktop PC.

[0020] Here, as an example, the electronic device is assumed to be an image forming device 120 such as an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) that incorporates scanning functions, copying functions, printing functions, facsimile functions, etc. in a single housing, or a printer, and the like.

[0021] When the image forming device 120 receives the terminal identification information transmitted from the mobile terminal 110 via the short-range wireless communication 11, the image forming device 120 transmits a login request including the received terminal identification information to the information processing device 100. Furthermore, when the user 20 is successful in logging in to the information processing device 100, the image forming device 120 permits the user 20 to use the image forming device 120.

[0022] With the above configuration, the user 20 can log in to the information processing device 100 from the electronic device by using account information already registered in the information processing device 100, without having to input account information into the operation unit of an electronic device such as the image forming device 120.

[0023] For example, depending on the model, electronic devices such as printers and projectors may require time and effort to input login information due to reasons such as a small display size or an operation unit that only has operation buttons, etc. However, according to this embodiment, it becomes possible to log in to the information processing device 100 from the electronic device using registered account information, regardless of the configuration of the display unit and operation unit of the electronic device.

[0024] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the user 20 can easily associate the terminal identification information of the mobile terminal 110 with the registered account information, for example, at his / her desk, without having to go close to an electronic device such as the image forming device 120.

[0025] 1 is an example. For example, the functions of the information processing system 100 may be distributed among multiple information processing devices, or may be realized by a cloud service or the like. The mobile terminal 110 used by the user 20 may be multiple mobile terminals, such as a first mobile terminal provided by the company and a second mobile terminal owned by the user. Furthermore, the information processing system 1 may include multiple electronic devices, such as an image forming device 120.

[0026] <Hardware configuration> (Hardware configuration of information processing device) The information processing device 100 has, for example, the hardware configuration of a computer 200 as shown in Fig. 2. Alternatively, the information processing device 100 is configured by a plurality of computers 200.

[0027] 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a computer according to an embodiment. The computer 200 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 203, a HD (Hard Disk) 204, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 205, a display 206, an external device connection I / F (Interface) 207, a network I / F 208, a keyboard 209, a pointing device 210, a DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable) drive 212, a media I / F 214, and a bus line 215.

[0028] Of these, the CPU 201 controls the overall operation of the computer 200. The ROM 202 stores programs used to start up the CPU 201, such as an IPL (Initial Program Loader). The RAM 203 is used, for example, as a work area for the CPU 201. The HD 204 stores various data, such as programs. The HDD controller 205 controls the reading and writing of various data from and to the HD 204 under the control of the CPU 201.

[0029] The display 206 displays various types of information such as a cursor, a menu, a window, characters, or an image. The external device connection I / F 207 is an interface for connecting an external device to the computer 200. The network I / F 208 is a communication interface for connecting the computer 200 to the communication network 10 or the like. The keyboard 209 is a type of input means having a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numbers, various instructions, etc. The pointing device 210 is a type of input means for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, etc.

[0030] The DVD-RW drive 212 controls reading and writing of various data from and to a DVD-RW 211, which is an example of a removable recording medium. The DVD-RW 211 is not limited to a DVD-RW, and may be another removable recording medium. The media I / F 214 controls reading and writing (storing) of data from and to a medium 213, such as a flash memory or a memory card. The bus line 215 includes an address bus, a data bus, various control signals, and the like, for electrically connecting the above components.

[0031] (Mobile device hardware configuration) Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 3, the mobile terminal 110 includes a CPU 301, a ROM 302, a RAM 303, a storage device 304, a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor 305, an image sensor I / F 306, a sensor 307, a media I / F 309, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving unit 310, and the like.

[0032] Of these, the CPU 301 executes a predetermined program to control the overall operation of the mobile terminal 110. The ROM 302 stores a program used to start up the CPU 301, such as an IPL. The RAM 303 is used as a work area for the CPU 301. The storage device 304 is a large-capacity storage device that stores an OS (Operating System), programs such as applications, and various data, and is realized by, for example, an SSD (Solid State Drive), a flash ROM, or the like.

[0033] The CMOS sensor 305 is a type of built-in imaging means that captures an image of a subject (mainly a self-portrait) under the control of the CPU 301 to obtain image data. The mobile terminal 110 may have an imaging means such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor instead of the CMOS sensor 305. The imaging element I / F 306 is a circuit that controls the driving of the CMOS sensor 305. The sensor 307 is, for example, an electronic magnetic compass that detects geomagnetism, a gyrocompass, an acceleration sensor, or other such sensors. The media I / F 309 controls the reading and writing of data from and to a media (storage media) 308 such as a flash memory. The GPS receiver 310 receives GPS signals from GPS satellites.

[0034] The mobile terminal 110 also includes a long-distance communication circuit 311, an antenna 311a for the long-distance communication circuit 311, a CMOS sensor 312, an image sensor I / F 313, a microphone 314, a speaker 315, an audio input / output I / F 316, a display 317, an external device connection I / F 318, a short-distance communication circuit 319, an antenna 319a for the short-distance communication circuit 319, and a touch panel 320.

[0035] Of these, the long-distance communication circuit 311 is a communication interface for connecting the mobile terminal 110 to the communication network 10. The CMOS sensor 312 is a type of built-in imaging means that captures an image of a subject and obtains image data under the control of the CPU 301. The image sensor I / F 313 is a circuit that controls the driving of the CMOS sensor 312. The microphone 314 is a built-in circuit that converts sound into an electrical signal. The speaker 315 is a built-in circuit that converts an electrical signal into physical vibrations to generate sound such as music or voice. The audio input / output I / F 316 is a circuit that processes the input and output of audio signals between the microphone 314 and the speaker 315 under the control of the CPU 301.

[0036] The display 317 is a type of display means such as a liquid crystal or organic EL (Electro Luminescence) that displays an image of a subject, various icons, etc. The external device connection I / F 318 is an interface for connecting an external device (e.g., a USB memory, etc.) to the mobile terminal 110. The short-range communication circuit 319 is a circuit for performing short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth or NFC. The touch panel 320 is a type of input means that allows a user to operate the mobile terminal 110 by pressing the display 317.

[0037] The mobile terminal 110 also includes a bus line 321. As shown in Fig. 3, the bus line 321 includes an address bus, a data bus, various control signals, and the like for electrically connecting the components connected to the bus line 321.

[0038] (Hardware configuration of image forming device) Here, an example of the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 120, which is an example of an electronic device, will be described.

[0039] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 4, the image forming apparatus 120 includes, for example, a controller 410, a short-range communication circuit 420, an engine control unit 430, an operation panel 440, and a network I / F 450.

[0040] Of these, the controller 410 has a CPU 401, which is the main part of the computer, a system memory (MEM-P) 402, a north bridge (NB) 403, a south bridge (SB) 404, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 405, a local memory (MEM-C) 406, an HDD controller 407, and an HD 408, etc., and is configured such that the NB 403 and the ASIC 405 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 411.

[0041] Among these, the CPU 401 is a calculation unit that executes a predetermined program to perform overall control of the image forming apparatus 120. The NB 403 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 401 with the MEM-P 402, the SB 404, and the AGP bus 411, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 402, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) master, and an AGP target.

[0042] The MEM-P 402 is composed of a ROM 402a which is a memory for storing programs and data for implementing the various functions of the controller 410, and a RAM 402b which is used for developing the programs and data, and as a drawing memory during memory printing, etc. The programs stored in the RAM 402b may be configured to be provided by being recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, CD-R, or DVD in the form of an installable or executable file.

[0043] The SB404 is a bridge for connecting the NB403 with PCI devices and peripheral devices. The ASIC405 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for image processing purposes having hardware elements for image processing, and plays the role of a bridge connecting the AGP bus 411, the PCI bus 412, the HDD controller 407, and the MEM-C406. The ASIC405 is composed of a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that is the core of the ASIC405, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C406, a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) that rotate image data using hardware logic, and a PCI unit that transfers data between the scanner unit 431 and the printer unit 432 via the PCI bus 412.

[0044] The MEM-C 406 is a local memory used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer. The HD 408 is a storage for storing image data, font data used during printing, and forms. The HD 408 may store, for example, programs such as an OS, applications, and device drivers, and various data. The HDD controller 407 controls reading and writing of data from and to the HD 408 under the control of the CPU 401. The AGP bus 411 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed to speed up graphic processing, and the AGP bus 411 can speed up the graphics accelerator card by directly accessing the MEM-P 402 at high throughput.

[0045] The short-distance communication circuit 420 performs various short-distance wireless communication such as Bluetooth or NFC using an antenna 420a for the short-distance communication circuit. The engine control unit 430 is composed of, for example, a scanner unit 431 and a printer unit 432. The scanner unit 431 is a reading device that reads an original document or the like. The printer unit 432 is a printing device that prints print data on a print medium. The scanner unit 431 or the printer unit 432 includes an image processing unit such as error diffusion or gamma conversion.

[0046] The operation panel 440 includes a panel display unit 440a such as a touch panel that displays current settings and a selection screen and receives input from an operator, and operation buttons 440b including a numeric keypad that receives settings for image formation conditions such as density settings and a start key that receives a copy start command. The controller 410 controls the entire image forming apparatus 120, and controls, for example, drawing, communication, and input from the operation panel 440.

[0047] The network I / F 450 is an interface for performing data communication using the communication network 10. The short-range communication circuit 420 and the network I / F 450 are electrically connected to the ASIC 405 via a PCI bus 412, for example.

[0048] Image forming apparatus 120 is an example of an electronic device. The electronic device may have any hardware configuration as long as it includes a computer configuration, network I / F 450, short-range communication circuit 420, and antenna 420a.

[0049] [First embodiment] <Functional configuration> FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the information processing system according to the first embodiment.

[0050] (Functional configuration of information processing device) The information processing device 100 realizes the functional configuration of the information processing device 100 as shown in Fig. 5 by executing a predetermined program on, for example, a computer 200 as shown in Fig. 2 or multiple computers 200. At least a part of the functional configuration of the information processing device 100 may be realized by hardware. In the example of Fig. 5, the information processing device 100 has a communication unit 501, a first management unit 502, a first login request reception unit 503, a first authentication unit 504, a registration information transmission unit 505, a second management unit 506, a second login request reception unit 507, a second authentication unit 508, and a storage unit 509.

[0051] The communication unit 501 connects the information processing device 100 to the communication network 10 using, for example, the network I / F 208 in FIG. 2, and executes communication processing for communicating with other devices such as the mobile terminal 110 and the image forming device 120.

[0052] The first management unit 502 executes a first management process for managing account information including login information of the user 20 preregistered in the information processing device 100 (or the information processing system 1). For example, the first management unit 502 stores and manages account information 510 as shown in Fig. 6(A) and (B) in the storage unit 509 or the like. Note that the first management unit 502 may store and manage the account information 510 in an external storage server or the like.

[0053] FIG. 6(A) shows an image of an example of account information 510 managed by the first management unit 502. In the example of FIG. 6(A), the account information 510 includes information such as "user ID", "password", "user name", "terminal identification information", and "status" as items. The "user ID" is a login ID for the user 20 registered in the information processing device 100 to log in to the information processing device 100. The user 20 is not limited to an individual, and may include multiple users such as a tenant, a group, a department, etc. In the example of FIG. 6(A), the email address of the user 20 is used as the user ID. The "password" is a password corresponding to the user ID. The user ID and the password are examples of login information of the user 20. The user ID may be a login ID other than an email address. The password may be authentication information other than a password.

[0054] "User name" is information indicating the name of user 20. In addition to the user name, account information 510 may include various information related to user 20, such as the employee ID of user 20 or affiliation information. "Terminal identification information" is terminal identification information that identifies the mobile terminal 110 used by user 20, and is registered in account information 510 by second management unit 506, which will be described later, or the like. "Status" is information indicating whether mobile terminal 110 is logged in to information processing device 100 or not logged in (logged out), etc.

[0055] The "terminal identification information" may be such that two or more pieces of terminal identification information can be registered for each user 20, as in the account information 510 shown in Fig. 6(B). This allows the user 20 to register, in the information processing device 100, the terminal identification information of a plurality of mobile terminals, such as a first mobile terminal provided by the company and a second mobile terminal owned by the user. In short, the account information 510 may be such that a predetermined number of pieces of terminal identification information can be associated with the account information of the user 20 and stored.

[0056] The first login request receiving unit 503 executes a first login request receiving process for receiving, from the mobile terminal 110, a login request including the user's login information (for example, a user ID and a password) (hereinafter, referred to as a first login request).

[0057] The first authentication unit 504 compares the login information included in the first login request accepted by the first login request acceptance unit 503 with the login information included in the account information 510, and executes a first authentication process to permit login from the mobile terminal 110. For example, if the combination of the user ID and password included in the first login information is stored in the account information 510, the first authentication unit 504 permits login from the mobile terminal 110. On the other hand, if the combination of the user ID and password included in the first login information is not stored in the account information 510, the first authentication unit 504 rejects login from the mobile terminal 110.

[0058] In response to a request from the mobile terminal 110 that has been permitted to log in, the registration information transmission unit 505 executes a registration information transmission process for transmitting registration information to a destination corresponding to the account information of the user 20 of the mobile terminal 110. For example, the registration information transmission unit 505 transmits to the mobile terminal 110 that has been permitted to log in, and causes it to display a registration application screen for accepting a registration application for the terminal identification information of the mobile terminal 110. Furthermore, when the registration information transmission unit 505 accepts registration application information transmitted from the mobile terminal 110 in accordance with a registration application operation by the user 20, it transmits the registration information including information required for registering the terminal identification information to the email address of the user 20.

[0059] When the second management unit 506 receives terminal identification information (identification information unique to the mobile terminal 110) of the mobile terminal 110 from the mobile terminal 110 that has been permitted to log in, the second management unit 506 executes a second management process of associating the received terminal identification information with the account information of the user 20. For example, when the second management unit 506 receives a registration request including the terminal identification information from the mobile terminal 110 that has been permitted to log in, the second management unit 506 stores the terminal identification information included in the registration request in account information 510 as shown in Fig. 6(A) or 6(B). Note that the functions of the first management unit 502 and the second management unit 506 may be realized by, for example, one account information management unit 511 or the like.

[0060] Second login request acceptance unit 507 executes a second login request acceptance process for accepting a login request including terminal identification information of mobile terminal 110 (hereinafter referred to as a second login request) from an electronic device such as image forming apparatus 120. Note that the functions of first login request acceptance unit 503 and second login request acceptance unit 507 may be realized by, for example, one login request acceptance unit 512 or the like.

[0061] The second authentication unit 508 performs a second authentication process to permit login from the image forming apparatus 120 or the like by comparing the terminal identification information included in the second login request accepted by the second login request acceptance unit 507 with the terminal identification information associated with the account information. For example, the second authentication unit 508 permits login from an electronic device such as the image forming apparatus 120 when the terminal identification information included in the second login request is stored in the account information 510 as shown in FIG. 6(A) or FIG. 6(B). On the other hand, the second authentication unit 508 rejects login from an electronic device such as the image forming apparatus 120 when the terminal identification information included in the second login request is not stored in the account information 510. Note that the functions of the first authentication unit 504 and the second authentication unit 508 may be realized by, for example, one authentication unit 513.

[0062] The storage unit 509 is realized by, for example, the program executed by the CPU 201 in FIG. 2, the HD 204, the HDD controller 205, etc., and stores various information such as account information 510, data, or programs, etc.

[0063] (Mobile device functional configuration) Mobile terminal 110 realizes the functional configuration of mobile terminal 110 as shown in Fig. 5 by, for example, executing a predetermined program (application) in CPU 301 in Fig. 3. At least a part of the functional configuration of mobile terminal 110 may be realized by hardware. In the example of Fig. 5, mobile terminal 110 has a communication unit 521, a short-range wireless communication unit 522, a login request unit 523, an acquisition unit 524, a first identification information transmission unit 525, a second identification information transmission unit 526, a display control unit 527, a storage unit 528, and the like.

[0064] The communication unit 521 executes a communication process for connecting the mobile terminal 110 to the communication network 10 and communicating with other devices such as the information processing device 100, for example, using the long-distance communication circuit 311 and the antenna 311a in FIG.

[0065] The short-range wireless communication unit 522 executes a short-range wireless communication process, for example, using the short-range communication circuit 319 and antenna 319a in FIG. 3 to transmit terminal identification information of the mobile terminal 110 to an electronic device such as an image forming device 120 that is within a predetermined distance from the mobile terminal 110.

[0066] In response to an operation by the user 20, the login request unit 523 executes a login request process for requesting login from the mobile terminal 110 to the information processing device 100 using login information of the user 20 (for example, a user ID and a password).

[0067] The acquisition unit 524 executes an acquisition process for acquiring terminal identification information unique to the mobile terminal 110. For example, the acquisition unit 524 acquires the UUID of the mobile terminal 110, the UUID of an application, or the like, as the terminal identification information.

[0068] The first identification information transmitting unit 525 executes a first identification information transmitting process in response to a registration operation by the user 20, for transmitting the terminal identification information acquired by the acquiring unit 524 to the information processing device 100.

[0069] Second identification information transmission unit 526 executes a second identification information transmission process for transmitting terminal identification information of mobile terminal 110 to an electronic device such as image forming device 120, using short-range wireless communication unit 522. For example, when user 20 brings mobile terminal 110 close to image forming device 120 within a predetermined distance, second identification information transmission unit 526 transmits the terminal identification information of mobile terminal 110 to image forming device 120 by short-range wireless communication 11.

[0070] The display control unit 527 causes a display unit such as the display 317 in FIG. 3 to display screens such as a login screen, a registration application screen, a registration screen, and a registration completion screen, which will be described later, and accepts operations by the user 20 on the display screens.

[0071] Storage unit 528 is realized by, for example, a program executed by CPU 301 in FIG. 3, storage device 304, etc., and stores various information such as terminal identification information of mobile terminal 110, data, programs, etc.

[0072] (Functional configuration of image forming apparatus) 4 executes a predetermined program, the image forming apparatus 120 realizes a communication unit 531, a short-range wireless communication unit 532, a login request unit 533, an image formation processing unit 534, a storage unit 535, and the like. Note that at least a part of the above-mentioned functional configurations may be realized by hardware.

[0073] The communication unit 531 connects the image forming apparatus 120 to the communication network 10 using, for example, the network I / F 450 in FIG. 4, and communicates with other apparatuses such as the information processing apparatus 100.

[0074] The short-range wireless communication unit 532 receives terminal identification information transmitted from the mobile terminal 110 by short-range wireless communication 11 using, for example, the short-range communication circuit 420 and the antenna 420a in FIG.

[0075] When the short-range wireless communication unit 532 receives the terminal identification information from the mobile terminal 110, the login request unit 533 transmits a login request including the received terminal identification information to the information processing device 100.

[0076] 4, etc. Furthermore, when the information processing device 100 permits login in response to the login request transmitted by the login request unit 533, the image formation processing unit 534 permits the user 20 to use the image forming device 120 (to use the image formation processing).

[0077] The storage unit 535 is realized by, for example, the program executed by the CPU 401 in FIG. 4, the HD 408, the HDD controller 407, etc., and stores various data, information, programs, etc.

[0078] 5 is an example of the functional configuration of the information processing system 1. For example, the functional components of the information processing device 100 may be distributed among a plurality of computers 200.

[0079] <Processing flow> Next, a process flow of the information processing method according to the first embodiment will be described.

[0080] (Information Processing System) 7 is a diagram showing an example of processing of the information processing system according to the first embodiment. This processing shows an example of processing in which a user 20 who has already registered account information in the information processing device 100 registers terminal identification information of a mobile terminal 110 in the information processing device 100 (associates the terminal identification information with the account information).

[0081] In step S701, the user 20 performs a start operation on the mobile terminal 110. For example, the user 20 starts an application corresponding to the information processing system 1 that is installed in the mobile terminal 110. Alternatively, the user 20 selects a start button or the like from an application screen.

[0082] In step S702, the login request unit 523 of the mobile terminal 110 transmits a connection request to the information processing device 100 in response to a start operation by the user 20. For example, the login request unit 523 requests a connection to a preset uniform resource locator (URL) for connecting to the information processing device 100.

[0083] In step S703, when the first login request accepting unit 503 of the information processing device 100 accepts a connection request from the mobile terminal 110, it transmits a login screen to the mobile terminal 110. As a result, in step S704, the display control unit 527 of the mobile terminal 110 causes a display unit such as the display 317 to display, for example, a login screen 810 as shown in FIG.

[0084] 8(A) shows an example of a login screen 810 displayed by the mobile terminal 110. For example, the user 20 can perform a login operation by inputting a user ID and a password on the login screen 810 and selecting a "Login" button 811. Note that if the user 20 has already logged in to the information processing device 100 from the mobile terminal 110, the user ID and password may be automatically input.

[0085] When the user 20 performs a login operation in step S705, the login request unit 523 of the mobile terminal 110 transmits a first login request including a user ID (for example, an email address) and a password to the information processing device 100 in step S706.

[0086] In step S707, when the first login request receiving unit 503 of the information processing device 100 receives the first login request from the mobile terminal 110, the first authentication unit 504 performs authentication processing based on the login information included in the account information 510. For example, if the combination of the user ID (email address, etc.) and password included in the first login request is stored in the account information 510, the first authentication unit 504 permits login from the mobile terminal 110. On the other hand, if the combination of the user ID and password included in the first login information is not stored in the account information 510, the first authentication unit 504 rejects login from the mobile terminal 110. Here, the following description will be given assuming that the account information of the user 20 has been registered in the information processing device 100 and login from the mobile terminal 110 is permitted.

[0087] In step S708, the first authentication unit 504 of the information processing device 100 permits login from the mobile terminal 110, and the registration information transmission unit 505 transmits a registration application screen to the mobile terminal 110 that has permitted the login. As a result, in step S709, the display control unit 527 of the mobile terminal 110 causes a display unit such as the display 317 to display, for example, a registration application screen 820 as shown in FIG. 8(B).

[0088] 8(B) shows an example of a registration application screen 820 displayed by the mobile terminal 110. For example, the user 20 can perform a registration application operation by selecting a “Send” button 821 on the registration application screen 820.

[0089] When the user 20 performs a registration application operation in step S710, the display control unit 527 of the mobile terminal 110 transmits, to the information processing device 100, registration application information indicating that the send button has been selected in step S711.

[0090] In step S712, when the registration information transmitting unit 505 of the information processing device 100 accepts the registration application information transmitted from the mobile terminal 110, it transmits the registration information including the information required for registering the terminal identification information to the email address of the user 20.

[0091] In step S713, the display control unit 527 of the mobile terminal 110 displays a registration screen for registering the terminal identification information of the mobile terminal 110 in the information processing device 100, based on the registration information transmitted by the information processing device 100 via e-mail. For example, the display control unit 527 displays a registration screen 830 as shown in Fig. 8(C) on a display unit such as the display 317, in response to a selection operation by the user 20 of a URL included in the e-mail received from the information processing device 100, etc.

[0092] Fig. 8(C) shows an example of a registration screen 830 displayed by the mobile terminal 110. For example, the user 20 can select a "Send" button 831 on the registration screen 830 to perform a registration operation requesting registration of the terminal identification information of the mobile terminal 110. Note that the display control unit 527 may use the acquisition unit 524 to acquire the terminal identification information (identification information) of the mobile terminal 110, and display the terminal identification information (e.g., UUID, etc.) of the mobile terminal 110 on the registration screen 830 as shown in Fig. 8(C).

[0093] As another example, acquisition unit 524 of mobile terminal 110 may acquire terminal identification information (identification information) of mobile terminal 110 when first identification information transmission unit 525 transmits a registration request to information processing device 100 in step S715.

[0094] When the user 20 performs a registration operation in step S714, in step S715, the display control unit 527 of the mobile terminal 110 transmits a registration request indicating that the send button has been selected to the information processing device 100. This registration request includes at least the terminal identification information of the mobile terminal 110 acquired by the acquisition unit 524.

[0095] In step S716, when the second management unit 506 of the information processing device 100 accepts the registration request from the mobile terminal 110, it associates the terminal identification information included in the registration request with the account information of the user 20 of the mobile terminal 110. For example, when the account information 510 shown in Fig. 6(A) is stored in the storage unit 509, it is assumed that the second management unit 506 accepts a registration request from the mobile terminal 110 used by the user 20 with the user name "User B". In this case, the second management unit 506 stores the terminal identification information included in the registration request in the "terminal identification information" field corresponding to the account information of the user name "User B" in the account information 510 shown in Fig. 6(A).

[0096] In step S717, second management unit 506 of information processing device 100 transmits a registration completion notification indicating that registration has been completed to mobile terminal 110. As a result, in step S718, display control unit 527 of mobile terminal 110 causes a display unit such as display 317 to display, for example, a registration completion screen 840 as shown in Fig. 8(D). Preferably, display control unit 527 displays, on registration completion screen 840, a message indicating that login is possible when the smartphone (mobile terminal 110) is held over the MFP (image forming device 120) (for example, brought within about 10 cm of the smartphone) as shown in Fig. 8(D).

[0097] After the above process is completed, for example, in step S721 of FIG. 7, when the user 20 brings the mobile terminal 110 close to the image forming apparatus 120, the information processing system 1 executes the processes in and after step S722.

[0098] In step S722, second identification information transmission unit 526 of portable terminal 110 transmits terminal identification information (identification information) of portable terminal 110 to image forming apparatus 120 using short-range wireless communication unit 522.

[0099] In step S723, when short-range wireless communication unit 532 of image forming apparatus 120 receives the terminal identification information from mobile terminal 110, login request unit 533 transmits a second login request including the received terminal identification information to information processing device 100.

[0100] In step S724, when second login request receiving unit 507 of information processing device 100 receives a second login request from image forming apparatus 120, second authentication unit 508 performs authentication processing based on the terminal identification information included in account information 510. For example, if the terminal identification information included in the second login request received from image forming apparatus 120 is registered in account information 510, second authentication unit 508 permits login from image forming apparatus 120. On the other hand, if the terminal identification information included in the second login request received from image forming apparatus 120 is not registered in account information 510, second authentication unit 508 rejects login from image forming apparatus 120.

[0101] Here, since the terminal identification information included in the second login request has already been registered in account information 510, in step S25, second authentication unit 508 permits login from image forming apparatus 120 that sent the second login request.

[0102] In step S726, when login is permitted by the information processing device 100, the image formation processing unit 534 of the image forming apparatus 120 permits the user 20 to use the image forming apparatus 120 (image formation processing).

[0103] 7 may be executed at any timing after the processes of S701 to S718 have been executed one or more times. In addition, the user 20 may use another electronic device included in the information processing system 1 by holding the mobile terminal 110 over the other electronic device.

[0104] (Processing of information processing device) 9 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of the information processing device according to the first embodiment. This processing shows an example of registration processing of terminal identification information executed by the information processing device 100.

[0105] In step S901, when the registration information transmitting unit 505 of the information processing device 100 accepts registration application information from the logged-in mobile terminal 110, the information processing device 100 executes the processes in and after step S902.

[0106] In step S902, the registration information transmitting unit 505 of the information processing device 100 transmits the registration information to the email address of the user 20. Note that this process corresponds to, for example, the process of S712 in FIG.

[0107] In step S903, the registration information transmitting unit 505 determines whether or not a registration request including the terminal identification information (identification information) of the mobile terminal 110 has been accepted within a predetermined time after the registration information has been sent to the email address of the user 20. If a registration request has been accepted within the predetermined time, the registration information transmitting unit 505 transitions the process to step S904.

[0108] On the other hand, if the registration request is not received within the predetermined time, the registration information transmitting unit 505 ends the process shown in Fig. 9. This enables the information processing device 100 to exclude registration requests for terminal identification information from unauthorized mobile terminals.

[0109] When the process proceeds to step S904, the second management unit 506 of the information processing device 100 judges whether or not a predetermined number of pieces of terminal identification information are already associated with the account information of the user 20 of the mobile terminal 110. For example, in the account information 510 shown in Fig. 6(A), a predetermined number of pieces of terminal identification information, "1", are associated with the "terminal identification information" field corresponding to the user name "user A". Therefore, when the second management unit 506 receives registration information from the mobile terminal 110 that has logged in to the information processing device 100 with login information corresponding to the user name "user A", the second management unit 506 judges that a predetermined number of pieces of terminal identification information are already associated.

[0110] 6A, the "terminal identification information" field corresponding to the user name "user B" does not have the predetermined number of terminal identification information "1" associated therewith. Therefore, when the second management unit 506 receives registration information from the mobile terminal 110 that has logged in to the information processing device 100 with the login information corresponding to the user name "user B", it determines that the predetermined number of terminal identification information is not associated.

[0111] If the predetermined number of pieces of terminal identification information are not associated, the second management unit 506 executes the process of step S905. On the other hand, if the predetermined number of pieces of terminal identification information are already associated, the second management unit 506 stops the execution of the process of step S905 and ends the process of FIG.

[0112] In step S905, second management unit 506 associates the terminal identification information included in the received registration request with account information of user 20 of mobile terminal 110 and stores the associated information. Note that this process corresponds to, for example, the process of step S716 in Fig. 7. By the processes of steps S904 and S905, information processing device 100 can manage the number of pieces of terminal identification information associated with account information.

[0113] According to the first embodiment, by performing the above-mentioned processes, it becomes possible to log in to the information processing device 100 from an electronic device, such as the image forming device 120, by using account information already registered in the information processing device 100, without inputting account information into an operation unit of the electronic device.

[0114] The above processes are merely examples, and various modifications or applications are possible. For example, the display control unit 527 of the mobile terminal 110 may display a registration screen 830 as shown in FIG. 8C on the display unit, without relying on an e-mail sent from the information processing device 100.

[0115] [Second embodiment] In the second embodiment, for example, a case where a registration screen 830 as shown in FIG. 8C is generated by the display control unit 527 of the mobile terminal 110, not by an e-mail transmitted from the information processing device 100, will be described.

[0116] <Functional configuration> Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of an information processing system according to the second embodiment. As shown in Fig. 10, the information processing device 100 according to the second embodiment does not need to have the registration information transmission unit 505 that the information processing device 100 according to the first embodiment described in Fig. 5 has. Also, the mobile terminal 110 according to the second embodiment has a registration screen creation unit 1001 in addition to the functional configuration of the mobile terminal 110 according to the first embodiment described in Fig. 5.

[0117] The registration screen creation unit 1001 is realized by, for example, a program (application) executed by the CPU 301 in Fig. 3, and creates a registration screen 830 as shown in Fig. 8(C). Note that the functional configuration of the information processing system 1 other than the registration information transmission unit 505 and the registration screen creation unit 1001 may be similar to the functional configuration of the information processing system 1 according to the first embodiment described in Fig. 5.

[0118] <Processing flow> Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of processing of the information processing system according to the second embodiment. This processing shows another example of processing in which a user 20 who has already registered account information in the information processing device 100 registers terminal identification information of a mobile terminal 110 in the information processing device 100. Among the processing shown in Fig. 11, the processing of steps S701 to S707 and S714 to S715 are similar to the processing of the information processing system according to the first embodiment described in Fig. 7, so here, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

[0119] In the authentication process of step S707, when login from the mobile terminal 110 is permitted, in step S1101, the first authentication unit 504 of the information processing device 100 transmits login permission to the mobile terminal 110. At this time, the information processing device 100 according to the second embodiment does not need to transmit a registration application screen to the mobile terminal 110.

[0120] In step S1102, the registration screen creation unit 1001 of the mobile terminal 110 creates, for example, a registration screen 830 as shown in Fig. 8C based on, for example, predetermined registration information. Note that the registration screen creation unit 1001 may create the registration screen 830 in response to login permission received from the information processing device 100, or may wait to create the registration screen 830 until a creation operation by a user is received.

[0121] Furthermore, registration screen creation unit 1001 may use acquisition unit 524 to acquire terminal identification information (identification information) of mobile terminal 110, and create registration screen 830 displaying the terminal identification information (e.g., UUID, etc.) of mobile terminal 110, as shown in Fig. 8(C). As another example, acquisition unit 524 of mobile terminal 110 may acquire the terminal identification information of mobile terminal 110 when first identification information transmission unit 525 transmits a registration request to information processing device 100 in step S715.

[0122] In step S1103, the display control unit 527 of the mobile terminal 110 causes the registration screen 830 created by the registration screen creation unit 1001 to be displayed on a display unit such as the display 317.

[0123] Through the above process, the mobile terminal 110 can create the registration screen 830 using a function (the registration screen creation unit 1001) realized by an application executed by the mobile terminal 110.

[0124] As described above, according to each embodiment of the present invention, it becomes possible to log in to the information processing device 100 from an electronic device, such as the image forming device 120, by using account information already registered in the information processing device 100, without having to input account information into an operation unit of the electronic device.

[0125] <Supplementary Information> Each function of each embodiment described above can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Here, the term "processing circuit" in this specification includes a processor programmed to execute each function by software, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, and a device such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a DSP (digital signal processor), an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or a conventional circuit module designed to execute each function described above.

[0126] Moreover, the devices described in each of the above embodiments merely show one of a plurality of computing environments for implementing the embodiments disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the information processing apparatus 100 includes a plurality of computing devices, such as a server cluster. The plurality of computing devices are configured to communicate with each other via any type of communication link, including a network, a shared memory, and the like, and perform the processes disclosed herein.

[0127] Furthermore, the elements of the information processing device 100 may be integrated into one server device, or may be separated into multiple devices. [Explanation of symbols]

[0128] 1. Information Processing Systems 10. Communications Networks 100 Information processing device 110 Mobile Devices 120 Image forming device (an example of electronic equipment) 502 First Management Department 503 First login request acceptance unit 504 First authentication section 505 Registration Information Transmission Department 506 Second Management Department 507 Second login request acceptance unit 508 Second Authentication Section 510 Account Information 524 Acquisition Department 525 First identification information transmission unit 526 Second identification information transmission unit 527 Display control section [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0129] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-74188 A

Claims

1. An information processing device capable of communicating with a mobile terminal used by a user, a first management unit that manages account information including login information of the user; a first login request receiving unit that receives a first login request including login information of the user from the mobile terminal; a first authentication unit that compares login information included in the first login request with login information included in the account information to permit login from the mobile terminal; a second management unit that, when receiving identification information unique to the portable terminal from the portable terminal that has been permitted to log in, associates the identification information with the account information; a second login request receiving unit that receives a second login request including the identification information from the electronic device; a second authentication unit that compares identification information included in the second login request with identification information associated with the account information to permit login from the electronic device; An information processing device having the above configuration.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a registration information transmitting unit configured to transmit registration information to a destination corresponding to the account information in response to a request from the portable terminal that has been permitted to log in.

3. The login information includes an email address; The information processing device according to claim 2 , wherein the registration information transmitting unit transmits the registration information to the email address.

4. The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the second management unit associates a plurality of pieces of identification information with the account information.

5. 5. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein when the second management unit receives the identification information from the mobile terminal, if a predetermined number of identification information are already associated with the account information, the second management unit stops associating the identification information with the account information.

6. 6. An information processing system including the information processing device according to claim 1 and a program installed in the mobile terminal, The program causes the mobile terminal to an acquisition unit that acquires identification information unique to the mobile terminal; a first identification information transmission unit that transmits the identification information to the information processing device in response to a registration operation by the user; and a second identification information transmission unit that transmits the identification information to the electronic device; An information processing system that functions as a

7. The program causes the mobile terminal to a display control unit that displays on a display unit a registration screen for registering the identification information in the information processing device; the first identification information transmission unit transmits the identification information to the information processing device in response to the registration operation on the registration screen; The information processing system according to claim 6 , wherein the second identification information transmission unit transmits the identification information to the electronic device by a predetermined short-range wireless communication.

8. the information processing system includes the electronic device, The information processing system according to claim 6 , wherein the electronic device permits the user to use the electronic device when the information processing device permits login from the electronic device.

9. An information processing device capable of communicating with a mobile terminal used by a user, A process of managing account information including login information of the user; receiving a first login request from the mobile terminal, the first login request including login information of the user; A process of comparing login information included in the first login request with login information included in the account information and permitting login from the mobile terminal; When identification information unique to the mobile terminal is received from the mobile terminal that has been permitted to log in, a process of associating the identification information with the account information; receiving a second login request including the identification information from the electronic device; a process of comparing identification information included in the second login request with identification information associated with the account information to permit login from the electronic device; An information processing method.

10. An information processing device capable of communicating with a mobile terminal used by a user, A process of managing account information including login information of the user; receiving a first login request from the mobile terminal, the first login request including login information of the user; A process of comparing login information included in the first login request with login information included in the account information and permitting login from the mobile terminal; When identification information unique to the mobile terminal is received from the mobile terminal that has been permitted to log in, a process of associating the identification information with the account information; receiving a second login request including the identification information from the electronic device; a process of comparing identification information included in the second login request with identification information associated with the account information to permit login from the electronic device; A program to execute.

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